Kristen Welker Presses Cory Booker for ‘Evidence’ on Trump Tariff Corruption Allegation: ‘Is This Just a Fishing Expedition?’

Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) defended Democratic calls for an investigation into possible insider trading tied to President Donald Trump’s tariff reversal, as NBC’s Kristen Welker pressed him the issue Sunday on Meet the Press.

Booker, while condemning Trump’s tariffs as “chaotic,” stopped short of offering evidence that he or anyone close to him was guilty of any wrongdoing.

But the New Jersey Democrat argued there was “enough smoke” to warrant hearings on insider trading, which Welker pushed back on.

Last week, Trump urged investors on social media to buy stocks during a market dip hours before he paused steep tariffs that led to market volatility. The Dow surged immediately after the pause was announced.

The sequence of events prompted allegations from Democratic lawmakers that Trump and those closest to him were aware a pause was coming and might have profited from it.

Welker pressed Booker on the allegations Sunday:

WELKER: You know, some of your Democratic colleagues are actually calling for an investigation into whether or not there was insider trading. The president saying, “It’s a good time to buy” and then, of course, hitting the pause button on some of those tariffs. Do you believe that Democrats have any real evidence that anyone in the administration profited off of the president’s policies and announcements, or is this just a fishing expedition?

BOOKER: You know, here’s the problem with Donald Trump and congressional Republicans, is our whole system was designed to have checks and balances. Now, Trump has designed an administration like none we’ve ever seen before. He is attacking the very agencies that are supposed to have independent oversight of these kind of actions. So, we see him hiring people based upon their loyalty, not based upon their expertise. The real group that should be holding investigations and accountability and even just oversight is Congress –

KRISTEN WELKER: But is there any evidence?

CORY BOOKER: But for every outrageous thing he’s done –

KRISTEN WELKER: Do you think there’s any evidence that anyone profited off of these tariffs?

CORY BOOKER: There is enough of an offense here, there’s enough smoke here that should demand congressional hearings. We are – we are a separate and equal branch of government. The constitution lays out very clearly that Congress is not supposed to be spineless and submissive. It is supposed to hold up oversight over the president. These are real, legitimate, justifiable questions, and not to have hearings, not to do any kind of oversight, undermines the faith we have in our government, undermines the trust we need in our nation right now.

Watch above via NBC News.