Former Republican Rep. Adam Kinzinger is being investigated by a top federal financial regulator, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), for trades he made on the prediction market Kalshi, tied to his pardon by former President Joe Biden.
A wild @AidenReiter scoop.
— Zach Warmbrodt (@Zachary) September 30, 2026
The CFTC is investigating @AdamKinzinger for @Kalshi trading tied to his pardon by Biden.
Kinzinger tells us he made the trades after leaving office and they were in accordance with Kalshi’s rules, making him $823.https://t.co/oVHq67F41p pic.twitter.com/ghDA74bxel
Kinzinger retired from Congress in 2023. In January 2025, in Biden’s final hours as president, he preemptively pardoned Kinzinger and other members of the House select committee that had investigated the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol after Trump had called for them to be jailed.
In a statement, Kinzinger said he made trades related to his presidential pardon but added that they were in accordance with what he perceived to be Kalshi’s rules at the time. He also said he had no inside information related to whether he would receive a pardon.
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“I had read [the] rules of Kalshi before making wagers, and general prohibitions were that you could not work for a source agency, … influence its outcome, or have non-public information about it,” he added. “I felt confident in this because I had never had a conversation with anyone about [the pardons], much less anyone anywhere near the White House.”
Kinzinger, who represented Illinois' 16th Congressional District until 2023, reportedly said he placed wagers on whether he would receive a presidential pardon, and a separate wager on whether Biden would issue preemptive pardons before leaving office in 2025.
Breaking: Former Congressman is now under federal investigation for insider trading after calling prediction markets a "corruption time bomb"
— Nancy Pelosi Stock Tracker ♟ (@pelositracker) September 30, 2026
Adam Kinzinger put $669 on Kalshi that Biden would pardon him and he made $823
Kalshi flagged it as suspicious and the CFTC is now… pic.twitter.com/RRToXtnqTS
Kinzinger provided screenshots that show he made about 25 trades and made $823.
Politico: Financial regulator investigates Adam Kinzinger over Kalshi trading
— Politics & Poll Tracker 📡 (@PollTracker2024) September 30, 2026
The CFTC is targeting trades the former House Republican made related to his Biden-era pardon.
Link to article: https://t.co/qs1kAB8m9J pic.twitter.com/rgLuQCeG1z
He has insisted he did not have insider information on the pardons prior to placing his wagers on Kalshi.
Can confirm reports that the CFTC is probing Trump critic and ex-Rep. Adam Kinzinger for betting on his own Biden-era pardon. Kinzinger told me "it was a dumb bet" but said he never had any inside info AND he believed Kalshi's rules allowed the trades https://t.co/gNAJRc0AGd
— Marshall Cohen (@MarshallCohen) September 30, 2026
The CFTC and Kalshi declined to comment to Politico, which also reported that Kinzinger said he has not been contacted by the agency or the prediction market platform about the investigation.
Kinzinger made his name by trying to be a Republican critic of President Trump. Now he's out of Congress and facing a federal investigation.
Editor’s Note: Help us continue to report the truth about corrupt politicians.
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