Press Releases

Washington, D.C. (May 20, 2025)—Today, Rep. Jamie Raskin, Ranking Member of the House Judiciary Committee, sent a letter to the Department of Justice (DOJ) Inspector General Michael E. Horowitz urging him to investigate whether Attorney General Pam Bondi or any other DOJ officials engaged in illegal insider trading ahead of President Donald Trump’s tariff announcement, following reports Bondi sold millions worth of shares in Trump Media on the eve of a stock market crash.

“Attorney General Bondi’s timely sale of Trump Media stock, on the eve of this crash, to less-informed buyers appears to have saved her, at the very least, hundreds of thousands of dollars. This conduct bears all the hallmarks of insider trading and demands impartial investigation.  I write to request that you fully investigate—and, if necessary, prosecute—any Department of Justice (DOJ) official, including Attorney General Bondi, who may have abused their position of public trust and gained an unfair advantage in the marketplace based on advanced notice of President Trump’s ‘Liberation Day,’” wrote Ranking Member Raskin.

A May 14 ProPublica report revealed that Attorney General Bondi sold between $1.25 million and $5.5 million worth of shares and other securities in Trump Media ahead of the President’s evening announcement unveiling sweeping tariffs. When the stock market opened the next morning Trump Media’s stock fell sharply, losing 13% of its value within days of Bondi’s trade. As Attorney General and a close confidante of the President’s, Bondi may have been privy to details of the President’s tariff plan before it was public.

Under Attorney General Bondi, the Department of Justice (DOJ) has halted enforcement of white collar crimes, including public corruption, foreign bribery, and foreign influence cases. When asked whether he could assure the public that members of his Administration were not engaging in insider trading, Donald Trump confessed he could not “commit” to that being the case. 

Ranking Member Raskin thus called on Inspector General Horowitz to investigate whether Attorney General Bondi or any other DOJ officials engaged in illegal insider trading ahead of President Trump’s tariff announcement, and whether such conduct violated federal law. 

“The American people deserve to know that the Attorney General and the leadership of DOJ, all of whom serve in positions of public trust, are working for the American people and not their own personal financial interest. The Attorney General’s decision to sell stock on the eve of a stock market crash, from a position where she may have known the details and timing of the President’s announcement in advance, strongly suggests this Administration is violating that trust,” concluded the Ranking Member.

Click here to read the letter.