Trump Jobs Tweet - More Than an Hour Before They Were Released - May Have Been Illegal
Looking forward to seeing the employment numbers at 8:30 this morning.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 1, 2018
Economic experts are taking to Twitter to warn that President Donald Trump’s early jobs report tweet is an egregious breach that may well warrant an investigation.
They think that Trump is in violation of a 1985 OMB directive, which forbids employees of the Executive Branch from telling anyone about the numbers until an hour after their public release. Trump sent out his tweet at 7:21 AM on Friday; the jobs report was released at 8:30 AM.
A former member of the President’s council of economic advisers under President Obama pointed out the possibility of leaked information sparking insider trading, and said that any leaks should be investigated.
If *any* other federal employee had tweeted in a way that gave the *appearance* of hinting at confidential information, they would be fired on the spot.
Plus there would be an investigation checking their emails and phone logs to make sure they hadn’t leaked to others, too.
— Justin Wolfers (@JustinWolfers) June 1, 2018
There is a big question about who he privately leaks data to and that should be investigated.
Privately leaking this information makes money for those who get it. Where does the money they “make” come from? People who don’t have the information. https://t.co/NoHuJTWUTX— Betsey Stevenson (@BetseyStevenson) June 1, 2018
The former chairman of the council of economic advisers said that Trump broke the law.
Looking forward to seeing the employment numbers at 8:30 this morning.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 1, 2018
The president’s economic adviser could have briefed him on the numbers last night: https://t.co/dnem53r9qX
— Nick Timiraos (@NickTimiraos) June 1, 2018
If the president just tipped that the numbers are good, he broke the law https://t.co/8MDJZAS22j
— Austan Goolsbee (@Austan_Goolsbee) June 1, 2018
More: Raising The Alarm: Ex-Econ Officials Say Trump Jobs Tweet Needs Investigation – Talking Points Memo