Corruption

Longtime Trump Adviser Dumped Stocks Before Tariff Announcement

Written by SK Ashby

Businesses that turn metals into finished products like cars, crowbars, and cranes stand to lose substantially under Trump's tariffs on imported metals. Some of the nation's biggest manufacturers, from General Motors to Boeing, saw their stocks drop yesterday after Trump's announcement.

None of that may be a concern to Trump's longtime friend and "special adviser" Carl Icahn, however, because Icahn dumped his stocks last week.

Icahn sold nearly a million shares in Wisconsin-based Manitowoc Company Inc before Trump's announcement.

In a little-noticed SEC filing submitted on February 22, 2018, Icahn disclosed that he systematically sold off nearly 1 million shares of Manitowoc Company Inc. Manitowoc is a “is a leading global manufacturer of cranes and lifting solutions” and, therefore, heavily dependent on steel to make its products. [...]

Icahn was required to make the disclosure because of the large volume of his sale. The filing reveals that he began systematically selling the stock on February 12, when he was able to sell the stock for $32 to $34.

ThinkProgress also reports that Icahn neither bought or sold stock in the company between February of 2015 and February of 2018, meaning he sat on it for 3 years and decided to sell his entire stake just a week before Trump made an announcement that will hurt the company.

If you believe that's a coincidence, I have some doomsday insurance to sell you.

Icahn formally resigned as Trump's "special adviser" last summer when he was exposed for lobbying against environmental regulation that hurt his own investments.