Watchdog: Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s Stock Trades In Semiconductor Companies Suspiciously Preceded Trump Tariff Exception That Soared Companies’ Value

Washington D.C. – In her latest financial disclosure filing with the Clerk of the House, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) revealed she purchased shares in a number of companies involved in the manufacturing of semiconductors and microchips and other tech companies. These trades were made on April 8th and 9th, just before the Trump administration announced it would place a pause on tariffs, igniting a massive market rally. A review by government watchdog Accountable.US found that MTG’s suspiciously timed trading is even worse than it appears, having preceded President Trump’s announcement on April 11th that the tariff pause extended to electronics products manufactured in China. 

“It appears a close ally and personal friend of President Trump decided to make money for herself with a likely inside scoop on tariff policy that specifically benefited semiconductor companies,” said Accountable.US Executive Director Tony Carrk. “This suspiciously timed market activity is cause for a serious investigation and renewed consideration of legislation banning members of Congress from stock trading. The American people shouldn’t have to accept a new normal of powerful friends of President Trump using their connections to enrich themselves at the same time they push budget plans to gut services that working people, veterans and seniors depend on.” 

Taylor-Greene’s actions come as no surprise. Last week, Accountable.US launched Cash in Congress, the only comprehensive database detailing every Congressional Republican member’s personal financial stake in extending the pass-through and estate tax changes from the Trump tax scam. With more than 100 million Americans facing unprecedented cuts to their health care under the Trump budget plan that House Republicans passed on Thursday, a staggering 70% of these same lawmakers could financially benefit themselves with their own tax plan.

TIMELINE OF POSSIBLE INSIDER TRADING:

• On April 8th and 9th, Rep. Greene purchased between $2,002 and $30,000 of shares in Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (AMD), “one of the hottest semiconductor stocks of the past five years”.  AMD stock struggled during the tumultuous market volatility during the week of April 7th and it hit approximately $76.00 on April 8th but rebounded to as high as $97 during trading on April 14th.

• On April 9th, Rep. Greene also purchased between $1,001 and $15,000 of shares of Apple, Inc. (AAPL). The company, a large producer of computers and cellphones, is considered one of the biggest winners of Trump’s pause on tariffs for electronic devices from China. AAPL’s stock price was also struggling during the week of April 7th and opened at $171 on April 9th but has since reached as high as $212 in trading on April 14th.
  

• On April 9th, Rep. Greene purchased between $1,001 and $15,000 of shares in Applied Materials, Inc. (AMAT). AMAT “is engaged in providing manufacturing equipment, services, and software to the semiconductor, display, and associated industries”. AMAT rallied from an intra-day low of $128 on April 8th to a high of $147 on April 14th.
  

• On April 9th, Rep. Greene purchased between $1,001 and $15,000 in ASML, Holding NV, (ASML) a Dutch company which supplies chipmakers in the semiconductor industry. ASML’s stock went from a low of $542 on April 9th to over $600 on April 14th.

• On April 9th, Rep. Greene purchased between $1,000 and $15,000 in shares of NVIDIA, “a computing infrastructure company” which “provides graphics and compute and networking solutions in the United States, Singapore, Taiwan, China, Hong Kong, and internationally.” The company’s stock hit a low of $97 on April 9th and has since rallied, hitting a high of $114 during trading on April 14th.

• On April 8th and 9th, Rep. Greene also made $1,001-$15,000 purchases in other tech companies that depend on large amounts of computing power including Amazon, Palantir, Tesla, Qualcomm and Adobe, all of which have increased in price since.

• On April 9th, Trump announced “a complete three-month pause on all the “reciprocal” tariffs that went into effect at midnight, with the exception of China”.  The news sparked a 3,000 point rally – an increase of 7.87%.

• On April 11th, Trump issued a rule that would exempt “smartphones, computers, semiconductors and other electronics” from China from reciprocal tariffs.  

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