Trump confidant dumped millions in steel-related stock last week

[GMDino]

How lucky for him!  

https://thinkprogress.org/trump-ichan-steel-imports-cf7deb8beaf0/

Quote:Billionaire investor and longtime Trump confidant Carl Icahn dumped $31.3 million of stock in a company heavily dependent on steel last week, just days before Trump announced plans to impose steep tariffs on steel imports.



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.


The filing came just seven days before a White House event where Trump announced his intention of imposing a 25 percent tariff on steel imports.


Trump’s announcement rattled the markets, with steel-dependent stocks hardest hit. Manitowoc stock plunged, losing about 6 percent of its value. Reuters attributed the drop to the fact that Manitowoc is a “major consumer of steel.” As of 10:20 a.m. Friday, the stock had lost an additional 6 percent, trading at $26.21.


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.

SEC.GOV
Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross publicly released a report on February 16 calling for a 24 percent tariff. But, as the chart in the SEC filing indicates, Icahn started selling his Manitowoc stock on February 12, prior to the public release of that report. Moreover, the sharp drop in steel-related stocks did not occur until Trump announced he would accept the Commerce Department’s recommendations.

Before February, Icahn was not actively trading Manitowoc stock. According to regulatory filings, he did not buy or sell any shares of Manitowoc between January 17, 2015 and February 11, 2018. The February 22 filing was required because his ownership stake dropped below 5 percent. Now that he owns less than 5 percent of the company, he is not required to make another disclosure about his holdings until May. So while the latest filing shows him still retaining some stock in Manitowoc, Icahn could have continued selling the stock. If Manitowoc is not listed on the eventual May filing — called a Schedule 13F — that would mean he has liquidated all his holdings.


Icahn, a billionaire investor with far-flung holdings, is a close associate of Trump — who invoked Icahn’s name repeatedly on the campaign trail. Once in office, Trump installed Icahn as a “special adviser,” although Icahn did not not unwind his business entanglements before accepting the position.


Icahn resigned in August, in advance of a New Yorker article which detailed how he used his position in the White House and his connection to Trump to protect his investments:

Quote:One day in August, 2016, the financier Carl Icahn made an urgent phone call to the Environmental Protection Agency. Icahn is one of the richest men on Wall Street, and he has thrived, in no small measure, because of a capacity to intimidate. A Texas-based oil refiner in which he had a major stake was losing money because of an obscure environmental rule that Icahn regarded as unduly onerous. Icahn is a voluble critic of any government regulation that constrains his companies. So he wanted to speak with the person in charge of enforcing the policy: a senior official at the E.P.A. named Janet McCabe.

In his resignation letter, Icahn acknowledged discussing regulation of the refining industry with Trump, although he denied seeking to benefit any of his specific holdings. Icahn claimed that, despite being named an adviser, he “had no duties whatsoever.”


In an interview on CNBC on Thursday, Icahn appeared to acknowledge at least occasional ongoing conversations with Trump, saying the two had not had “much” interaction in the last four to five months.


The White House and a representative for Icahn did not immediately respond to request for comment.

[Griever]

sounds like insider trading to me

didnt martha stewart do time for this

[GMDino]

(03-02-2018, 03:39 PM)Griever Wrote: sounds like insider trading to me

didnt martha stewart do time for this

It's only a crime when you get caught!  

[masterpanthera_t]

(03-02-2018, 03:59 PM)GMDino Wrote: It's only a crime when you get caught!  

Considering whose confidant we're referring to here, even if caught, I could possibly see a pardon coming, simply in the interest of self preservation. However, that would have to be weighed against the perception that a pardon would create, which might have consequences for the said self-preservation. What I'm openly wondering is, if Trump were to pardon said confidant to keep him from divulging "insider" conversations, (ok, I know pardon comes after conviction, but what I mean is if Trump uses pardon as leverage to keep his confidant from worrying about the consequences of a conviction, or if he attempts to scuttle any potential investigation), how that would affect public perception and also have other legal consequences that may draw Mueller's attention. So in a way Trump's options here might be limited depending on how the balance shakes out.

We could have another potential crisis looming here and even if it doesn't have direct legal consequences, could add to the chaos and stress that Trump is dealing with, and I'm not sure how that will ripple into the rest of his governing.

[Belsnickel]

Yeah, this is going to be interesting to see play out. I doubt anything will happen as it will be very difficult to prove any prior knowledge.

I have to say, I find it funny how the EU is going to slap tariffs on Harleys, bourbon and blue jeans in response.

[masterpanthera_t]

I forgot to add, there may be somewhere that "executive privilege" might fit into this in an attempt to scuttle all of this before it even starts.

Edit:
Others who have a more detailed understanding of civics and know more about the scope of "executive privilege" can correct me if I'm wrong here. I'm looking at you Matt, and Pat.

[masterpanthera_t]

(03-02-2018, 05:10 PM)Belsnickel Wrote: Yeah, this is going to be interesting to see play out. I doubt anything will happen as it will be very difficult to prove any prior knowledge.

I have to say, I find it funny how the EU is going to slap tariffs on Harleys, bourbon and blue jeans in response.

True, proving prior knowledge would be difficult. A counter to any such argument would simply be that of "I sold my stocks based on candidate Trump's campaign promises", it just happened to be a week before the public announcement of the fulfillment of those promises. However, I wonder what any investigative agency's domain would be in terms of  getting subpoenas and other data for investigative purposes which might corroborate insider trading, such as texts, phone calls emails etc.

[Belsnickel]

(03-02-2018, 05:31 PM)masterpanthera_t Wrote: I forgot to add, there may be somewhere that "executive privilege" might fit into this in an attempt to scuttle all of this before it even starts.

Edit:
Others who have a more detailed understanding of civics and know more about the scope of "executive privilege" can correct me if I'm wrong here. I'm looking at you Matt, and Pat.

You'd really have to look at specific circumstances to get into the privilege argument. Contrary to what the current administration seems to believe, executive privilege is something that can be claimed related to specific information that has been requested by another branch. There must be a valid reason for the privilege to be claimed, which is most often related to national security. It can also be overridden in certain circumstances if it is necessary to carry out justice.

Tl;dr: executive privilege would not hold up to judicial scrutiny for something like this.

[*michaelsean*]

(03-02-2018, 03:39 PM)Griever Wrote: sounds like insider trading to me

didnt martha stewart do time for this

No. For lying.

[hollodero]

(03-02-2018, 05:10 PM)Belsnickel Wrote: I have to say, I find it funny how the EU is going to slap tariffs on Harleys, bourbon and blue jeans in response.

That's how the EU commission chief put it -

Jean-Claude Juncker Wrote:So now we will also impose import tariffs. This is basically a stupid process, the fact that we have to do this. But we have to do it. We will now impose tariffs on motorcycles, Harley Davidson, on blue jeans, Levis, on Bourbon. We can also do stupid. We also have to be this stupid.

Harsh.