The very definition of #InsiderTrading
#Dell inks $9.7 billion #Pentagon contract AFTER #Trump acquires #stock
#Ethics experts say Trump’s recent investments in & public praise for the tech company create the “appearance” of a conflict of interest. [are you kidding? What does the #SEC have to say?
#law #corruption #kleptocracy
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2026/05/28/dell-inks-97-billion-pentagon-contract-after-trump-acquires-stock-praises-company/
#Trump has repeatedly praised #Dell at public events, & government disclosure forms show that on Feb. 10 Trump’s portfolio acquired #stock in Dell Technologies valued between $1 million & $5 million. Nine days later, at a rally in Georgia, Trump encouraged supporters to “go out & buy a Dell computer.” Three additional purchases of Dell stock, all valued at or below $50,000, followed in March.
Over the spring, #Trump continued to praise #Dell at public events, most recently giving the company a shout-out during a White House Rose Garden luncheon.
Less than 3 weeks later, Dell’s #stock surged in response to this week’s announcement that the #Defense Department has awarded the company’s federal subsidiary a major contract to oversee the procurement of Microsoft software for the #US #military.
…Presidents are exempt from a #ConflictOfInterest #law that prohibits federal employees from taking action in their official roles that would benefit their personal finances. There is also no legal requirement requiring a sitting president to give up a financial benefit because of a potential conflict. [seriously?]
Margaret Dylus-Yukins, senior legal counsel for #ethics at the Campaign Legal Center & a former Office of Government Ethics lawyer, said in a statement that although the ethics rules do not apply to the president or vice president, “the ethics norm has been for presidents to historically avoid even the appearance of self-enrichment.” [we know how well this jackass follows “norms”]
“The fact that President #Trump promoted a company owned by his friend that he also invests in does, indeed, create an appearance of a #ConflictOfInterest, though it does not constitute an actual #ethics violation under the current rules,” she added.
Williams said the #FederalGovernment should “revisit the arrangement whereby we rely on the president’s own sense of #integrity rather than #law to avoid conflicts of interest”; such a move would require an act of #Congress.
…Along with the #Dell #stock purchases, Trump’s latest #financial disclosure, released earlier this month, revealed tens of millions of dollars in other trades. The form showed, for example, that #Trump also purchased stock in leading companies such as #Microsoft & #Amazon months before the #Pentagon announced deals to deploy their technology in classified computer networks.
…For his part, #Trump has criticized congressional #Democrats for years for making #stock trades that he says are based on #InsiderInformation. At his State of the Union address in February, Trump called for the passage of a bipartisan bill to ban congressional stock trading, but the measure has stalled.
#hypocrisy #Trump #law #corruption #kleptocracy #InsiderTrading #ethics #SEC
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