Carl Icahn and Donald Trump have clashed in business in the past, but are said to be friends. The White House has dismissed the idea that President Trump would share information with the activist investor. (Image: CNN Money)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nIcahn dumped the shares a week before the Trump administration announced the tariffs. As a company that makes cranes for heavy construction, Manitowoc is dependent on imported steel. This led some news outlets to suggest the timing was suspicious, particularly in the light of Icahn\u2019s former role as an informal economic regulatory adviser to Trump.<\/p>\n
Icahn resigned from that role last August, just hours before the publication of an article in the New Yorker<\/em> magazine that questioned whether he had used his position to pursue a possibly illegal conflict of interest.<\/p>\nThe magazine alleged that he had tried\u00a0to overturn an environmental law that had been financially burdensome to one of his companies, CVR Energy. Icahn categorically denied this.<\/p>\n
Sell-off Legit, Says Icahn<\/strong><\/h2>\nRegarding Manitowoc, Icahn issued a short statement on his website on Wednesday. \u201cWe don\u2019t generally comment on rumors, but the recent media speculation regarding our sale of Manitowoc stock calls for a response,\u201d he wrote.<\/p>\n
“We state for the record: Any suggestion that we had prior knowledge of the Trump administration\u2019s announcement of new tariffs on steel imports is categorically untrue. We reduced our position in Manitowoc for legitimate investment reasons having nothing to do with that announcement.\u201d<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\nOn Friday, a White House spokesman rejected the idea that Trump would share information with Icahn, adding that the president had been talking about imposing tariffs for some time, both publicly and privately.<\/p>\n