The technicalities don't matter here. Even the perception of conflict is inappropriate for a cabinet level official. Those presently in power, however, neither get it nor care. Doesn't this rich old man have enough bags of money already?
2
As Commerce Secretary, Mr. Ross was provided notice of non-public information that when it became public would result in a lower stock price for a stock he owned. If he sold the stock then, does that constitute trading on nonpublic information derived from his position in the Government? Because if it does, it should not matter how the sale was effected to avoid the expected lower stock price. It would be a breach. Consider, 1: selling the stock, vs. 2: holding the stock and executing a short-sale, the economic effect is the same as was the desired effect, to avoid an impending price dip.
1
To John Plotz:
The verbs attached to trading positions are: to go or to be (or various tenses) long or short. Shorted is not paralleled by longed.
Shorting is selling stock borrowed from a broker. One can do a naked short, which means that one has no access to a long position, or a covered short, a trade where one has the stock in question or has access to it.
One can be both short and long, which is what Mr. Ross was. The economic consequence is neutral if the number of shares is equal. One used to be able to be both long and short at the same time if one believed in the long term growth of the stock but that it had moved to fast and would experience a pullback. The new tax law has made this difficult.
One can short against the box. This is a term of art, probably derived from someone holding stock in a safe-deposit box away from the brokerage. This is what Mr. Ross did. He shorted the stock at a broker with the promise of delivering it when he could get it from the trustee holding it in an account in electronic form. The tax consequences would be any gain from the short would be short term and the long term gain (if any) would be nicked by the amount of the short term gain.
Companies often compensate consultants or directors with stock in trust accounts. Anyone with the size of Mr. Ross's holdings might easily overlook this account, of which he might never have been aware. The irony here is he is being blamed for trying to do the right thing.
1
Let's face it. The Republicans have been abysmal as part of the sober checks and balances on the branches of government. What is disappointing is that when it is a Democrat in office, they FIERCELY attack. But when a man like Trump gets in, where corruption IS evident in many many places, the supposed moral and Christian Republican party rolls over and plays dead. What a sorry abrogation of their duty. I certainly hope Democrats retake the house AND the senate. America needs to put the brakes on the administrative branch before it is too late...
1
Martha Stewart was not found guilty of insider trading but lying to investigators!
It is very difficult to prove that Mr. Wilbur had information from his position to make this short trade. This smells more like a NYT smear job.
1
Unlike the vast majority of ignorant Americans with high self esteem, Mr. Ross didn't become wealthy by being ignorant. Of course, he is to be admired for correctly reading the market, shorting the market when profit is possible. His behavior is commendable, should serve as an example to other independent minded, risk taking entrepreneurs. Mr. Ross is a role model..
1
From the article: "Theodore Kassinger, a lawyer for Mr. Ross, said Mr. Ross thought a short sale would “eliminate the idea that he still held the shares” before he was able to dispose of them."
WHAT?? Short selling means that essentially you borrow someone else's shares and sell them because you are betting the stock price will go down. Then you buy them back ("cover the short") and if the price has, in fact, gone down; you have made money on that bet. (Insider knowledge about impending bad news certainly helps...)
If he had shares and he wanted to divest, why didn't he just sell them?? Kassinger's explanation is ludicrous.
1
This is the Trumpet that said on talk shows that the steel tariffs would only add a penny or so to beer cans, with no mention of the amount of increases involved in constructing steel building or bridges.
Illegal may be debatable or even clearly not so; unethical it clearly IS. This is a long pattern of his behavior, shown in graphic form, of connections between Ross, banks, China, Russia (and, by extension, Trump). Many of the same ultra rich players and bad actor countries.
Ross' excuse is pure nonsense, and he certainly knows it:
“it made no economic difference to me whether the shares went up or down between the sale date and the date I delivered them.”
If he had no reason to expect the price would change in the next week, there was no need to sell that week; only if he had reason to believe the price would drop (he did, and it did) would there be a need to sell immediately. By shorting, he saved a considerable sum of money, and it cost the buyer the same. Legality aside, a lie is a lie.
1
Another swamp habitant with ties to Russia.
2
I like Wilbur; he's nursed many companies to health. Sure he sometimes sneaks through cracks in the law, but that is the Trump way, and why Donald tolerates him. Let's give him a break for a change.
Just another day in the swamp.
2
Corruption in the Trump administration? ::yawn::
1
Martha Stewart went to jail for that. Why not Wilbur?
7
thank you.
1
It sounds like the headline needs a big asterisk (*) after "Shorted". Did he sell them short, or not? Did he gain or lose on the sale?
Did he maybe poorly time a trade, per Hanlon's Razor?
1
I think Wilbur has been operating on autopilot for quite some time now. Maybe the time has come to send him to a home.
2
I am shocked, shocked I tell you, to learn that Ross has done a bad thing.
Who'd a thunk it?
3
I'm glad investigative reporters are finally waking up to the possibility, especially with the President*, of either insider trading or market manipulation.
This looks like a blatant case of insider trading but one could imagine this disgrace of a President* letting a few "buddies" know of a policy statement he will make that will cause the market to go up or down. Then, of course, take a percentage.
Ethics aside, it's disturbing that Secretary Ross believes physical settlement is somehow faster to electronic one. Contrary to his beliefs, electronic settlement happens in a matter of seconds, where physical transactions can take days if not weeks. There's a strong reason why every market participant worked to convert physical certificates into electronic deposits.
Either he's oblivious to the way our markets function or his broker is an excellent salesman making bank off an old man.
1
I suspect that Ross isn't the first member of the Trump administration to short stocks based on inside information. Heck, the President attacks companies all the time on Twitter. Remember when he lambasted Lockheed Martin about the cost of an F35? And Amazon? It's almost a daily tweet. The stocks may only drop a few ticks in response to Trump's outbursts, but the profits can be enormous on big short sales. Time for another investigation.
2
The short sale is smoke! The fire is Ross' long relationship with sanctioned oligarchs like Vladimir Putin's son-in-law, Kirill Shamalov. It is up to the Times to name these individuals instead of offering non-specific descriptions that are buried at the bottom of the page. The oligarch facing United States sanctions is Viktor Vekselberg, Acquainting Americans with the names of the men subverting our democracy is the first step toward reclaiming our country.
2
So far, no coverage of this from the WSJ. Too bad. I was looking forward to reader comments making light of Ross's actions. You could bet if Hillary's commerce sec did something similar, those same readers would be demanding, "Lock him up!"
2
To borrow recent words from Kirsten Nielsen, the latest of the spineless capitulators to the soulless administration's policy to hold children hostage to apply political pressure, :"We must uphold the law of the United States." Wilbur just committed an act of insider trading - again. Clearly he violated the law and he should be prosecuted to the fullest extent possible. Period!!
3
The head of the US government SHORTED STOCK ? It must be a new kind of The United State of America that we have here......
80 years old and he still doesn't have enough money? What a bizzarre life this little man is leading in the swamp. This administration will go down as the most corrupt, most inept and cruelest in history.
3
Imagine the rage and 24/7 news coverage on Fox if someone in Obama's cabinet had done this. Wilbur Ross should be in jail for this.
2
Now, in Trump world, the blame will fall on the NY Times for giving Ross the opportunity for the short sale. Love it, don't you?
3
Martha Stewart went to prison for this and so should Wilbur Ross.
1
"...the very best people..."
Donald Trump
1
It is time to replace the metaphor of "draining the swamp" with a new one of "filling the sewer".
3
Sure, Wilbur happens to suddenly “divest” to comply with his ethics obligation and requirements of public service just before an article appears that will drive down the value of his stock. And I have a bridge to sell you. How stupid does Wilbur think we are? As stupid as Trump’s cult followers?
2
Corruption is the new black!
3
And we thought he was sleeping a lot. Turns out he is just your basic greedy old man who can't break old habits that might include insider trading. Just another one of Trump's "best" people.
1
Another 'I forgot' moment from a trump kleptocrat.
1
Well Wilber I know I’m only a horse but There’s a lot of money made in the confusion of the market especially when you know what it’s going to be. whinny whinny whinny....
2
Ross belongs in prison right next to the rest of Trumps team of frauds. There's a reason Trump hired him, after all... he fit the bill.
1
Gosh, yet another Trump 'Insider' trading for personal gain. That's quite a bit of dumb luck if you ask me!
Just like the 15 or so within his inner circle who 'forgot' they had had meetings and communications with Russians.
Must be the Golden Age of coincidences.
1
Wait a minute. The times wrote him a letter complaining that he owned certain shares that made him look bad and threatening to make noise about it.
You cannot complain then if he promptly sells the shares you just told him you don't think he should have!
If the mechanics of the sale involve executing the sale at a brokerage before he can deliver the shares it may technically be a short sale but it has the same affect as just selling the shares. It immediately removed any financial interest he had in the movement of the stock (up or down).
The headline caused me to jump to a far more sinister conclusion. (that he is randomly engaging in insider trading, opening naked short positions in companies that he knows have negative news breaking)
This administration does plenty of bad things. There is no need for the NY Times to start hallucinating ethics violations that aren't really there.
Mr Ross lied to Forbes about his wealth for many, many years. His pathetic explanation for what he did here smells like more of the same. Are Federal prosecutors investigating?
There seem to be an alarming amount of people in the Trump administration that goes by the motto "Me First!"
This article is a nothing burger -- not because Mr. Ross has done something defensible, but because he is so Trumpian opportunistic.
Just knew sooner or later one of these billionaire Donny buddies would succumb to temptation and engage in illegal trading...it's catnip before the feline to the rich and shameless.
Make the Swamp Great again.
2
The penultimate insider trading.
Of course he did.
This is either:
A) Self dealing
B) Out-of-touch dumb
Both grounds for removal from office.
1
As Mr. Rogers would ask:
" Can you say 'trading on non-public information'? "
or :
" Can you tell us why 'insider trading' is wrong? "
Perhaps he can share a cell with Martin Shkreli. He could be almost as good a mentor as Roy Cohn was for The Donald.
1
Hey, how about that Romans 13 thing about obeying the government’s rules?
1
I'm waiting for Ross to blame President Obama and Senator Clinton for forcing him to commit a crime. "The Devil made me do it!"
2
Why can't he be prosecuted like any other inside trader?
Wilbur Ross epitomizes a Trump's swamp-creature, yet it is laughable how thin-skinned the man is. His greed, however, exceeds even his hatred of being called out for his unethical if not illegal actions.
1
Where's the SEC? Another example of the plutocracy this country has become. America uber alles.
1
"He had nonpublic information about Navigator before he shorted its stock."
Sure, Jan.
Why isn't the SEC mentioned anywhere in this article?
1
Ross is no amateur at trading stocks. He has offered an extremely lame excuse, thinking we would buy it. Its insider trading, period.
Another crook. Trump & Co have jumped into the swamp and are wallowing in it, making it deeper than ever.
1
"Trading stocks without inside information is like buying cattle by candlelight "
- Daniel Drew (19th century speculator, stock manipulator, bd member of Erie RR, etc).
Apparently Ross agrees.
The entire cabinet is as ethically bankrupt as their master. How any one of them - much less all - got through the Senate is another stain on the Republican enablers of this kleptocratic kakistocracy. Or is it a kakistocratic kleptocracy?
4
This is beyond corruption. It's actually called Insider Trading, and Martha Stewart, among many others, went to jail for just such an offense. And she wasn't even a "public servant" which makes Wilbur's crime even more egregious.
Point well-taken, Margaret. In fact, I think we need new words to describe the levels of depravity undertaken by this administration, as we all slink to some event horizon from which we shall not return.
Seriously? There was profit from a decisive move but no profit motive behind it? One might ask how stupid the Trump Cabinet thinks Americans are, but then, they answered that question 18 months ago: "very".
3
Is this octogenarian in politics to preserve his own personal wealth? It is ridiculous someone so long past retirement holds such a prominent position, but this holds for all the old timers cluttering up the Trump administration. Trump included.
2
It's not just Ross himself you need to look at it. These guys are far too clever to simply short their own holdings--too obvious. You have to look at all of their associates and, in particular, those associates who donated or otherwise influence the administration. That's where the real action will be I predict.
Insider trading, it explains the whole deregulate strategy being pursued by this cabinet. It is 100% guaranteed that Trump and his white collar criminal gang are about to plunder the Bull Market illegally for all its worth, even as it free falls into a Bear and a massive recession. They won't care, they'll be rich beyond their wildest dreams and they'll be in control.
4
Ross was confirmed in February so what a flimsy excuse for why he would still be divesting in October... The stocks were overlooked because he did not have the physical stock certificates? As a private equity investor, he really expects people to believe that? Perhaps Ross doesn’t realize that this is not 1927 and Hoover isn’t in the White House.
2
We should also be looking at the investment partterns of other Trump associates and family members.
These "on and off again tariff announcements" seem to have no rhyme or reason and have not resulted in any tangible policy changes.
In fact, the only thing they seem to do is rattle the markets for a few days.
It almost looks like....gasp.... market manipulations.....................
4
Follow the real money people!
I get the corrupt government angle, but then who's fooled there? Nobody leaves Washington without ten fold increase in wealth- if not immediately through deferred payback or consulting fees.
The REAL money is measured in billions sluiced around a complex of banks, contractors and "bought" politicians, [nobody gets into high government without loads of election money that is transformed into laws and regulation]. These cookie jar revelations only obscure the larger corruption gilding the 1%.
1
Everyone in the Trump regime is at the government work to profit themselves.They also get to buy expensive furnitures, airline tickets, etc at the expense of tax payers.
Self-dealing, lack of a moral compass, and cavalier transgressions of conflict of interest are traits shared by the president, members of his immediate family, and key members of his administration. Job retention mandates unfettered loyalty, and unquestioning execution of directional signals from the president. Secretary Ross, reportedly quite wealthy already, spotted an opportunity to make a few bucks from applying insider information and seized the moment.
Let's consider the big picture. Neither members of the executive branch, congress nor the Supreme Court are subject to conflict of interest laws or regulations. Congress has loosey-goosey ethics guidance that allows permissive behavior in all but the most extreme circumstances. Our political system supposes that elected and senior appointed officials act in the public interest and serve their constituents rather than themselves. Most have done so. Shame on Secretary Ross for belittling his oath of office.
1
Why is he allowed to continue trading and be in the White House? I thought that all had to divest themselves of their business dealings as part of being ethical. I was wrong and Trump and his cronies are making deals.
3
Doesn't matter if it was a short, long or against box as Wilbur claims. He knew a negative story was coming and he sold. That is an insider trading. You go to jail for it if you are a private trader. If you are the commerce secretary of the nation, well, that's a corruption of the highest order, something you see only in a third world country.
3
A total joke. You don’t sell short to divest, you just sell. He smelled an opportunity to make money, and he took it. Pathetic. The amount he pockets, at the expense of others, is meaningless to him, but this corrupt clan cannot let money slip away, and ethics don’t apply.
3
Most corrupt presidency in history. Supported by the most corrupt cabinet in history.
Good reporting. Thanks.
Now what do we do about it? Sit here and complain?
We need activist strategies. Who has the jurisdiction to call for an investigation and perhaps refer this matter to prosecutors? I want to know who to write to. Please tell me.
2
Would Secretary Ross or his boss be as dismissive of the issues raised if the reporter's editor, publisher, sister, brother, cousin, parents, closest friends had shorted Navigator Holdings days prior to publication of the article?
Ross is a billionaire investor who said "it made no economic difference to me whether the shares went up or down between the sale date and the date I delivered" the certificates. I don't have a billion dollars but can imagine that he is probably right -- if you have a billion dollars you can probably lose a few (hundred) thousand and not notice or care, so not wait until after the story about his involvement with Navigator Holdings had been published before selling his shares. Why not respect the rules the rest of us have to follow.
3
Absolutely disgusting. Disgusting. I work in financial services and have seen this coming for months. It's so blatantly obvious what is going on with the "front running" of inside information that a 2 week into the business employee can see it. Why there is no SEC swift and severe enforcement is beyond me. The robbing of the system by this administration should be leading to widespread outrage and protest ....... but I guess the information overload of the descent into the abyss that this administration is driving this country is too much for people. Be assured though ..... this is robbery and illegal and does effect you personally.
1
The notion of selling short while waiting for shares makes sense if you are trying to divest yourself of shares that you are waiting to vest. And from what I can tell, he is right that the story about him holding shares in a company is not insider information about the company. However, in this case some things are odd:
- The company kept $100K-250K of shares for him that he *didn't know about*? Was it dwarfed by his other holdings in this company? Or is the commerce secretary so addled that he loses track of investments of this size?
- He couldn't sell shares because they were in electronic form - he had to wait to receive stock certificates? Did I miss the part about this happening in 1950?
2
I'm a financial journalist with more than 20 years of experience writing about the stock market as well as working closely with the Investor Relations department at a public company. Take it from me, what I'm reading about Ross sounds very fishy, and he and his spokespeople can't cover it up with complicated explanations. He knew a negative story was coming out, so he shorted the stock. That's using non-public information to benefit personally, the exact same thing that got Martha Stewart sent to prison. Ross should resign.
2
After Walter Shaub, the director of the Government Ethics Office quit, because of Trump, no doubt the new director must be cut from the same cloth as Mick Mulvaney .
Why are Cabinet members even allowed to make trades and investments while they are in office?
2
So his claim is that he shorted stock which he already owned?!? Not an expert in these matters but that sounds very strange. He also claimed that he couldn't just sell his shares because they were in "electronic form"!
Should we tell grandpa that people buy & sell stock "in electronic form" all the time?
1
Another Trump administration grifter. We're so overwhelmed with crisis after crisis, that this will just slide.
1
An entire cadre of old dudes who are going to die in ten years, who have more money than anyone could ever use, but lust over more as though money is youth itself.
His lame justifications for insider trading deserve to be laughed out of court, but our society is toothless. Nothing punitive will happen to Ol' Wilbur. He'll just enjoy staring at the numbers in his account, while the clock ticks down on his days off greed.
2
This won't matter one iota to the Trump base. It will be portrayed as "fake news" by Trump and his minions. So we have to ask ourselves the question: If stories like this are reported and are tossed aside as sour grapes by the base, at least the information is in the public domain and is there for anyone interested. If we throw up our hands and not report these matters or if the press is supressed from reporting them, that is exactly what Trump wants. He becomes the arbiter of what is valid and worthwhile to tell the public. So...you keep your head down, NY Times, and keep reporting what you learn. We will decide what is important and make judgement accordingly. And this story just is another nail in this administration's coffin. The thing that amazes me is how many nails it takes for the base to see there is even a coffin there at all.
2
This is not a problem for Mr Ross...even if he were to be prosecuted as Martha Stewart was...Trump will pardon him! These people are above the law.
1
Trump administration is full of corruption - this is not really a surprise.
2
It makes one wonder, did Trump also short the stock?
3
I'm shocked! Shocked that there are unscrupulous people Trump Administration. Lock him up!
Sure looks like insider trading. Where is Jeff "it's very biblical to enforce the law" Sessions on this? Why is John "the law is the law" Kelly not telling his boss Trump to fire this guy? Why aren't all those "you have to enforce the law" Trump supporters up in arms about this?
Perhaps it's because none of these people really care about the law. The law is just a convenient excuse and useful tool.
3
Mueller is following the money laundering pipeline from Russian oligarchs through Cyprus to Deutsche Bank and then on to the Trump Organization in the form of loans for real estate purchases. That's how the laundered money landed in the US. -- Trump got his cut which he used to keep his failing businesses afloat. Before Trump appointed him as Secretary of Commerce, Wilbur Ross served as co-vice chairman of the Bank of Cyprus; the other co-vice chairman was the Russian oligarch, Vladimir Strzhalkovsky who is a close Putin ally. The CEO of Bank of Cyprus was John Ackerman who was formerly CEO of Deutsche Bank. A cozy trio, well positioned to move funds through the east-west pipeline. See "Trump's commerce secretary oversaw Russia deal while at Bank of Cyprus," The Guardian, March 23, 2017.
1
Donald Trump: "I'll choose only the best people for my administration."
Italian proverb: "Il pesce puzza dalla testa." "The fish stinks from the head."
Remember Tom Price, serial inside trader and disgraced former Secretary of Health and Human Services? How about Pruitt's sleazy romances with coal barons, oil producers and chemical executives? He's profited handsomely from under-the-table quid pro quos. Now it's Wilbur Ross's turn. I'm sure there are plenty of others as well. Researchers just need to turn over a few more rocks.
That's because a prerequisite for working for Trump is that you need to be a kindred spirit - amoral, shameless, self-serving, above the law. A crook. You need to believe that emoluments are part of your pay package. With each passing day, the rot progresses and the Republican Congress looks on and enjoys the concert that our Nero in the White House provides.
2
"We're going to have the best people in my administration."
56
Under Rule 10b5-1, the SEC defines insider trading as any securities transaction made when the person behind the trade is aware of nonpublic material information, and is hence violating his or her duty to maintain confidentiality of such knowledge.
The phrase is "Insider Trading" - TRADING... doesn't matter if you're long the stock, short the stock, covering an open short, liquidating a position.... when you trade on material information that is not available to everyone, it is INSIDER TRADING... and folks, that's illegal... not only is it illegal, to paraphrase Martha Stewart , who would know- "it's NOT a good thing...
69
And as Commerce Secretary, he was not only privvy, he was, in effect, creating the situation that he then took advantage of!
How convenient for him.
that may be true, but approximately 26,000 federal employees are exempt from insider trading laws thanks to our corrupt lawmakers.
The lady who will be receiving a pardon from King Donald?
1
At least two weird things here: why did Forbes break the (second) story about Ross selling short when the Times broke the original story of Ross's complex investments? And why, a full 9 months later, is this just now coming out?
Ross is old man who has no business in business, and certainly no business in gov. Of course, once out of those two projects, he's got a good chance of going to jail, but that's for the judges to decide.
20
Sadly, you can't honestly think he will even be charged with this, let alone go to jail? There is zero chance of that ....... it would be for smaller "fish", but this pack of thieves covers for each other and effects us all.
Someone should tell the judiciary committee, who will take swift action by starting an investigation into Grandma Hilary Clinton's baked cookies for the latest scandal.
39
Where's James Comey when we need him. This is exactly what put Martha Stewart in prison because she lied about it to FBI agents.
But then wasn't this man supposed to put his investments in a blind trust?
Thieves and liars - the hallmark of this administration!
54
Timing is everything.
Carl Icahn, trump's "special adviser" has good timing, too.
"Carl Icahn, the billionaire former "special adviser" to President Donald Trump, sold about $31 million in stock in a manufacturing company heavily dependent on steel in the days leading up to Trump's announcement that the U.S. would impose a 25% tariff on steel imports."
https://www.thestreet.com/story/14508821/1/icahn-sells-31-million-of-sto...
The statute of limitations for insider trading in New York?
Six years.
Priceless.
41
"I decided to continue selling those shares"
Doesn't Sec. Ross have a day job that requires his full attention?
14
Ross assumes his 'base' has no knowledge of the investment world so he can tell them anything he likes and they won't know the difference. In other words, he's following the Trump blueprint.
22
He must be short-selling swampland in DC as well, if he expects us to believe that he didn't know what short-selling is!
23
Shocking! A grifter in Trump’s cabinet! Can’t be!
28
Didn’t Carl Icahn do the same thing recently? Is Trump moving markets and stocks, after alerting cronies, so he can share in the insider trading profits!
27
Wonder what Trump's cut is.
27
Jail!
Forfeiture of profits!
Monetary fines!
Show that insider-trading based upon your specialized knowledge will not be tolerated.
23
Two words: Blind Trust.
Otherwise, you are presumed corrupt and should resign when you appear to gain from insider information. The appearance of corruption must be avoided to promote public trust in government. The honorable and necessary step is for Wilbur Ross to resign.
31
We need an 80-year-old Secretary of Commerce?
23
Actually, we could use a good one. Perhaps a George Soros or a Warren Buffet. Just no one who is their to enhance their profits.
10
Where's the SEC? I'm sure the president ordered them to stand down. Next he'll pardon Madoff and appoint him Treasury Secretary!
28
Unfortunately, the SEC has long since been a paper tiger. They are outgunned at every level.
It's just more criminality, so it must be Tuesday. They have won. We are numb to it. We can't deal with it. No need to report it anymore. They win.
10
No way I will give up. Wilbur Ross is a criminal and should be fired and indicted.
15
They put Martha Stewart in jail for this. The Trump Administration is corrupt through and through. Call your representatives and tell them to hold this administration accountable.
28
Actually, she was convicted of obstruction of justice, not insider trading.
Just another one of those pesky facts
They make little effort to conceal their corrupt activities. What are we now, Mexico, Russia?
23
Like Gomer Pyle wisely said so many years ago, "Surprise, surprise, surprise!" And like the NY Times noted not too long ago, "Grifters Gonna Grift." This is the guy the Trump administration chose to oversee American business? As we used to say in NYC during the dark times of the early 80s, when pickpockets roamed the streets, busses and subways... "Hey people, watch your wallets." Let's face it folks, the Trump regime is kinda shorting our whole economy, your 401K notwithstanding.
21
Man, it really is everywhere. This whole administration believes they have absolute impunity for their actions - at least the ones who stay. The only person who occasionally expresses an iota of concern is Melania.
7
The man needs to be prosecuted for insider trading.
If he claims he had no knowledge then he should be removed for stupidity. Cut and dried.
This is an ethics violation at the least.
31
If corruption was flatus, the Trump administration would have enough to launch a space shuttle.
14
Ah, news from one of the most comatose members of the cabinet. If he was British, he'd be given a peerage and allowed to snore out the rest of his days in the House of Lords.
13
One wonders how much shorting has gone on in the WH over the last few days before Trump's latest threat of further tarriffs on Chinese goods. Anyone who knew of his intention prior to announcement would have made a killing yesterday shorting.
Good thing we can trust Trump, his family, friends and WH staff not to profit off such knowledge. They're far too honourablefor such low practises.
13
The irony of this is that in 2016 all the Bernie Sanders kool aid drinkers were aghast that Hillary Clinton was paid to give a hand full of speeches to some Wall Street types, but didn’t see a problem of a lifetime of grifting from Donald Trump.
18
Get over it. Justification helps no one.
Articles about financial transactions like this one are always confusing to the layman. One thing for sure, if Wilbur Ross does it - it's a crime.
11
Behind every great fortune lies a great crime. Or a series of not-so-great crimes. The man at the top sets the tone, and attracts like-minded collaborators.
Come on, lock him up... If not now, in the near future. Thank you.
17
If he can't lie any better than that, he's not qualified to serve in the Federal Government.
14
In reading this piece there was a stench permeating the air particularly when I got to the part about not having physical possession.......Hmm. Many shares are held in book form, electronically. He would not need to "physically" transfer the shares.
So, Mr. Ross, explain to us if you understand book form shares and provide evidence these shares were actual certificates. If you can't the stench of insider trading stays.
27
Clearly they play by different rules than the rest of us
9
To paraphrase Captain Renault in Casablanca "I'm shocked! Shocked to find that corruption is going on in here."
6
Insider trading is a business model for Wilbur Ross. I trust that now that this Administration has completely "annoyed" the EU, their findings of massive insider trading by Ross involving his tenure on the Board of the Bank of Ireland will receive immediate and committed attention.
https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2017/12/european-parliament-report-...
15
Follow the money. For those in the know, the temptation to make money from policy moves, whether good or bad for America, exceeds the criminal, moral and ethical boundaries they are supposed to respect. Here’s hoping this one gets what he deserves before he SEC is crippled like the EPA has been.
16
Isn't this like the reasons for which Martha Stewart was placed in ankle bracelet (not the fashion accessory)?
17
Ummm, Martha was jailed for obstruction of justice not insider trading. Pesky facts
1
Right, which is probably why Tweety wanted her pardoned......to "normalize" Ross's malfeasance. This is also why cabinet members prior to the current highly corrupt administration were required to place all assets in a blind trust prior to taking office. Crooked as the day is long......
1
what? is he allowed to trade?
11
Ross is so implicated with Russia in aq dozen ways . . .
13
Nothing surprises me with this crowd. They get away with bloody murder in broad daylight. No one cares. The greatest heists in American history. Teapot Dome be jealous.
30
The photo reminds me of the Nazi defendants at the Nuremberg trials - nicht schuldig (not guilty)!
3
Can we say Martha Stewart?
3
Can we say, not exactly.
She was never charged with insider trading. Only obstruction of justice.
Darn those pesky facts!
1
The Absolute stench of corruption follows these stooges everywhere they go, doesn't it? I mean, they seem completely incapable of doing anything ethically.
19
Wilbur may as well profit illegally while he’s doing his part to help Trump tear apart our government. If cabinet members like Wilbur pledge allegiance to Trump they can lie, cheat and steal and Trump doesn’t care.
12
If Ross shorted the stock based on a soon-to-be-published article he was trading on inside information, making him a crook.
27
Making, as in present tense?
Another day revelation another corrupt Trump Administration person...ho-hum.
As an investment professional of 35 years...this certainly seems a clear case of insider trading...but what is SO amazing is that these guys seem to act with impunity...as if there are no cops on the beat...and WHY??? Isn't he wealthy enough that he has to have another 100-250M profit obtained through dodgy means? Did he not consider the optics of this action?
I know the personality of these people. If they get 90% of the pie, they're motivated to get another...5% and when they get to 95% they want ALL the pie. It never ends for these tormented greedy soulless people...who like Trump have to always be "winning" at any cost. Because they are empty...they can never be filled, never sustained...always avaricious.
37
The most corrupt administration in American History in only 16 months. From Trump to Pruitt to Ross, corrupt from top to bottom. Trump has most probably been financially corrupt since the first day of his campaign.
20
Trading while you're in the office only raises a red flag?
10
He cried all the way to the bank.
8
Gee, that's kind of strange. Last time I divested a position I sold it.
7
The long shares he owned are irrelevant, except maybe as motivation for his selling short to offset a looming loss. Assuming bad news from the story could be coming, and being unable to sell his long shares, he was facing a certain-to-him likely loss based on non-public information, so he sold short to offset that impending loss. He gained to the extent of his earnings on the short, and this is insider trading. He is a smart man skilled in the rules of stock ownership, and the fact that he did this to gain a very small amount indicates how indifferent he is to the rules governing of trading on insider information. He's the one that got caught regarding insider trading - definitely not the only one among his peers.
7
". . . he disclosed the sale to the government ethics office, which “certified that the transactions documented are in compliance with federal ethics requirements."
Hmmmm, did he disclose the fact that he was in possession of insider information when he made the transaction? That would appear to be an important fact for the ethics office to make a fully informed certification.
14
Shorting and divesting are not the same thing. Investing 101.
5
Investments 101: You are long a share stock and simultaneously a short omen share of stock. What’s your net exposure to the stock? Zero! Work it out. Stock goes up $10, your long (ownership) position is mown +$10. But on your short, you’re -$10. So zero gain. Same for stock is down $10. His net exposure is now zero. Same as if he had divested. Investments 101
1
I'm as anti-Trump as I could be, but if Wilbur Ross in fact closed out the short sale by delivering certificates for stock he owned prior to making the short sale, then all he did was an ordinary sale.
On the other hand, the ethics of the timing of the divestment relative to the reporter's inquiries constitute a whole other matter, which certainly merits close scrutiny.
4
It must be pure coincidence and luck that Mr. Ross's supposedly blinded, hands-off trades all seem to somehow end up in the money. I guess his toast also never falls with the buttered side down. On the other hand, it might just be a case of trading on priviledged information, which would be, of course, illegal. But, not to worry - a presidential pardon is his for the asking.
15
The Trump administration's view of government is that high office is to be used to loot the country. That's what you do if elected (Trump himself) or appointed (his cabinet).
3
Another grifter in the Trump gang.
6
sick of all the winning -
bye, girl. resign already.
3
He's not going anywhere, in case you haven't noticed. So you might as well get used to it.
2
Hit this old crook and Trump sycophant with insider trading. And hit him hard.
6
Didn't Martha Stewart go to jail for this kinda thing?
1
Drain that swamp!
2
Sigh. It's very clear he always meant us when he talked about draining the swamp.
1
Wow, that sounds so innocent, Wilbur. Any sane government, law enforcement, would investigate him now. Right now. Will this happen to this tiresome and deadly crone? Nope.
7
He's lying. I mean, c'mon, can we at least admit that. Wilbur Ross is a liar. It's clear.
17
Forgive the humorous reference, but "lock him up".
This is the most corrupt and indecent modern administration of any industrial democracy, history will be very unkind to it, if we survive to report it.
28
There is literally no one in this current "administration" who is not egregiously criminally corrupt.
19
Wasn't he supposed to put al his equities in a blind trust when he took office?
18
Come on he's the commerce secretary for the most economically powerful country in the world. How could that possibly influence any decision he makes about his financial holdings. Picky, picky.
6
Apparently a president of the US can’t be deemed to have a conflict of interest. Is this true for department secretaries, senators, etc.? If not, will trump just pardon them in the unlikely circumstance that they’re found guilty of something?
So now we have Pruitt, Carson, Mnuchin, Miller, Nielsen, Sanders and Ross giving off a particularly foul odor in the swamp. They’ll soon have enough for a baseball team.
28
well, since insider trading is perfectly acceptable for member of congress, i suppose the white house crew also gets a pass. in any event, he's a trumpster, so is impervious to any laws or ethics.
12
"But in the case of Mr. Ross, he and his representatives insisted that making money was not the goal of his short sale"
Surely he didn't do a short sale with the goal of losing money??
39
What does the SEC think about this trade? Insider trading? Or wise move?
All these old men who have no moral compass are running the country with no vision for their grandchildren. Is there any test for mental ability and honesty to hold office in a country with as many international tentacles as the US?
14
"...since I did not have physical possession of them in order to make delivery in the required time period, I technically sold them short." Could someone please clarify whether that's "technically" short selling? I thought the phrase means you don't own the asset, not just that it's temporarily out of your reach. If the claim is, in fact, either a brazen lie or a reflection of financial incompetence, that should be the basis for its own story given that this is the Secretary of Commerce.
10
DJT; Wilbur's doing a fantastic job! A good man, highly respected.
7
Just whose interests can we expect Ross protect in trade negotiations? The Nation's or his own open-ended short position's (open ended because there is no limit to potential losses in a short position). If you needed a text book example of a conflict of interests look no further.
14
I’ve traded stocks for 30 years. Assuming Mr. Ross sold short the same number of shares he held in an account that he could not immediately access, the reporters premise is wrong. Mr. Ross, after the short sale, would effectively have no position in the stock. Whatever the gain from the short would be offset by the loss from the long position. He therefore would not profit from the decline in the stock. This shouldn’t have been so hard for the reporter to relate accurately.
Now is it unethical to sell one’s holdings based on the knowledge of an impending negative article? I’ll leave that to others. There’s so much wrong with what the current administration is doing that we need to be doubly sure our allegations are founded in fact.
10
Not true. His gain is the gain from the short position; the long loss was already locked in. Knowing bad news would be coming, and being unable to sell his long shares, he was facing a certain-to-him loss based on non-public information, so he sold short to offset that looming loss. He gained to the extent of his earnings on the short.
27
Seriously..."the shares were held electronically and I didn't have access to them?"
Gee, I look around MY home office and it is STUFFED with stock certificates...everywhere, some in crazy amounts like 1.233 shares. I keep'em that way because you never know when you're gong to have to deliver them, right? Sometimes, I just grab loose ones and say to myself, "Hey I OWN that?" Wow.
I mean jeez, you'd think somebody would create an ELECTRONIC system for stocks, that showed current holdings and stuff and allowed you to move shares via book entry. It might have a generic name like, oh, say, Depository Trust Company...
4
He avoided a loss on his long position by shorting the stock. That is different than an outright short position. He in effect had no position when the news hit. The ethics of avoiding the loss should be at the heart of the discussion.
2
Ho-hum...Insider trading is so ok in the Trump Swampland.
Now if more Hillary emails about her daughters wedding turn up, please keep us posted.
40
I work for a small-cap company, not in management, sales, or finance,and every single person is restricted from trading shares in our company during long blackout periods. And we are not insiders or all that privy to what the execs have planned. We risk being fired for cause if we did.
And this guy massively shorted China knowing what he does? Even if his family controls the trust. Really?
26
"It is not clear how a short sale would have accomplished Mr. Ross’s objective of divestment."
This is quite an understatement. In short sales, speculators, hedgers, and insiders sell shares that they do not own. Divestment is out of the question because they have nothing to divest.
14
He is trading, for personal gain, on knowledge that the common or even uncommon investor doesn't have access to. Sounds a lot like "insider trading." Insider trading is illegal or at least it was illegal before this administration came to rule; sorry I mean govern in the peoples interest.
25
He shorted the stock? In what sense is that divestiture? He should be made an example of. To think that such people are in positions of public trust!
44
"public trust"!!!! Ha ha ha ha! That's so pre-2016!
6
This story from a man who was so elegant as to publicly present a very large engagement ring to the NY State Lieutenant Governor while married to his first wife. At the time, some of our mutual friends considered it a negotiating tactic to completely humiliate her and obtain the divorce on his own terms.
13
This smells like inside trading to me. This is a typical reason for why this administration loves deregulation and has eroded oversight.
22
Here's an interesting fact: some of the Russian players in this firm also invested through the Bank of Cyprus, of which Ross was the Chairman of the Board, now being captained by the disgraced former-CEO of Deutschbank. BoC is a nexus of Russian and American overseas money-laundering (I predict that Mueller's investigation will uncover Trump investments and Russian ties there). Verdict: Guilty. To paraphrase: Lock'em up. Drain the Swamp.
28
Is this what it takes to be a businessman who works for the government, that is, complete lack of ethics and morals and regard for the law, or using the fringes of the law to appear OK but knowing full well it isn't right?
29
Is this what it takes to be a businessman? (I know the answer is no, but then we also have the members of the National Federation of Independent Business cheering Mr. Trump's speech.) I think people like Mssrs. Ross and Trump give "business" a bad name.
4
If his trade was marked as a declared short sale then he fully intended to make money from non public info. Investors don't do this as a rule unless they know the stock is going down. Why else would they do it. And I am sure that he did not inform the Ethics people of all the details. Mr. Ross is like Mr. Pruitt in their thinking that rules are for other people and not for them.
This is the same man who lied to Forbes about being 2 billion dollars richer than he actually was. Why he is still in the government baffles the mind.
13
Ross has a long history in business where he took any advantage. He saw a semi-legal way to score a few thousand and went for it like he always has. The amount is tiny for him, and continues his pattern of no matter how large or small. Trump is to blame for selecting him, but not for inspiring him. And Ross is not alone. His practice is normal in a lot of businesses. Information not commonly known is used. I believe it is rampant to the point the people like Ross don't think twice. Since he's public, he shouldn't do what he has always done, but fool did.
8
Insider trading? In any normal, professionally competent government this would get him fired and an inquiry into his behaviour begun. One wonders whether the proper relationship between citizenry and government servants has become inverted - he is an employee of the President who is an employee of the citizenry. He should not be some hustler out for own ends and an example ought be made of him.
A somewhat naive, utopian wish, I admit. One can dream though.
15
The most obvious lie is that he did not profit from this. As in:
Even if he did not buy back his short position for a quick gain, he sold his position at its highest value -- before public information would drive it down.
That was more profitable than waiting for when he did have the full rights to the shares and then selling at the lower value.
27
Mr. Ross should have fully divested before assuming his duties as Commerce secretary. Such divestment is a vital part of our democracy. In this case, the pertinent standard should be the "appearance of impropriety." In other words, the appearance of impropriety should be all that is required in order to ask for and receive his resignation.
The corrupt nature of this president has set a dismal leadership example that Ross and others have nevertheless happily followed, with the predictable result. This administration has made us aware that our democracy depends on a number of institutions that remain traditions rather than laws. Divestment is one of those. Congress must be pass legislation that requires presidents and secretaries to fully divest.
20
Perhaps all the Trump appointees, hangers-on, family members and wannabe's should be re-informed that the goal of ethical behavior while in public service is to avoid actions that give the appearance of corruption -- and remind them, with air-horns first to make sure they're paying attention -- that it is the public that decides the "appearance of corruption", not the person doing the sneaky trade.
48
They just had a huge, coffee-spewing laugh! They are clearly now beyond the law. Or rather, until proven otherwise, they ARE the law. You might apply for court jester.
2
Yet another story that proves Republican government officials just can't win with the left-wing press. When they follow liberal demands to "divest," they are later scrutinized for doing exactly what was demanded in the first place. Man oh man.
2
Orwellian doublespeak, @Rolf. Your brain is inside out - I recommend long days seeking honesty and truth - perhaps a BA in biology? or chemistry?
25
Liberal demands? Divestiture used to be a bi-partisan issue. Try to make the case for a public official who is setting policy that would result in personal benefit, or who is using inside information for personal gain. Do you really think there's nothing wrong with that? Man oh man.
39
Rolf, I'm not sure you know how this is supposed to work. A government official is supposed to divest (or put in a blind trust) before he/she is appointed to be, let's say, Commerce Secretary (elected President, etc.)...not after--particularly bad optics to divest as negative coverage looms. Martha Stewart was sent to jail (and she was a private citizen).
39
Wilbur Ross you are Jabba the Hut. You may think yourself handsome and smart, and you probably do, just like Trump, but look in the mirror - you are Jabba the Hut, and I will erect an image on your grave, if I can, a video image, complete with the slathering and drooling.
14
Mr. Ed says: "Oh, Wilburrrrrrr. You are a back half of me, and your story is a lot of what I turn hay into."
17
I'm fine with it. He was divesting. Selling short locked in his price of actual stock he owned. The amount was small for a man of his wealth.
1
He wasn't "divesting". He was dumping his stock via a covered short sale to avoid a loss based on non public information. Ergo, he is guilty of insider trading.
9
No, it is insider trading.
1
A man of his wealth gets that way in part by grabbing small amounts.
If this small amount didn't matter to him, he could just have sold the stock outright. Instead, he sold short in an attempt to make more money.
And did so based on information that should stir the interest of the SEC.
How about "zero tolerance" for him? I'm sure there are tents available in McAllen, Texas. Worst case, he could share one with Scott Pruitt.
2
Disgusting.
Corrupt.
Expected.
11
I take some pleasure in the fact that old age conquers all. Meaning that many in Trump's Cabinet, despite their vast wealth and the criminal actions they used to acquire it, are aging out and can't take it with them.
What's the point for Mills, Trump, DeVos and others whose accumulation of wealth continues as its own illegitimate pursuit? They do not serve their country but only themselves, like Trump and his family, in their dogged pursuit of even more money for money's sake. Not being a loser? Well, guess what, we all lose to Father Time, eventually.
As my beloved grandfather said, "time marches on" and the great equalizer of old age takes us all, rich or poor. Too bad Mr. Mills and his ilk seem determined to have their epitaphs reflect their hubris and arrogance instead of honesty and philanthropy.
10
Just wait. Wilbur Ross will be seen as having been at the epicenter of Russian money flowing to Trump through the Bank of Cyprus.
Ross for the most part has kept a low profile as commerce secretary. I am surprised the media has not looked into his background more.
To me, he does not have the mien of a genius tycoon.
14
He deserves jail time.
17
Ross's response makes no sense.
Stock is almost all electronically held; that should actually make it quicker to sell them, not slower. And if Ross really was divesting, as he claimed, why did he wait eight months after he was confirmed to do this, at a time that just conveniently happened to beat this news, and in a manner that just conveniently happens to look exactly like insider trading?
Yet more stink coming out of the Trump swamp.
95
The thing here is that this guy looks like a crocodile from Trumps swamp.
I apologize, I just insulted crocodiles.
11
In this administration isn't insider trading a job responsibility?
11
Anyone that banks in Cyprus is a crook; anyone that runs a bank in Cyprus is a thieves' thief. This goon should be locked up.
34
He can't do that!! If you are divesting, then sell.... shorting has a whole different meaning here.... But I'm sure he will suffer no consequences in Trump World.
6
When the president* is the profiteer in chief, underlings get the message loud and clear: the government is open for plunder. I am confident Ross isn’t the only one, he’s just the one to get caught.
41
I'm sure there's nothing to this story as the trumper only hires the best and almost the brightest (the trumper being the brightest). Just hope mr. ross proudly stands during the national anthem and has an american flag pin on his jacket.
11
If it looks like a duck, walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it’s a Republican chicken disguised as a patriot. You are who you hang out with, and Trump knows how to pick the finest vermin to represent him. Imagine, this is all relatively low-hanging fruit. Wait until historians and journalists uncover all the shadowy machinations of his dictatorship, underway daily, with no opportunity to find it yet because of the chaos of his administration. Do you for a minute think there is no illegal activity going on? Knowing what we already know, how can there not be?
6
one should follow the laws of Rome, indeed! Put him in a room with walls make out of chainlink fence!
18
My guess would be that Wilbur Ross is not the only Trump Administration official who has been alleged to have conducted insider trading.
It's what they Do, it's what they live for. More money!
And the Oval Office of Donald Trump is very accommodating. No visitor logs, no transcripts of meetings, Trump ripping apart his notes.
Just ask Ivanka and Jared.
10
“It is not clear how a short sale would have accomplished Mr. Ross’s objective of divestment”
Umm... because he would have zero net exposure? This sloppy reporting not to talk to someone who has a clue before making this statement. Just because the NYT reporter doesn’t understand it doesn’t mean it’s not real.
Now it’s possible that Ross was doing some shady business, but entering a short position is a very reasonable way to offset the holding quickly.
5
Help me out here. So hedging a long position with a short sale to prevent a loss based on insider info isn't insider trading?
5
Your explanation fails to pass the smell test also.
OK, this guy is 81 years old (I'm a kid of 67). You'd think at this point he'd bank his zillions and concentrate on capping his career by serving his country is this very important office. That he would even give five minutes a day to activity on any of his investments says a lot about his values and, if I may, the Trump administration.
49
Of course it was trading on material non-public information, regardless of the material information being about HIM. That information going public could impact the value of the stock negatively- that's material. It's non-public when the public doesn't know about it yet. Insiders can sell their stock if it meets certain requirements- such as not in black out periods, and as a demonstrable pattern of selling. He should have just waited for his shares to become available to sell as part of an overall pattern of steady selling if he was actually divesting and suck up the loss. There's literally no reason to dump stock in his situation EXCEPT for concern on price. Shorting a stock will only drive suspicion. The drivel about he only shorted it because he didn't have the physical certificates- only electronic shares, the kind you need to actually settle a trade- is extremely fishy. The only reason would be if the shares were restricted shares or options which only became available to him on certain dates, which is a MUCH BETTER STORY than shorting the stock. This guy's story is full of holes.
31
Indeed. The book form vs physical certificates story does not pass the smell test.
11
The entire Trump administration is benefiting from "insider trading" on every possible level. And Trump benefits most of all. Kleptocrats rule. He's trying to catch up with Putin.
15
Is there anyone dumb enough to believe Ross' explanation, especially considered that he has been proven to have lied about one aspect of this issue?
Is there anyone on the Trump team, who does not have a connection to Russians?
The government ethics office should be requested to testify to the appropriate Senate committee, but McConnell won't push that.
6
Outrageous. Just outrageous. What a joke of a man, a joke of an office, and a joke of an administration.
34
Jokes on us. Will be funny only when they leave. They ain't leaving.
1
Yeah, right, Wilbur. SCC... get busy and do you job.
16
That is lamest excuse ever! I guess he keeps his job and can "short" sell so more stocks. Maybe Amazon next .... Trump Whitehouse is awful!
10
Insider trading, as Ross did here, is a felony. Nothing complicated here: arrest the scoundrel and prosecute him to the full extent of the law. We may have to build a lot of prisons, not walls, to house all the Rumpian cohorts.
115
Correction: Insider trading used to be treated as a felony. Until our current Supreme "Court," in its infinite and corrupted wisdom, decided to annul this law and free the insider traders to do as they will.
2
Yes siree ! We've made America GREAT again,
haven't we?
"Commerce Secretary Shorted Stock as Negative Coverage Loomed"
Of course he did. This is a public official who interpreted "divestiture" as transferring large portions of his wealth to family members. He's 80 years old. How is that not against ethical guidelines?
Because the Trump administration is setting those guidelines.
11
Wilbur Ross, at par with his boss, sneaky Trump, did not divest holdings upon joining Trump's cabinet of pluto-kleptocrats. His conflicts of interest must be investigated, as will those of our ugly American in-chief, both suspected crooks seeking impunity.
9
Is there anyone in the Trump White House that is not corrupt? Anyone? These people should be in jail, not government.
44
Possibly the janitors, the cooks, the maintenance folks, the cops, the Marines-ya know, those career federal employees who really serve the nation under less than ideal circumstances-serving Trump.
1
Is anyone really surprised? The blame lies with every single person who voted for Donald J. Trump. Trump has shown us over and over again for many years exactly who he is. Everyone who voted for him knew who and what he is and he has filled his administration with people just as corrupt and venal as he is. This is apparently exactly what Trump's supporters want. Hillary was right. They truly are deplorable and generations of Americans will end up paying the price.
15
I think there's been a lot of illegal front-running on Trump tweets.
1
This is the reason that 75-90% of all investors in the Futures Markets lose money every year. Not only is it hard to know the future, but they are also competing with these crooks who use insider INFO illegally to crush other investors. The WSJ calls them financial geniuses, I call them psychopaths.
39
Remember the investigations into Whitewatergate ? When does the investigation into Navigatorgate begin?
7
We finally have an honest and transparent government. This self-serving, craven, corrupt, mean-spirited crowd no longer hides behind a smokescreen of pretend honesty, concern, public service, and compassion. How disgustingly refreshing.
Snake oil will be always be sold as long as people are willing to buy it. Yes, money as well as outrageously false bravado and pious self-righteousness from the Wimp-In-Chief and his Apprentices-Of-The Moment such as Ross can saturate the media with distortions and lies, but people still have to fall for it.
Trump was right about one thing: it is necessary to drain the swamp. Congress writes the checks for what the President does. And it was Congress that authorized the broad authority the President invokes to do much of his mischief. His Constitutional authority is quite circumscribed, especially domestically. Legislation and appropriations are the keys. Do not waste energy and time reacting to every tweet or comment that comes out of Trump. Instead, focus on changing Congress and, more importantly because of gerrymandering, your state legislators.
As to Trump himself, I do not understand why anyone is surprised at his very successful modus operandi. What else would one expect from a student who graduated summa cum laude from the Joseph Goebbels College of Marketing, as well as magna cum laude from the Joseph Stalin College of Loyalty for his dissertation, "The Case of Leon Trotsky: Using Apprentices When 'Lock Him Up' Aint Enough."
7
The rubes heard "drain the swamp"... but they missed the second half whispered by Trump..."So we can build one of the best sewers the world has ever seen! Because NO ONE builds sewers like I do! Believe ME"!
If Sect'y Ross is part of "the best people", who are the not so "best people"?
6
Those with real ethics...And won't pander to trump like Pence.
The Trump administration strategy is to be so riddled with corruption that law-enforcement is overwhelmed and incapable of dealing with it all.
24
This explanation doesn't compute. Ross is too knowledgeable to make such an utterance and not be trying to "fog men's minds."
7
Wilbur Ross and every other member of the Trump administration has absolutely NO business whatsoever to be trading stocks. These people are insiders with non-public information. They can only be guilty of Insider Trading. But for this administration it is a Fringe Benefit!
Drain The Swamp!
31
Cabinet officials are allowed to short stocks? Seriously? If any single group has access to inside information, it is members of the president’s cabinet.
Anyone who has worked at a bulge bracket accountancy or investment bank will tell you they are prohibited from shorting any equities, period. But the trump people are allowed to do so? This is a total joke. The SEC has become a total joke. Our justice system has become a total joke.
The GOP has become a bloody joke.
43
I think it's time for a Special Counsel to investigate Insider Trading by administration personnel.
Drain The Swamp!
30
Why can't you just accept Mr. Ross as an astute business man? All I want to know is: What is his position on soup cans and beer cans? Please specify on whether the soup cans are 8oz. or 12oz. and beer cans of 12oz. or 16oz. You can send that information to my broker. His name is Vald. RAW
Ross' excuse for the short sale is ridiculous.
In either scenario (naked short vs covered short) he was guilty of insider trading. From a legal perspective, trading on inside information to avoid a loss is no different than trading on inside information to make a profit. They are both illegal.
Typical Trump slime. Only the best. You'd think that rich people would stop trying to scratch every last penny out of the system once they reached a certain level of financial security. I guess that grubbing for money is just built into some people's psyche. To quote our "President", sad.
14
Grubbing, Well Spoken. I would wager Mr. Ross is claiming his social security and medicare. In my opinion, he is entitled, but for a man of his financial stature, its kind of like grabbing lunch at the soup kitchen.
5
“He was anxious to get rid of all of his shipping holdings,” Mr. Kassinger said. Well, of course, because he knew they were going to go down in value and he didn't want to take a loss, he wanted a gain. That's why he shorted. That's why everyone shorts if they believe strongly that their holdings are going down in value.
9
Mills is a grifter working for a grifter. So naturally, The grifter in chief looks the other way when the grifter named Mills uses inside information to
benefit financially. This is standard operating procedure for the Trump family and for his cabinet members. Trump, Jared and Ivanka, Mills, Pruitt,Zinke are part of the white collar analog to the MS 13 gang.
15
Who is Mills?
whats amazing is, for ordinary people, they talk about "structural actions", like the guy that withdrew $9000 instead of $10000 of his money to take to Albania. They said he did it to escape federal notice, and they took his money away.
Here is an obvious action of corruption, but who is to say if it was intentional or just coincidental. Clearly the Justice Department is not!
6
Way to go Wilbur. Now you can add insider trading to your resume. But the downside of making money this way is that it is not legal. So, be prepared for some legal expenses and maybe a vacation in a "gated community".
11
Martha Stewart went to Prison for this! He just lied about it! Lock him up! lock him up!
34
The Martha Stewart (on steroids) of the trump administration
6
If the Democrats are looking for a big issue to stand on in 2018 and 2020, a thorough plan against corruption, double-dealing, conflict of interest, and lobbying reform would be a big winner in my opinion. More so than Trump's general awfulness and even the Russia probe, the fact that so much stuff like this is going unchecked should disturb anyone no matter what their political views.
8
Please, are you trying to tell me that the Secretary of Commerce could not come up with a better excuse than that? The article says:
"It is not clear how a short sale would have accomplished Mr. Ross’s objective of divestment. "
then lets Ross's layer flail around for a while before wandering away from the fact that the Secretary, our Secretary, of Commerce, either did not suspect that selling these shares short would give the appearance of trading on insider information, or did not care that it would be trading on insider information.
Even if he went ahead and sold his own shares instead of shorting them, THAT would be trading on insider information. Short selling them just proves that his goal was not divestment.
The time to divest was before he was part of the cabinet. It seems worth repeating, maybe in a more general way:
The time to divest is before entering a decision-making role in government.
Doesn't that seem like a good idea?
11
What about the zero tolerance policy?
8
Even if he owned the stock and sold shares short to negate out his position until he could actually access his shares (as he claims), he still gained because he did not lose money when the stock dropped on the news. (The combined long and short position cancel each other out--one gains while the other loses). It's the same as if he simply sold his existing stock in anticipation of the bad news.
Sorry Wilbur. Your explanation does not help you.
10
Trump wanted to drain the swamp so he could find members for his cabinet.
6
Remember the greatest fraud and thief in Trump administration is Trump, who paid 25 Million dollars restitution in Trump University scam and has been cited repeatedly for stealing money from charity for personal use. The commerce secretary is comparatively a small time actor.
13
One would think Wilbur Ross should now resign as Commerce Secretary rather than profit.
6
@NYT reporting the transaction value as $100,000 to $250,000 is not the most helpful way to illustrate the nature of the problem. Please, instead, report the aggregate number of shares that he shorted. What is more important than the amount he paid for the options is the amount he stood to gain from their use...something readers (or the NYT) could impute after disclosing this critical piece of data.
1
Jeeze Louise! This administration stinks to high heaven, doesn't it? Are any of these "leaders" NOT actively fleecing (as well lying to) the very people they pledged to serve? I tend to think they actually view themselves as decent human beings, playing by the rules, because, in a sense, they are--the rules they've been playing by all their lives, the first of which being DON'T GET CAUGHT, and the second of which being ADMIT TO NOTHING.
5
“Therefore,” Mr. Ross said, “it made no economic difference to me whether the shares went up or down between the sale date and the date I delivered them.”
How clever. Mr. Ross has inside information that the stock is likely to go down before he executes a trade. To lock in his higher price, he sells short and then eventually delivers the shares, now worth less. His statement above is true, but he got the higher price based on insider trading.
Lock him up!
7
Carl Ichan; Wilbur Ross....who cares and what will be done? Nothing. Two greedy old men with enough money to last their remaining lives (and their heirs- heirs). As J.D. Rockefeller was alleged to answer when asked," How much money is enough?"
"Just a little bit more."
They count it rather than sheep for a good night's sleep. And let us stop talking about "Ethics Watchdogs". They don't exist in this administration.
8
How can anyone be surprised at the continuing criminality and general swampiness of the Trump administration? This is without question the most corrupt administration in American history.
5
The swamp used to be a puddle. Now it is deep and foul. The Republican platform, if honest, would tout that they will make the country safe for corruption once again.
4
The velocity of the greed and narcissism of the people in this administration has broken the sound barrier. It's like a sonic boom flowing over our amber waves of grain.
8
The SEC is usually vigilant when high profile people engage in insider trading- ask Martha Stewart.They make an example of them to deter others.This sounds like a prosecutable case.Want to take a bet whether Wilbur Ross is called on this one?
7
The idea that you divest a stock by selling it short is like saying the earth is flat. In what universe does that make any sense at all? The swamp is getting deeper...
4
The oldest swamp creature in this administration has to go--to jail.
Maybe he could share a cell with Mr. Manafort. They could spend endless hours discussing their white-collar crime adventures.
8
Vote for democrats in November unless you want to see the rule of law destroyed by these money grubbing, fear mongering angry white men in the Trump administration.
20
It doesn't matter whether it was intended as a short sale to profit from a fall in the stock price or a normal sale of stock to avoid a loss, the effect is the same, and he did it while having material nonpublic information.
Even if you buy his argument that it was just part of a normal liquidation of his shares in the Russia-connected shipping company in question, it begs the questions (i) why didn't you think to sell off your shares *before* becoming commerce secretary?, and (ii) how is it acceptable that your finances are so sprawling and complex that something like this happens?
11
This is why people who choose to serve the public interest put their assets into a BLIND TRUST. It used to be that even the appearance of a conflict of interest was enough to raise eyebrows if not an investigation. With this mob conflict of interest is just normal day-to-day business.
20
Thanks NYT, for continuing coverage of issues like this, even in the midst of so many Trumpian distractions. It's hard to keep it all straight, but this is the kind of long term corruption that the Trump administration is hoping will get lost in the frenzy. Eye on the ball; eye on the ball.
19
Here in Australia we have laws against insider trading. Apparently the US doesn't. Or at least doesn't against members of Trump's administration.
11
Ross divested under current law. Giving his family control over his former investments gives him opportunity to favor them directly. His China connections is a conflict of interest, period. Under trumps loyalty, Ross can do whatever it takes to undermine sanctions on China. Under trumps buddy system, take what you want and don't get caught is flagrant corruption at its best.
6
So he financially gains if he can convince President Pin Ball to raise tariffs (thereby dropping the price of shipping stocks).
4
So, we're supposed to believe Ross sold shares he didn't own in order to divest his interest in the shares. Wow! I assume he knows eventually he'll have to buy back the shares he sold to complete the transaction. Then he says he didn't do this to make money when the ONLY reason people sell short is to make money. And then there's the obvious insider trading angle. Mind boggling.
7
According to INVESTOPEDIA: "A short sell against the box is the act of short selling securities that you already own. This results in a neutral position where your gains in a stock are equal to the losses." All Ross had to do was deliver the shares he already owned, once he was in possession of them. It sounds as if he was owed a stock dividend or stock split, and was forced to wait for it.
Based on the article, it doesn't appear that Mr Ross has done anything illegal. However, this is just the sort of thing the Republicans were always excoriating the Clintons about; something that may or may not have been legal, but the optics aren't good. It didn't matter then to the Republicans; they "knew" the Clintons were guilty, and behaved as such. Is it too much to ask for intellectual consistency from the Republicans? (A rhetorical question.)
4
“Therefore,” Mr. Ross said, “it made no economic difference to me whether the shares went up or down between the sale date and the date I delivered them.”
This transparently silly statement is supposed to excuse Ross's blatant self-dealing. It's amazing that he thinks he can explain himself in this way. OF COURSE it made no difference how the shares were valued after he sold them short, and before he delivered them - that was the whole point of this transaction, to lock in their value in anticipation of a price decline.
Can an 80 year old billionaire with decades of experience as an stock market investor and specialist in buying, restructuring and selling distressed companies really be so clueless when it comes to insider trading and the ethical requirements of cabinet office?
How is it even possible that the Secretary of Commerce continues to trade stocks for his personal account, taking advantage of unpublicized news investigations that provide obvious tipoffs to imminent price movements? This is insider trading by definition, and should have resulted in his immediate resignation (or dismissal) and investigation by the SEC.
11
Shorting against the box, i.e., short-selling securities you already own for later delivery, or an outright sale amounts to the same thing in this case. He is effectively unloading his position after knowing The Times is about to write a story about him and a Kremlin-linked company yet prior to the public disclosure of that story. It is a sale while in possession of material non-public information. Is it technically insider trading? Maybe not. Is it unethical for a government official? Absolutely. All for a few thousand dollars? Lincoln said every man has his price; Wilbur's is pretty low.
9
Just another example of how we are no better than any third world country when it comes to wealth and power and corruption. And, no one in power cares to do anything about it.
9
This Administration is making those of Warren Harding and Ulysses Grant look like models of probity.
It would be nice if some Republicans, and not just Flake, Sasse, McCain, would call them out on it but I don't think that is hugely likely.
9
Perhaps this is Ross' way to tutor little Scottie Pruitt on how major league corruption should work. This is major league swamp water. While Scottie plays around in A-ball with hundreds of thousands or the odd million here and there, Wilbur steps up to the plate and shows us all how real crooks take their at bats. Home run.
Any umpires watching?
20
American government is more transparent that at any time in my life. For a change, corruption of the kleptocrats, misanthropes, and wimps does not bother to hide behind a false screen of honesty, decency, and compassion.
Trump was right about one thing: it is necessary to drain the swamp. Congress writes the checks for what the President and his Apprentices-Of-The-Moment do. And it was Congress that authorized the broad authority the President invokes to do much of his mischief. His Constitutional authority is actually quite circumscribed, especially domestically. Congressional legislation and appropriations are the keys. Do not waste energy and time reacting to every tweet or comment that comes out of Trump. Instead, focus on changing Congress and, more importantly because of gerrymandering, your state legislators.
As to Trump himself, I do not understand why anyone is surprised at his very successful modus operandi. What else would one expect from a student who graduated summa cum laude from the Joseph Goebbels College of Marketing, as well as magna cum laude from the Joseph Stalin College of Loyalty for his dissertation, "The Case of Leon Trotsky: Using Apprentices When 'Lock Him Up' Aint Enough."
Snake oil will be always be sold as long as people are willing to buy it. Yes, money and outrageously false bravado from the Wimp-In-Chief can saturate the media with distortions and lies, but people still have to fall for it.
4
Wasn’t Martha Stewart jailed for this very reason? Lovely to be a white male in the USA, you can literally commit any CRIME you want and nothing happens.
18
Just more sleazy business and self interest dealing within the Trump administration, the most corrupt administration in modern times, starting with Trump and his family, and down through various cabinets secretaries.
18
I am hoping against hope to read about any member of the Trump family or administration who is not a crook, cheater, or grifter. I am not holding my breath....
5
Hey, Rick! There's gambling going on in your casino! Can you believe it?
11
What a crook.
12
Far from draining the swamp, the Trump administration is filling it with sewage. Worry not Wilbur, Trump will pardon you of any insider trading or other crimes.
17
Yet another in a long line of Criminal Acts by the trump administration.....I'm shocked.
Insider Trading, Wilbur Ross? How 80's of you.
3
Even more Republican sleaze. We’re going to need a truth commission, after Trumps our if office. Like S Africa after Botha.
6
And if you believe this greedmonger's story about divesting, he also has a bridge to sell you. Sadly, nothing is going to happen, since it has been proven that Trump and his corrupt, greedy and evil cronies get away with everything. Scott Pruitt is still (unbelievably) the head of EPA, right? Sigh...
15
Actually, this appears to have been a "short sale against the box." INVESTOPEDIA explains: "A short sell against the box is the act of short selling securities that you already own. This results in a neutral position where your gains in a stock are equal to the losses." (The neutral position begins the date the trade is initiated. Closing out the trade is nothing more than a formality.)
Insider trading? What would happen to me if I did this?
Of course I would never even have the opportunity (or money) so who am I kidding?
Do these guys even have to worry about committing crimes?
Kidnapping and holding kids at the border on one hand, profiteering on the other by shorting a stock about to go down when the bad news only you know about becomes public...
Money laundering, treason, fraud, there is no crime they won't do if there's something in it for them. The art of Donald Trump and his gang...
11
Everyone who shorts stocks does it with the desire to diversify and not make a profit. RIGHT!! Does everyone in this administration think the whole country is that stupid to believe this malarkey?!
27
Shorted a stock, to 'divest'?!
He needs to be fired, immediately....and perhaps be indicted for insider trading.
5
"Shorted a stock, to 'divest'?!" - Yes, this appears to have been a "short sale against the box." Google it.
These people really need to be locked up.
12
So much for draining the swap but then again as long as Hispanic kids are being put in cages on the Southern border the President’s base of Southern and Midwestern Evangelical racists won’t bat an eye at this kind of corruption.
24
Another crook in the Trump administration! This is undoubtedly the most corrupt administration in our history, recalling Grant and Harding.
And Trump talked, and continues to talk, about "Crooked Hillary." He and his supporters are disgraceful beyond words.
51
Where do these old geezers think they are going to store their ill-gotten gains when they die? Get Wilbur a bigger coffin.
13
Didn’t Martha Stewart go to jail for something like this?
3
We thought he was sleeping....he was just plotting....to legally "steal" more money.
11
Gee reporters; thanks for giving him a heads-up. Who'd a thunk?
2
I associate the word Republican with thief, liar, fraudster, sociopath, and in the best case, merely ignorant and stupid.
33
Some of us switched to the Democratic Party in August of 1975.
1
No surprise. Trump picked the best people for his cabinet. The best at self-enrichment at public expense.Too many to list.Honor and ethics in candidates for cabinet were not a top priority.
16
Hey, this guy has three ex wives, right? He needs that money. And besides, he wouldn't have the money to short stocks to start with if god didn't want him to. Just like that Brexit thing - it was a "God given opportunity" to short Britain, and this is no different.
https://www.cnbc.com/2016/12/27/brexit-is-a-god-given-opportunity-to-ste...
20
We're going to need a much bigger swamp.
Make Corruption Great Again
TRUMP 2018
222
If I may paraphrase Karl Marx-
A spectre is haunting the Trump Administration - the spectre of grifterism. All the powers of the Trump Administration have entered into an unholy alliance to reify this spectre...
69
Wilbur Ross is in deep trouble for possible insider trading. Just another slimy Trumpian. My questions is this: What else would an investigation of Ross’s investing reveal? My guess is plenty.
278
What trouble? Who will possibly force his reckoning?
Time for some zero tolerance policing
348
True Trumpian.
63
Lock him up! Oh, sorry, due process. Then, lock him up!
129
Here, another bigshot gets the chance to make money in a way no one in the real world can duplicate. I do not believe you can sell something you do not own. This is just wrong, and wrong that it is legal.
44
" I do not believe you can sell something you do not own." - But, he did own the stock (it was owed to him), and he wanted to be rid of the entire position. He simply did not have effective possession of every share (which would have allowed him to deliver it in keeping with "regular way" trading rules). There was no other way to have legally sold it, and been rid of it, than by deferring delivery. In effect, this was basically a short sale "against the box" - where the stock being sold is in a different account. An average investor might do this in case of a stock split or stock dividend, which would have both a declared date, as well as a later paid (delivery) date - and I have done exactly that! Such a transaction closes itself out without any further action by the investor.
That said, I detest Trump and everything he publicly stands for.
Wait a second...Why is the Commerce Secretary directly controlling investment decisions on his accounts while he is privy to a variety of economic and strategic information and potential government action? This administration is loaded with robbers, pure and simple.
521
Right, aren't all of his investments supposed to go into a blind trust?
You act as if there was something wrong with this. Isn't this just the way Donald Trump would have done it not to mention any of his sons or son in law? That's just the way to do business these days if you are a member of the trump administration.
2
Bank of Cyprus, where global money laundering has taken place for years...Wilbur Ross you are a part of this...and it will come out!
205
The Guardian reported in detail two years ago, about his connection with the Russian oligarchs who stash their money in Cyprus, particularly the Bank of Cyprus. Only a certain type of corrupt to the bone would work for this government...
2
Keep these fires burning NYT - thank you
150
Just another in a long line of swamp monsters.
56
Isn't that called insider trading?
94
Only if your name is Martha Stewart.
Yes, and tRump’s market manipulations are, too. Stock goes up, goes down, he makes noises to roil markets, and his buddies get to reap the rewards!
4
Selling short? Why not? H and Trump's cabinet are short selling America, ready to make a profit when it can be purchased at a lower price.
159
80 years old, with more money than he could spend in several additional lifetimes, and he still can't help himself from stealing more. And yes, insider trading is stealing.
611
As another commentator noted in one of your other pieces,"shrouds have no pockets."
4
Short selling is a bet , a gamble to those who have no access to privileged information . Pete Rose greatest
Baseball player ever lived is not in the "hall of Fame " for gambling during his Manager Tenure. Something is very wrong here....
1
Sure (wink) it was all about divesting using a short sale - sure
20
Another headline promising a sensation , but after reading ,is "Full of sound and fury ,signifying nothing."
4
Not signifying nothing. Signifying illegal activity. Why is he managing his investments? A clear violation for a federal official. He was in a rush to sell. Why do you think that is? If you think this is nothing, what constitutes "something". Removing children from their parents? Oh - right we are doing that too!
9
His actions are the very reason we have such federal conflict of interest laws - so that "public servants" are serving the public, and not themselves.
112
Criminal activity from this professed by-the-book, law-and-order administration?
Inconceivable!
172
The rich are different from you and me. And don’t you forget it.
83
This is insider trading, and it's illegal. No explanations needed.
254
drain that swamp! are we great again yet?
39
The Trump group is shorting stock on his China announcements as well. Just look at the filings.
159
Every single member of the so called Trump Administration is a grifter.
There simply is no other reason to be associated with this horrific mess.
404
Swamp thang. What a surprise.
21
It's Trump's administration.
No one cares if Ross used his position to profit from.
As a matter of fact, it's one of the perks Trump uses as POTUS to get people to work him.
Don't like it?
Vote Democratic on November 6th.
Changing Congress is how We The People can begin to fix this.
Vote D.
209
:) The Dems are no better. Anyone remember a Democrat named Martha Stewart who went to prison for playing with stocks?
Both parties have proven again, and again, and again that they are BOTH corrupt and need to go the way of the Whigs and Torries. No founding father ever voted D or R.
Excuse me, but just what public office did Ms Stewart hold at the time?
Talk about false equivalency!
Is there anyone in this administration who is not a crook?
183
This guy makes Scaramucci look good....remember the Mooch. Not so bad with what we now know!
2
Nope.
2
yes and how could have insider knowledge its a russian company after all,and there is a cold war on
11
Just another Trumpist who is using their public office to enrich themselves. They are supposed to be working for the American public, yet this is just what has become normal GOP behavior under Trump. "Nothing to see here folks, just move along" is what they want our reaction to be. This is all disgusting and the world will be a better place when they are gone.
79
I know almost nothing about buying and selling stocks. So maybe someone -- especially Wilbur L. Ross, Jr. -- could explain to me why he shorted the stock when he could have "longed" it (or whatever the term is), or agreed to deliver it at the current price. If his only purpose was to get rid of the stick, why not wait the few days it would take for him to get "possession"?
Assuming [which may be an incorrect assumption] that he profited from the transaction, or cut his losses, then he reminds me of the judge who admits taking valuable gifts from people appearing before him -- and then claims that the gifts did not influence his judgment. Honest! Believe me. Would a judge lie? Would a Cabinet member?
57
It’s a form of high-stakes market poker that lets you see all the other players’ cards. People can make gobs of money betting the economy will tank. Trump did it after the financial crisis and bragged about it!
1
Actually, insider trading laws don't depend on selling short. Simply selling a security, even if you own it, while in possession on material non-public information (MNPI in legalese) is a crime. If the release of the information moves the stock, which it did, he's guilty of insider trading, whether he owned the stock he sold or not.
5
Shorting stocks allow you to hedge your position, if you own 10 shares, and short 10 shares, you effectively hold a neutral position as either of those 10 shorted or long shares will offset each others gains with market movement. Now that doesn't mean no wrong occurred here (ianal), just that the headline is a bit more inflammatory than the truth.
Back in the day when government officials took conflict of interest problems seriously, a situation like this would have been a scandal just because it had the 'appearance' of a conflict of interest. Whether Ross made a profit would not have been the issue. How I long for the good old days.
172
I thought high level government officials placed their investments in blind trusts and had no discretion of the purchase of sale of any asset? I guess only the little people comply with ethics rules....
59
Next time we vote someone into the Presidency, let's vote for a "little person" who puts all his or her assets into a real blind trust.
16
There is a lot of misunderstanding in these comments about what constitutes insider trading. In order for it to be unlawful insider trading, he must breach a legal duty of confidentiality either owed to the source of the material nonpublic information or arising from some other relationship of trust or confidence. Under the STOCK Act, executive branch officials are subject to the insider trading laws and are under a duty to abstain from trading on information "derived" from their positions as executive branch employees. The issue here is whether Ross's knowledge of the reporter's story was derived from his position as a Commerce Dept. employee or whether he received the information in his private, individual capacity. Its debatable. Also, Ross appears to have hedged his long position by selling short. The SEC generally has not pursued enforcement actions where the trading established a fully hedged, economically neutral position. Whether it should, of course, is also an appropriate question to debate.
13
What about Icahn dumping steel stocks right after meeting with Trump and right before tariffs were announced? Coincidence? Or insider trading. Help me understand that one.
1
The SEC doesn’t pursue rich people period. He is a crook. He is using his position to enrich himself.
1
But shouldn't Ross's assets been in a blind trust in which he has no discretion over the holdings?
1