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WSJ "Net purchase of 327 stocks the day before the suspension announcement"...Conflict of interest controversy reignited
Trump draws a line, saying "I leave investments to others"...Intel and rare earth company investments also controversial
It was belatedly confirmed that former U.S. President Donald Trump purchased 327 blue-chip stocks en masse the day before the announcement of reciprocal tariff suspension last year, the U.S. daily Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported on the 2nd (local time).
These are the details of securities transactions included in President Trump's financial disclosure released this week. It is reigniting concerns about conflicts of interest that have consistently followed President Trump.
According to the report, the 900-page financial disclosure released this week contains details of over 21,000 stock transactions made in President Trump's investment accounts last year.
Among them, the eye-catching part is the stock transactions made around 'Liberation Day', the announcement date of the reciprocal tariff policy.
According to the data, hundreds of stocks were bought and sold in President Trump's investment accounts on April 3-4, immediately after he announced country-specific reciprocal tariffs at the White House on April 2 last year.
On April 8, a somewhat different trading pattern was observed in his investment account.
On this day, he purchased over $3.6 million (approximately 5.5 billion KRW) worth of 327 blue-chip stocks, including Apple and Berkshire Hathaway, without any sales.
The notable point is that a major positive news, the announcement of a reciprocal tariff suspension, was made the very next day.
On the morning of April 9, President Trump publicly stated on social media, "Good time to buy," and then announced in the afternoon of the same day that tariff imposition would be suspended for 90 days for most countries except China. The stock market surged afterward.
Dan Weiskopf, a senior portfolio manager at Tidal Financial Group, said, "The trading volume far, overwhelmingly exceeds what most financial advisors do for their clients. That alone doesn't make sense."
He added, "I don't think President Trump is someone who isn't involved in investments at all."
The disclosed data also included investments in companies that received government support.
Trump's account purchased at least $250,000 worth of Intel shares, and a few days later, the government announced a plan to acquire approximately 10% of Intel's stake. Intel's stock price subsequently rose by over 370%.
After purchasing shares in rare earth company MP Materials, the stock price also surged following the government's announcement of a plan to invest 15% in the U.S. rare earth industry to foster it.
The U.S. Federal Ethics Act, enacted in 1978, did not impose an obligation on presidents to "dispose of assets that could lead to a conflict of interest."
However, past U.S. presidents voluntarily disposed of assets with potential conflicts of interest or placed them in blind trusts. President Trump is the first president since the enactment of the law not to follow this tradition.
A significant portion of President Trump's assets are incorporated into a trust managed by his eldest son, Donald Trump Jr.
President Trump said in a CNBC interview on this day, "I left investments to (other) people and I don't even talk to them."
Federal law requires presidents and high-ranking executive branch officials to disclose securities transactions exceeding $1,000 within 45 days. However, President Trump disclosed only about 1,000 of the over 21,000 stock transactions made last year within the deadline, and the rest were disclosed belatedly through this financial disclosure.
If a public official reports a transaction after the legal deadline, a fine of $200 is imposed for each delayed report. The cover of the financial disclosure released this week states that President Trump paid the corresponding fines.
White House communications director Anna Kelly stated, "The President and his family have never been, nor will they ever be, involved in conflicts of interest."
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