Americans are rightly suspicious of some questionably timed trades made during Operation Epic Fury, but federal regulators can shed some light on them at the very least by launching an investigation.
To the public, traders who made big profits timed to major news developments are anonymous, but the regulators, like the Security and Exchange Commission or the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, have the power to investigate if they suspect foul play.
And in this case, the timing of the transactions — just before the news went public — raises legitimate questions of insider knowledge.
President Donald Trump has admirably sought to roll back onerous, economy-stifling regulation, and accordingly, regulators like the SEC have lightened their touch.
Yet one of Trump’s central political rationales has been rooting out Biden-style corruption and politicization in the federal government and fighting for everyday Americans.
Even the slightest possibility that people linked to the administration are profiteering off the war will leave folks wondering, stripping him of credibility on that and other issues.
Consider some the suspicious activity:
- The New York Times spotted more than 150 Polymarket accounts placing hundreds of bets predicting a US strike on Iran by the next day — just before the first strike.
- March 23 saw almost $600 million in oil-futures trades just about 15 minutes before Trump said he wouldn’t hit Iran’s power plants after all, with no public explanation for the spike.
And the activity hasn’t been restricted to the war:
Yes, the White House has issued a warning to members of its administration, but more is required.
After all, the mere appearance of impropriety is almost as bad as the real deal, as is the case with Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and her husband Paul’s mysterious stock-trading “acumen.”
Note, too, that Donald Trump Jr.’s firm 1789 Capital is a major investor in Polymarket, where some of the suspicious transactions took place.
That doesn’t imply any wrongdoing, but Democrats won’t hesitate to hurl even wholly unsubstantiated accusations of insider trading at Trump & Co.
The prez should urge the SEC, the CFTC or both to look into these transactions.
If the public is left wondering, it may well come back to haunt the president — and Republicans more broadly.
