US attorney general sold up to $5M in stocks day of Trump's tariff announcement: Report
ProPublica says Pam Bondi sold Trump Media shares April 2
US Attorney General Pam Bondi
HAMILTON, Canada
US Attorney General Pam Bondi sold between $1 million and $5 million in stocks on the day President Donald Trump announced new tariffs that rattled financial markets, a report by ProPublica said Thursday.
The transactions, disclosed in federal filings, occurred April 2, the day Trump unveiled the tariffs in a news conference after market hours. It remains unclear whether Bondi's transactions took place before or after the market closed, the report noted.
The stocks were from Trump Media, the parent company of Truth Social, which saw shares drop 13% in the days following the tariff announcement.
The report stated that Bondi also sold $250,000 to $500,000 in Trump Media warrants -- financial instruments that grant the right to buy company stock. Bondi's disclosures do not specify the exact time or price of her sales.
While the Justice Department has not commented on the transactions, the timing has drawn scrutiny because of concerns about potential insider trading.
Bondi was a paid consultant for Digital World Acquisition Corp., the blank-check company that merged with Trump Media, before becoming attorney general. She had pledged to divest her holdings within 90 days of confirmation.
"On April 1, Trump Media filed a disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission with details about holdings of various top shareholders, including Trump and Bondi," said the report, adding that the purpose of the filing is "unclear."
