Bondi Sells Trump Media Stock Same Day as Liberation Day Tariffs

Attorney General Pam Bondi sold between $1 million and $5 million in Trump Media shares on April 2, 2025, the same day President Trump announced sweeping 'Liberation Day' tariffs that triggered a market selloff. Disclosure forms show the sale date but do not specify whether it occurred before or after markets closed; Trump Media stock fell roughly 13% in the following days.

The sale came as Bondi was working toward a required divestment of the stock under her ethics agreement, which gave her until early May to complete it. There is no public evidence she had advance knowledge of non-public tariff details, and the transaction may have fully complied with disclosure rules.

Ethics observers say the episode nonetheless illustrates a governance concern distinct from legality: a sitting attorney general trading in a stock tightly linked to the president's personal brand on a day of major market-moving news invites reasonable suspicion, regardless of whether any rule was technically broken.