President Donald Trump bought up to $5 million of stock in Scottsdale-based Axon

President Donald Trump purchased as much as $5 million in Axon stock just two weeks before Immigration and Customs Enforcement solicited a lucrative contract for a type of weapon made by the Scottsdale-based company, CNBC reported Monday.

“The concern is that [Trump] bought into a company whose business could grow if his own administration expands immigration enforcement,” Jordan Libowitz, vice president of communications at Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, told CNBC.

In a statement to the cable news channel, a White House spokesperson denied any conflict of interest. Last month, a spokesperson for the Trump family business told The Associated Press that the president’s portfolio is handled by third parties that have exclusive authority to make investment decisions.

Timing of Trump’s Axon stock purchase and ICE requisition

Trump’s stock disclosure shows price ranges, not specific amounts. He reported a Feb. 10 Axon stock buy of between $1 million and $5 million.

On Feb. 24, ICE published a contract solicitation for 17,800 “conductive energy weapons” for its agents and officers to use as a non-lethal means of subduing hostile individuals. The $220 million requisition includes cartridges and training.

Axon specializes in Taser stun guns that fit the description of what ICE is looking for, and ICE already uses 4,300 Tasers that it wants to upgrade.

CNBC said there are no public records that show what companies responded to the contract posting. There is no indication that Trump is involved in the ICE procurement process.

Still, Deborah Fleischaker, who served as acting chief of staff at ICE during the Biden administration, told CNBC the Axon stock purchase raises “red flags.”

“It is not smart to buy stock in a company that was impacted by the decisions you would be making at the agency,” Fleischaker, a senior advisor for immigration policy and strategy at UnidosUS, told CNBC. “I would have stayed far, far away from actual impropriety, or the appearance of impropriety.”

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