New York Attorney General Letitia James’ office is scrutinizing whether insider trading took place in connection with President Trump’s 90-day pause on customized “reciprocal” tariffs announced last week.
The examination is in its preliminary stages and is not yet a full-fledged probe, James’ office confirmed to The Post Tuesday.
It was not immediately clear whether specific individuals and companies were subject to the review, which was first reported by CNN.
Shortly before the US markets opened April 9, with indexes in free-fall over tariff uncertainty, Trump declared on Truth Social that it was a “GREAT TIME TO BUY.”
That afternoon, the president announced the postponement of the customized rates while keeping a 10% baseline duty in effect on most imports.
The stock market rebounded sharply, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbing 7.9%, the S&P 500 surging 9.5%, and the Nasdaq spiking 12.2%.
One exception to the pause was China, against whom Trump unveiled a 125% duty, bringing the total rate on most goods and services up to 145%. The administration also temporarily eased tariff rates on electronic imports from China, pending a review of the supply chain.
Liberals, such as Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), have suggested that allies of the White House may have traded on advance knowledge of the tariff pause to make a killing in the markets.
“It’s entirely appropriate to have an investigation to make sure that Donald Trump, Donald Trump’s family, Donald Trump’s inner circle, didn’t get advance information and trade on that information,” Warren told CNN.
James, an elected Democrat, has broad authority under the 1921 Martin Act to probe potential securities fraud.
The New York AG has clashed with Trump repeatedly in the past.
In late 2023, she lodged a sweeping business fraud civil complaint against the Trump Organization, accusing the company of improperly inflating asset valuations to score better business deals and devaluing them for tax purposes.
In February of last year, a New York judge ordered Trump to pay $354.8 million plus interest in penalties
An appeal of that verdict is ongoing.
Trump had accused James of racism and mounting a “witch hunt” against him and harboring political animus in her business fraud suit.
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