The Pentagon today is strongly denying a report by the Financial Times that Defense Secretary

Pete Hegeseth's stockbroker was seeking to make large investments in major defense companies

in the days right before the U.S. and Israel first struck Iran.

That report is raising yet more concern about the many people in and around the Trump administration

who seem to be profiting in unusual ways.

White House correspondent Liz Landers takes a closer look.

Early last week as the United States and Iran continued to exchange strikes in the Middle East,

there was a spike in the crude oil futures trading volume around 6.49 a.m. Eastern time. A few minutes later at 7.05 a.m., the president posted on his social media platform that he was suspending

strikes on Iranian power plants and energy infrastructure for five days.

The stock market opened up and oil prices went down.

A combined $800 million in trades was made.

The timing of the market movement could be coincidental, but it produced a windfall all the same.

And traders aren't just getting rich in traditional marketplaces.

Polymarket, a prediction marketplace where individuals

can bet on anything from sports to politics, has seen several users bet specifically on

U.S. military action related to Iran and rake in money. Before the president's latest announcement

claiming the U.S. and Iran were actively engaged in productive talks, several newly created

accounts bet nearly $160,000 that a ceasefire will happen by March 31st or April 15th.

After the president's comments, the value of those bets doubled and stand to pay out

to $1 million if the ceasefire happens by April 15th.

Who's behind these bets?

Polymarket and other online prediction market sites like Kalshi allow users to place bets anonymously,

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