Trump Accused of ‘Giving His Mates Inside Information’ to Make Big Bets on Market in Fiery Speech from British Lawmaker

A British lawmaker on Wednesday accused President Donald Trump of insider trading in light of unusual market activity before his announcement that Iran was engaged in peace talks.

On Monday, Trump announced on Truth Social that the U.S. and Iran had “VERY GOOD AND PRODUCTIVE CONVERSATIONS REGARDING A COMPLETE AND TOTAL RESOLUTION OF OUR HOSTILITIES IN THE MIDDLE EAST.”

The war has led to weeks of economic uncertainty as both sides began to target energy infrastructure in the region, so naturally, an announcement about the potential end of the conflict sent the stock market surging.

Traders made a number of questionable moves just 15 minutes before Trump’s post, according to a CNBC report.

The report added:

At around 6:50 a.m. in New York, S&P 500 e-Mini futures trading on the CME recorded a sharp and isolated jump in volume, breaking from an otherwise subdued premarket backdrop. With thin liquidity typical of early trading hours, the sudden burst stood out as one of the largest volume moments of the session up to that point.

Speaking during a Parliament session on Wednesday, Liberal Democrat Party Leader Ed Davey suggested that Trump tipped off his friends about his announcement.

“Mr. Speaker, just before President Trump posted about his supposed negotiations with Iran on Monday, traders made hundreds of millions of dollars of extra bets on oil futures,” Davey said. “This looks like Donald Trump giving his mates insider information so they can make themselves richer, while his illegal war in Iran makes everyone else poorer. This looks like corruption of the very worst kind. Does the Prime Minister share my fear that Trump is making his war decisions based on what enriches himself and his friends rather than what makes peace in the Middle East?”

In response, Prime Minister Keir Starmer said that his own decisions were “based in the best interests of our country.”

“And that’s why I’ve decided that we will not get dragged into the war, unlike the leader of the opposition,” Starmer continued, “and I’ve decided we will act in collective self-defense of ourselves and our allies; and so, I comment on my actions, and they’re the principles behind my actions.”

Watch above via C-SPAN

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