Pam Bondi sold millions of dollars worth of Trump media shares on ‘Liberation Day’ – before the stock tanked

Attorney General Pam Bondi sold millions of dollars in shares in Trump Media on the same day President Donald Trump unveiled widespread tariffs on allies and foes alike, according to a government ethics transaction report.

In the days following the announcement of the “Liberation Day” tariffs, which caused the stock market to plummet, Trump Media dropped 13 percent, before rising again. The company operates the Truth Social social media platform.

The president unveiled the tariffs on April 2 after the markets had closed. According to Bondi’s disclosure forms, she sold between $1 million and $5 million of shares in Trump Media on April 2, but the forms didn’t state if the sales took place before or after the markets closed.

It’s possible that trades by government officials prompted by information not available to the public could cross the bounds of the law. However, such cases against officials are complicated, and judges have recently narrowed the scope of what is unlawful insider trading, ProPublica noted.

It remains unclear, however, whether Bondi knew ahead of time of any information relating to the tariffs that were not available to the public in her role as attorney general. Trump was clear on the campaign trail last year that he had plans to put in place significant tariffs. However, during the first few weeks of his second stint in the White House, the markets appeared to assume that his statements on the campaign trail wouldn’t come to fruition.

The disclosure forms state that a wide range of stocks were sold rather than a specific amount, and the documents don’t say exactly when the stocks were sold or at what price.

On April 2, Trump Media’s stock price was $18.76 at the close of the day. The following day, after the press conference, it opened at $17.92. But it fell further in the next few days. The disclosure forms also state that Bondi sold between $250,000 and $500,000 of warrants in Trump Media. Warrants usually give the owner the right to buy the shares.

The fact that Bondi owned Trump Media shares has been disclosed previously — before becoming attorney general, she was a consultant for Digital World Acquisition Corp., which was the special purpose acquisition company that merged with Trump Media to take the company public.

Bondi vowed to sell her stake in Trump Media within 90 days of her confirmation, which means she had until early May to sell the shares, as per her ethics agreement.

Trump Media filed a disclosure on April 1 with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which included details of several top shareholders, including Trump and the attorney general.

At its highest, stocks in Trump Media sold for $52, but it closed at $26 per share on Wednesday. In a financial disclosure in December, Bondi states that the stock she held in Trump Media was worth more than $3.9 million at the time. She received the shares as compensation for consulting work, CBS News noted.

The Trump Media and Technology Group reported a loss of $400.9 million last year. Meanwhile, its annual revenue dipped 12 percent to $3.6 million.

Truth Social was created after Trump was banned from X, which was then called Twitter, and Facebook, following the January 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. He has been reinstated to both platforms but continues to post on Truth Social.

The Independent has contacted the Department of Justice for comment.