Demand for Investigation and Removal of Secretary Hegseth

I am writing to you as a deeply concerned constituent to demand an immediate congressional investigation into the conduct of Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, and to urge you to call for his removal from office. Recent credible reporting raises serious questions about potential violations of federal law, conflicts of interest, and the integrity of our national security apparatus.   The Facts as Reported:   On March 30, 2026, the Financial Times reported — and Reuters independently confirmed — that a broker acting on behalf of Secretary Hegseth at Morgan Stanley contacted BlackRock in February 2026 seeking to make a multimillion-dollar investment in BlackRock's Defense Industrials Active ETF (ticker: IDEF). This inquiry occurred in the weeks immediately preceding the U.S.-Israeli military strikes against Iran on February 28, 2026.   The investment did not go through only because the fund was not yet available on Morgan Stanley's platform — not due to any action by Secretary Hegseth to prevent it. The inquiry was flagged internally at BlackRock by persons familiar with the matter.   Further, President Trump publicly stated on March 23, 2026, that Secretary Hegseth was among the first and most vocal advocates for launching military action against Iran. This makes Secretary Hegseth a material insider with advance knowledge of a policy decision that would directly benefit defense industry stocks.   Why This Demands Congressional Action:   The reported conduct raises potential violations of the STOCK Act (Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge Act), federal insider trading statutes, and the Ethics in Government Act. These laws exist precisely to prevent public officials from using non-public government information for personal financial gain. A Cabinet official advocating for military action while attempting to invest in defense contractors that would profit from that action is a textbook conflict of interest — and potentially criminal.   This incident does not stand alone. It comes amid a documented pattern of well-timed trades in financial and prediction markets preceding major Trump administration policy decisions. Experts and legal scholars have publicly raised alarm that material non-public information may be leaking from within the administration for financial gain.   My Demands:   1. Launch an immediate and independent congressional investigation into Secretary Hegseth's financial activities, including all brokerage transactions, attempted transactions, and instructions given to financial advisors from the date he took office.   2. Refer the matter to the Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission for review under applicable insider trading and ethics statutes.   3. Call for Secretary Hegseth's immediate removal from his position as Secretary of Defense pending the outcome of these investigations. The integrity of our national security must not be compromised by officials who may be profiting from the wars they advocate.   4. Expand the investigation to examine the broader pattern of suspicious trading activity around Trump administration policy decisions, and pursue accountability for any officials found to have violated the public trust.   Our democracy depends on elected officials holding the executive branch accountable. I urge you in the strongest possible terms to act swiftly. The American people deserve to know that those who lead our military are doing so in the national interest — not their own financial interest.   I expect a written response detailing what steps you intend to take.   Respectfully,