(Cover Images via AP Images)
Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) accused the Trump administration of “mind blowing corruption” after it was widely reported that a “$1.5 billion” stock trade was made ahead of President Donald Trump’s announcement that the U.S. and Iran were having “constructive” negotiations and the U.S. would hold off on further attacking Iranian energy infrastructure.
Murphy shared a Monday post from market analytics site Unusual Whales that read, “BREAKING: Just five minutes before Trump’s announcement to halt the attacks on Iran, massive trades reportedly hit the market. In one move, $1.5 billion in S&P 500 (ES) futures was bought while $192 million in oil (CL) futures was sold.”
“These orders were 4–6x larger than anything else at the time. The trader seemingly made huge gains. Unusual,” concluded the post.
$1.5 BILLION. Let me say it again – a $1.5 BILLION BET.
Bigger than any futures purchases made at the time.
5 minutes before Trump’s post.
Who was it? Trump? A family member? A White House staffer?
This is corruption. Mind blowing corruption. https://t.co/SFDOeBW8Kv
— Chris Murphy
(@ChrisMurphyCT) March 24, 2026
Murphy then added the caption, “$1.5 BILLION. Let me say it again – a $1.5 BILLION BET.” He continued:
Bigger than any futures purchases made at the time.
5 minutes before Trump’s post.
Who was it? Trump? A family member? A White House staffer?
This is corruption. Mind blowing corruption.
CNBC’s Yun Li also reported on the unusual trading activity ahead of Trump’s market appeasing post.
“S&P 500 futures and oil futures flashed an unusual burst of activity early Monday minutes before a market-moving social media post from President Donald Trump,” observed Li, adding:
At around 6:50 a.m. in New York, S&P 500 e-Mini futures trading on the CME recorded a sharp and isolated jump in volume, breaking from an otherwise subdued premarket backdrop. With thin liquidity typical of early trading hours, the sudden burst stood out as one of the largest volume moments of the session up to that point.
Last April, Trump’s repeated U-turns on his tariff policies, which also sent the market into wild swings, also led to accusations of insider trading among those close to Trump.
Geopolitics guru Ian Bremmer also shared a post tracking the $1.5 billion futures trade and commented, “the corruption is the most structurally significant part of the administration. Drain. The. Swamp.”
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