A growing chorus of economists, legal scholars, and financial regulators are raising alarms over what they describe as the deliberate use of U.S. trade policy to manipulate financial markets for political and personal gain. At the center of the allegations: President Donald Trump’s erratic tariff decisions and their suspiciously timed impact on stock valuations.

The 90-day tariff pause announced this week, which excluded China and was accompanied by a steep hike on Chinese imports, triggered an 8% surge in the Nasdaq and double-digit gains for major tech firms. Yet multiple regulatory sources have confirmed to The Crustian Daily that federal investigators are reviewing whether members of the regime or affiliated financial interests placed trades ahead of the policy move.

Former SEC enforcement official Joanna Riles said the timing and structure of the tariff announcements appear “engineered for maximum volatility,” adding, “If this wasn’t designed to create a window for profit-taking, it’s hard to explain why else the policy was deployed in this way.”

White House aides insist the tariff strategy is about national strength and global leverage. But the pattern of sudden reversals—threatening massive hikes, then pausing them for limited periods while targeting select adversaries—has repeatedly coincided with sharp market swings that benefit sectors known to be favored by regime-linked investors.

Recent disclosures also show that multiple hedge funds tied to former Trump administration figures made unusually aggressive plays on tech and industrial stocks in the days leading up to the tariff freeze. Legal analysts say if even informal communications occurred between White House staff and private traders, the case for insider-driven market manipulation would be substantial.

The White House has not responded to questions about the trading activity or its internal policy formulation process. The SEC and Treasury Department both declined to comment on the status of ongoing probes.

With the regime hinting at further tariff adjustments before the 90-day pause ends, observers warn that financial markets remain vulnerable to continued politicization. “It’s no longer clear whether Trump’s trade policy is aimed at rivals—or at the American investor base itself,” said one senior Democratic staffer on the Senate Finance Committee.

The Crustian Daily will continue to investigate whether U.S. economic policy is being shaped not just for strategic objectives—but for profit.