Top Judiciary Dem Requests ‘Insider Trading’ Investigation Into Pam Bondi

The ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee has asked the Justice Department’s inspector general to investigate a well-timed trade by Attorney General Pam Bondi, according to a letter first shared with NOTUS.

Bondi sold between $1.25 million and $5.5 million in shares of President Donald Trump’s media company on April 2, “Liberation Day.” Trump unveiled sweeping tariffs that day on imports that went further than many expected, shocking businesses and tanking markets.

“This conduct bears all the hallmarks of insider trading and demands impartial investigation,” Rep. Jamie Raskin, ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee, wrote in a letter to Inspector General Michael Horowitz.

The share price of Trump Media & Technology Group, which went public last March, has swung significantly over the last year, according to the Nasdaq Composite. The company’s stock price sank in the days following the “Liberation Day” announcement from $20.26 on April 1 to a low of $16.66 on April 8, but it has since rebounded, closing at $25.07 on Monday.

Federal officials are free to trade and own stocks, but they are barred from insider trading and required to disclose their transactions and file annual financial reports. Bondi disclosed her April 2 transactions last Wednesday. There has been some momentum behind a congressional stock ban, which Speaker Mike Johnson recently backed.

Raskin called for an investigation into any DOJ official, including 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.’”

The Department of Justice did not respond to NOTUS’ request for comment.

While the contours of Trump’s tariff plan were not publicly known ahead of the announcement, the president had been hyping up “Liberation Day” for weeks. Bondi was not the only official or lawmaker trading stocks during the period of volatility.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene, Jefferson Shreve, Jared Moskowitz and Julie Johnson also disclosed the sale or purchase of stocks in the days before and after Trump unveiled his tariffs. Raskin disclosed selling between $1,001 and $15,000 worth of AT&T shares one week after “Liberation Day.”

Bondi oversees the department charged with investigating and prosecuting white-collar crimes, including insider trading. Those investigations appear to be taking a back seat under Bondi and Trump’s leadership, according to Raskin.

Raskin cited a Reuters report that said FBI agents were directed to ramp up immigration cases and scale back on white-collar investigations. In February, Bondi said in a memo that the Justice Department would limit criminal charges under the Foreign Agents Registration Act to cases involving “conduct similar to more traditional espionage,” while the FARA Unit would focus on civil enforcement, regulatory initiatives and public guidance.

According to a memo released last Monday by the head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, Matthew Galeotti, the agency will continue to prioritize white collar crimes that some legal experts interpreted as opposition to overzealous enforcement. Galeotti argued “overbroad and unchecked corporate and white collar enforcement burdens U.S. businesses and harms U.S. interests” and cautioned prosecutors against “overreach that punishes risk-taking and hinders innovation.”

“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,” Raskin wrote.

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Taylor Giorno is a reporter at NOTUS.