At first glance, President Donald Trump’s latest financial disclosures look like a major scandal.
CBS News recently released an interactive dashboard analyzing what it called Trump’s “unprecedented” volume of investment activity during the first quarter of 2026: 1,296 sales and 2,346 purchases worth somewhere between $212 million and $695 million.
Calling it ‘potential insider trading’ is easy. Proving it requires something more than trades that sometimes came before favorable news.
The report emphasized that much of the activity involved individual stocks rather than index funds and noted that some purchases “preceded policy moves” or public statements by Trump that could affect the companies involved.
“The concern is he is in a position to make all kinds of decisions that can affect stock prices,” one government ethics expert told CBS.
“In the meantime, he could have bought or sold stocks that are affected by these decisions.”
It certainly sounds suspicious. That is exactly what Democrats are counting on. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) has already demanded an investigation into “potential insider trading” as her party tries to cast Trump as an out-of-touch oligarch before the midterms.
But the scandal starts to look much thinner once you move past the insinuation and examine what actually happened.
For one thing, Trump is not personally making these trades. CBS News included a statement from the Trump Organization saying that “independent third-party investment managers” handle the president’s stock transactions without direction from Trump or his family.
Vice President JD Vance put it more colorfully: Trump “doesn’t sit at the Oval Office on his computer on his, like, Robinhood account, buying and selling stocks. That’s absurd.”
Fine. But what about the timing? Doesn’t that suggest some coordination between Trump and his money managers?
Not much, judging from CBS News’ own charts. If Trump is insider trading, he is doing a remarkably bad job of it.
Take Nvidia. CBS noted that Trump’s financial managers bought between $500,001 and $1 million of Nvidia stock on January 6. The following week, the administration relaxed export controls on some of Nvidia’s AI chips, allowing sales to China.
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That sounds explosive until you look at the stock price. Nvidia closed at $187.24 on Jan. 6. After the policy change, it closed the following week at $186.23.
The next two purchases shown by CBS came after — not before — brief but significant drops in Nvidia’s share price. Trump’s disclosure also shows sales totaling between $1.8 million and $3.6 million in Nvidia stock during March. The stock then climbed sharply the next month.
That is not what a clean insider-trading narrative looks like.
It looks much more like ordinary portfolio management: buying dips, trimming positions, missing upside, and generally doing what professional money managers do every day — often while charging clients handsomely for the privilege.
Palantir and Eli Lilly transactions cited in the report show a similarly messy pattern rather than some obvious sequence of privileged information followed by perfectly timed trades.
One investment professional quoted by CBS even speculated that Trump’s managers may have been realizing losses for tax purposes. Maybe. If not, Trump might want to ask what exactly he is paying them for.
Either way, that theory does not establish insider trading. And neither does the mere fact that a trade happened before a policy announcement affecting the same company.
To make the case, you need evidence that Trump possessed material nonpublic information, that he communicated it to the people managing his portfolio, and that they traded on it. The disclosures and timing highlighted by CBS do not establish that.
The simplest explanation remains the least cinematic one: Trump pursues policies he believes are good for the country while outside money managers invest his fortune without his input.
If you want to understand what genuinely suspicious political trading can look like, consider the Pelosi family.
In 2024, Paul Pelosi sold roughly $500,000 in Visa stock. The following month, the Justice Department sued Visa on antitrust grounds, and the stock fell.
That timing naturally attracted scrutiny. But timing alone is not proof there, either. We do not know that former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi tipped off her husband, and the public evidence does not establish insider trading.
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What it does show is why these stories require more than a suggestive chart. A suspicious-looking sequence is a reason to ask questions, not a substitute for evidence.
That standard should apply to Trump too.
Democrats need voters to believe Trump is using the presidency to enrich himself, his family, and his friends. That is why every financial disclosure becomes an invitation to imply corruption before proving it.
Maybe investigators will eventually uncover evidence that Trump directed trades around government policy. If they do, investigate it.
But the material CBS News has presented so far does not get us there.
Calling it “potential insider trading” is easy. Proving it requires something more than trades that sometimes came before favorable news, sometimes after price declines, and sometimes before the portfolio missed a rally altogether.
For now, there is plenty of insinuation and remarkably little proof.
Pope Leo XIV has overseen a shakeup at the Vatican sure to vex progressives: assigning an American conservative who has fought against the LGBT agenda and abortion activism to the Catholic Church's highest court.
Weeks after excommunicating all members of the Society of St. Pius X and declaring it a schismatic sect, the Vatican announced a number of resignations and appointments.
'It is a position of great prestige and trust within the Catholic Church.'
While declining to renew the term of Cardinal Joseph Tobin of Newark — a progressive cleric who has tipped his biretta to the LGBT community and championed migrant causes — Pope Leo XIV appointed on July 25 seven new members to the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura.
Among the new members are a pair of American bishops — San Francisco Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone and Bishop Edward Lohse of Kalamazoo — and two Spanish canon lawyers who belong to Opus Dei, a conservative Catholic institution.
These appointments do not require a relocation to Rome.
Maggie Gallagher, executive director of the Cordileone-founded Benedict XVI Institute for Sacred Music and Divine Worship, told Blaze News that "the Apostolic Signatura is essentially the Supreme Court of the Catholic Church (except that the Pope may intervene and overturn a court ruling)."
"It doesn't issue rulings on Catholic teachings, but on cases against individuals including for example judgements of nullity for marriages, and charges against other judges, etc," continued Gallagher. "It is a position of great prestige and trust within the Catholic Church and the appointment of Archbishop Cordileone is clear indication that Pope Leo appreciates his competence and his leadership."
Gallagher added that Archbishop Cordileone's appointment "does not mean of course that the Pope agrees with all the positions he has taken, but he is clearly signaling that these views do not put you on the outs with Rome, and that is a great relief to many Catholics in the United States, especially for Catholics attached to the traditional Latin Mass."
Cordileone, the San Diego native whom President Donald Trump appointed last year to serve on the advisory board of the White House's Religious Liberty Commission, is the archbishop who was harassed by California radicals for denying communion to Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), a professed Catholic within the Archdiocese of San Francisco.
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In May 2022, Archbishop Cordileone — who has referred to abortion in America as a "genocide on life in the womb" — provided Pelosi with a refresher on the Church's moral teaching that abortion is a "grave moral evil," and stressed that there can be no more extreme example of "throwaway culture" than "when direct attacks on human life are enshrined in a nation’s law, celebrated by society, and even paid for by the government."
Citing canon law — which states that those "obstinately persevering in manifest grave sin are not to be admitted to Holy Communion" — as well as the instruction of Pope Benedict XVI, the American archbishop said it was his responsibility to bar the Democrat from what the Catechism of the Catholic Church calls the "source and summit of the Christian life":
After numerous attempts to speak with her to help her understand the grave evil she is perpetrating, the scandal she is causing, and the danger to her own soul she is risking, I have determined that the point has come in which I must make a public declaration that she is not to be admitted to Holy Communion unless and until she publicly repudiate her support for abortion ''rights” and confess and receive absolution for her cooperation in this evil in the sacrament of Penance.
Pelosi remained unrepentant and attacked Archbishop Cordileone on the network then known as MSNBC, complaining, "Our archbishop has been vehemently against LGBTQ rights too."
Archbishop Cordileone is on the radar of GLAAD and other non-straight activist organizations, not only for his defense of the Catholic teaching that "all sexual acts outside of a marriage between one man and one woman are morally wrong and do not serve the good of the person or society," but for his rejection of gender ideology, long-standing defense of the institution of marriage, and advocacy for protecting the First Amendment freedoms of those opposed to the LGBT agenda.
In addition to holding fast to the teachings of the Church, Archbishop Cordileone has called — especially in the wake of the SSPX schism — for greater Catholic access to the traditional Latin Mass.
Archbishop Cordileone said in a statement on Saturday, "I am deeply grateful to the Holy Father, Pope Leo XIV, for this appointment as a member of the Supreme Apostolic Signatura. I receive this responsibility with a profound sense of stewardship, recognizing that every office in the Church is entrusted for the service of Christ, His people, and the mission of the Gospel."
"The Supreme Apostolic Signatura assists the Holy Father in safeguarding the proper administration of justice within the life of the Church," continued the archbishop. "Justice in the Church is never merely legal; it is ordered toward the salvation of souls, the protection of the rights of the faithful, and the strengthening of ecclesial communion. I am honored to contribute to that important mission."
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Radical Democratic state Sen. Scott Wiener may have sworn off campaign support from law enforcement unions in California — yet these same unions are still financing Wiener's anti-cop and pro-LGBTQ agenda.
Wiener, 56, has sparked disgust and outrage across America since he joined the California Senate a decade ago. Since then, he has advocated for:
'Scott Wiener has shown throughout the years that he is no friend of law enforcement.'
Wiener has not even tried to hide his animus against cops. In June 2020, at the height of George Floyd hysteria, he pledged not to "accept contributions from law enforcement unions going forward."
"Our policing/criminal justice system is broken & needs drastic change," he claimed at the time.
"This system kills/harms countless people, esp people of color. We need to do more & I'm committed to this fight," he added.
And yet police union dollars are still flowing his way.
How? The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Caucus Leadership Fund, a political committee for the California Legislative LGBTQ Caucus. Wiener currently sits on the caucus and previously served as chair.
Since January 2020, the respective political action committees of the Peace Officers Research Association of California, the California Correctional Peace Officers Association, and the California Association of Highway Patrolmen have donated a whopping $210,000 total to the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Caucus Leadership Fund, state records show.
During that same period, state filings show that the LGBT caucus fund donated $11,000 directly to Wiener's campaign committees and spent an additional $27,000 in independent expenditures supporting his 2020 re-election bid.
The leaders of the California Legislative LGBTQ Caucus; the chair of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Caucus Leadership Fund; and representatives from PORAC, CCPOA, and CAHP did not respond to a request for comment from Blaze News.
In addition to his seat on the LGBT caucus, Wiener also currently serves as chair of the state Senate Elections and Constitutional Amendments Committee and just a month ago killed a bill that would have barred anyone who "has ever been required to register as a sex offender" from running for elective office in California.
The bill passed 60-0 in the California Assembly, where Democrats outnumber Republicans 60 to 19.
Wiener voted against the bill because he thought it ought to apply only to Tier 3 registrants, the worst sex offenders.
Of note, Tier 1 offenses can include misdemeanor child pornography. Just this year, Rene Campos, a registered sex offender who pled no contest to possessing obscene matter depicting a minor in sexual conduct, nearly qualified to run for Fresno City Council but failed to gather the necessary 20 signatures.
Campos confirmed to Blaze News that he fully intends to "run again."
"Does equal protection still mean equal protection when the person invoking it is unpopular? Under the same sun, no one is above the law — and no one should stand outside its protection," Campos wrote in an email. "I believe every person stands equal before the law."
Many rank-and-file members of law enforcement have been frustrated that so much union largesse has been dedicated to Democrats like Wiener who seemingly make cops look like the bad guys and sex offenders look like victims.
Sgt. Tony Romo, who has spent nearly 40 years as a deputy and a detective in Los Angeles, told Blaze News that he resigned from the board of the Los Angeles County Professional Peace Officers Association in 2023, partially because the group was "selling out the members" with some of its "relationships with politicians."
Romo claimed that lawmakers in Sacramento are passing bills that "handcuff" police officers and that police unions are helping facilitate this anti-cop legislation through financial support.
"These bills are being passed, and the unions are basically getting rolled over on [them]. And they're not fighting the leadership. They just kind of want to go to status quo," Romo explained.
Romo also claimed that while he was still on the board, the L.A. County PPOA discussed donating to Wiener even after Wiener renounced all police union support in June 2020. Each time Wiener's name came up, Romo and another board member would immediately reject it because of Wiener's anti-cop activism, Romo said.
"Scott Wiener has shown throughout the years that he is no friend of law enforcement. Absolutely, he's more of a nemesis to law enforcement. And if he had it his way, there would be probably no law enforcement. So it's our duty to support our membership, and it's not to support any senator, assemblyman, congressman that is doing the exact opposite of that," Romo said.
State filings show PPOA donated $21,000 directly to Wiener's re-election campaigns between June 2016 and July 2018 but has not made a direct donation to Wiener's campaigns since.
Sen. Wiener is now running for the congressional seat former Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D) has held since 1987, representing most of San Francisco.
Wiener's campaign and PPOA did not respond to a request for comment.
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The husband of former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi may face charges after he allegedly drove his convertible into a parked car in Napa Valley and drove away Friday.
The Napa County Sheriff's Office said deputies found Paul Pelosi about a quarter of a mile away from the alleged accident with damage to the front of his brown Maserati.
'Mr. Paul Pelosi has personally apologized to the owner of the vehicle.'
Police said he told them he hit something but was unaware of what caused the damage to his vehicle.
No injuries were reported. A witness saw the crash and called 911 at about 2:30 p.m.
The 86-year-old did not have alcohol in his system, according to police. He was not arrested, and the sheriff's office recommended a misdemeanor charge of leaving the scene of an accident.
Photos of the damage in the case were obtained and published by the New York Post.
The sheriff's office also said it referred Paul Pelosi to the Department of Motor Vehicles to determine whether he should be allowed to continue driving.
Paul Pelosi previously pleaded guilty to misdemeanor charges of driving under the influence in Napa County in 2022. He was sentenced to five days in jail and three years of probation but served only two days in jail.
A spokesperson for the Pelosis released a brief statement about the hit-and-run report.
"Mr. Paul Pelosi has personally apologized to the owner of the vehicle and assured them that he would take responsibility for the damage to their vehicle," the spokesperson said. "Speaker Pelosi will not be commenting further on this private matter."
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Paul Pelosi was also apparently involved in a lethal car accident when he was only 16 years old.
His 19-year-old brother David was killed when Pelosi crashed his sports car near San Mateo in 1957, according to the Daily Mail, citing an article from the San Francisco Examiner in February 1957.
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After 40 years in Congress, former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) has revealed what comes next.
Pelosi has announced the Nancy Pelosi Institute for Representative Democracy at University of California, Berkeley, which the school described as a "nonpartisan" academic center set to open in January 2027.
During her speakership in 2009, House Democrats achieved an all-time congressional record for party-line voting.
"I viewed this as a liberation for me from the political, not politics, but partisanship," Pelosi, 86, told CNN in an article published Monday. "Because you're going to an academic institution. It's about what our founders had in mind with our Constitution, and it's a beautiful story to tell."
The institute will sit inside Berkeley's political science department, focusing on research, civic engagement, and training future leaders, according to UC Berkeley. Pelosi is slated to co-teach a course on Congress beginning in spring 2027, while the institute will also run a visiting fellows program and an annual forum for prominent leaders.
Pelosi agreed to personally raise $25 million toward the school's broader $50 million campaign — a target she said she hit "quite easily."
Pelosi said the idea of a bipartisan academic center particularly intrigued her. "I loved it because they talked about human rights in the U.S. and in the world, addressing the challenges to our democracy, the climate, and economic income inequity," she said of Berkeley's pitch.
Pelosi, who was first elected to Congress in 1987 and became speaker 20 years later, has been no stranger to squeezing out members of her own party who stepped out of line. In 2019, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) accused Pelosi of "singling out newly elected women of color," calling her treatment of the progressive "Squad" "outright disrespectful."
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On one of the rare issues with real bipartisan momentum in recent years — banning members of Congress from trading individual stocks — Pelosi first opposed the idea and was later only lukewarm toward it, even as scrutiny mounted over her husband's frequent stock trades during her tenure as speaker.
Her most notable legislative achievement, the 2010 Affordable Care Act, passed the House without a single Republican vote. Pelosi reportedly dismissed a more bipartisan version of the bill as "Kiddie Care," pushing for the more sweeping, partisan version that ultimately passed 219-212.
Pelosi's clash with Trump produced one of the most viral partisan moments of his presidency when she tore up her copy of his 2020 State of the Union address on camera, calling it "a manifesto of mistruths."
During her speakership in 2009, House Democrats achieved an all-time congressional record for party-line voting — sticking together 94.2% of the time, a hallmark not of compromise but of caucus control.
GovTrack's most recent report card found she introduced fewer bills than anyone in the California delegation, and in 2016, joined bipartisan legislation less frequently than any other House Democrat. GovTrack notes, however, that party leaders often post unusual scores given the nature of their role.
Even in the same CNN interview announcing her "liberation" from partisanship, Pelosi couldn't resist a parting partisan shot, declaring unprompted that Democrats are "going to win the House" in November.
The institute is set to launch in January 2027, with a public exhibit on Pelosi's career opening at the Bancroft Library that spring.
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