The Pentagon has vociferously denied reports that Secretary of War Pete Hegseth sought to make multi-million dollar investments in defence stocks in the weeks before the Iran war began.
The Financial Times reported Hegseth's broker contacted investment firm BlackRock about investing in their Defense Industrials Active ETF.
Because the fund was not yet ready to take on investors, the purchase did not take place, the newspaper reported.
READ MORE: Donald Trump to put his name on all US paper money
Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell has denied the reports.
"This allegation is entirely false and fabricated," Parnell said.
"Neither Secretary Hegseth nor any of his representatives approached BlackRock about any such investment.
"This is yet another baseless, dishonest smear designed to mislead the public."
READ MORE: $800m in trades before Trump announcement 'is treason'
Parnell demanded an immediate retraction.
"Secretary Hegseth and the Department of War remain unwavering in their commitment to the highest standards of ethics and strict adherence to all applicable laws and regulations," he said.
The Financial Times cited "three people familiar with the matter" in making their reporting, all anonymous.
The Trump administration has been attracting scrutiny after a series of well-timed trades before major actions.
An entity or several entities traded heavily on S&P 500 and oil futures minutes before a Truth Social post from Donald Trump sent markets swinging earlier this month.
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In the space of a minute, more than $800 million in trades was made on oil futures.
And whoever made those trades made an incredible amount of money.
Betting app Kalshi has refused to pay out $77 million in winnings to punters who bet Ayatollah Ali Khamenei would be out of office by March 1.
Khamenei was killed by a US and Israeli bombing strike hours before the deadline was reached.
Meanwhile on Polymarket, 150 accounts bet more than a million dollars that the US would strike Iran the next day.
And in January, a Polymarket user made about $570,000 betting that Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro would be out of office before the end of the month.
They had doubled down on their bet hours before the US seized the leader in a military strike.
READ MORE: It takes two to TACO: Why Trump can't end war with Iran by himself
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