Rep. Melanie Stansbury vows probe into oil shorts linked to White House Iran war announcements
Rep. Melanie Stansbury (D-NM) vowed to initiate an investigation into allegations of insider trading surrounding crude oil bets worth billions of dollars placed minutes before crucial announcements in the war with Iran.
While there is no official announcement yet, Stansbury is a member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform—the investigative committee of the House. Moreover, she serves as the ranking member in the Subcommittee on Delivering on Government Efficiency.
Stansbury's post comes in the wake of the Department of Justice's (DOJ) investigation into four trades worth more than $2.6 billion, as per ABC News. The DOJ is now the second government agency to investigate these trades, apart from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).
BREAKING: According to our analysis, ~$920 million worth of crude oil shorts were taken 70 minutes before an Axios report claimed the US and Iran were near a "14-point" deal to end the war.
— The Kobeissi Letter (@KobeissiLetter) May 6, 2026
At 3:40 AM ET today, nearly 10,000 contracts worth of crude oil shorts were taken without… pic.twitter.com/SZafvnZHHG
There has been a sharp spike in Brent oil since February this year, when a barrel was worth $69. The current price is around $100, up by more than 45%. All of these bets predicted a drop in oil prices.
A recent Reuters investigation found that the combined value of these bets was nearly $7 billion, placed over the course of March and April 2026. The bets exceeded the previously reported figure of $2.6 billion and were spread across multiple exchanges, the report added.
Oil prices today: $105.25 a barrel
— Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) May 5, 2026
Gas prices today: $4.46 a gallon
Oil prices in March 2011: $105.06 a barrel
Gas prices in March 2011: $3.51 a gallon
Big Oil is using the Iran War to rip off Americans at the gas pump.
Let’s end the Iran War & pass a windfall profits tax-NOW.
There was no clarity on who placed these bets and their origin. But the bets took place on two major exchanges that facilitate global oil and fuel futures trading: Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) and Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME), Reuters reported.
The suspicious trades have raised quite a few eyebrows, triggering accusations of insider trading from legal experts and Democratic lawmakers. Senator Elizabeth Warren stated that the nature of these trades suggests insider trading rather than luck.
In the days before the U.S. bombed Iran, some traders placed perfectly-timed bets on the outcome—some accounts won millions.
— Elizabeth Warren (@ewarren) May 6, 2026
Was that just luck? Looks like insider trading to me.https://t.co/Mtrz2PGXZf
The concern is not limited to Democrats, as conservatives, too, agree that such suspiciously timed trades undermine the integrity of the administration. Tucker Carlson, a popular conservative commentator, said this is not the first time such an event has taken place.
"Shortly before 9/11, somebody put big bets in shorts against airline and bank stocks. Those are two businesses that were directly affected by the events of 9/11," he added, while lamenting that no one will be held accountable for these oil shorts because no one was questioned in the aftermath of 9/11.
Someone quietly placed a massive $920 million crude oil short at 3:40 a.m. ET this morning.
— Republicans against Trump (@RpsAgainstTrump) May 6, 2026
Just 70 minutes later, Axios reported the U.S. and Iran were close to a 14 point deal to end the war. Oil prices crashed, and someone made a fortune.
The golden age of corruption.
Former Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene accused the Trump administration of manufacturing a "war-and-peace" theatre with Iran as a ploy to line the pockets of a select few. She was referring to a bet of nearly $920 million in crude oil shorts placed 70 minutes before Axios reported the U.S. and Iran were nearing a "14-point" deal to end the war.
