#corruption
48 entries with this tag
The Administration Spent Hundreds of Thousands of Taxpayer Dollars on Cable Ads Glorifying Trump — Labeled "Paid for by the U.S. Government," Set to a Chorus Chanting "Love Me" Over Clips of Him Vowing to "Defeat Communism" — on Top of a $200 Million DHS Ad Campaign He Personally Directed and Asked Secretary Noem to Thank Him In; Even a Republican Senator Said It "Feels Like Viktor Orbán," and Appropriators Call It Illegal Propaganda
In late September 2026, the Trump administration was caught running pro-Trump television ads paid for with public money and labeled, on screen, "Paid for by the U.S. Government." The 30-second spot ran on Fox News, Newsmax, and network channels in markets including Los Angeles and Chicago, featuring Trump vowing that "America will never be a communist country," touting the "largest tax cuts in history" and "reigniting American manufacturing" — all over a soundtrack of a chorus singing "love me," repeatedly. The cost climbed from about $14,000 to more than $440,000. It is part of something larger: House oversight leaders say the Department of Homeland Security has a $200 million taxpayer-funded ad campaign, ordered by Trump, promoting his immigration agenda, and Secretary Kristi Noem has said the president directed her to tape the ads and to thank him in them. Federal law — the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2026 — bars taxpayer funds from being spent on "publicity or propaganda," and Democratic appropriators called the ad "the sort of government propaganda one might expect in North Korea," demanding it be pulled as an illegal misuse of public money. The criticism was not only partisan: Republican Sen. Thom Tillis called the spending "inappropriate" and said it "feels like Viktor Orbán." The White House defended the ads as "unapologetically American." What they actually are is a personality cult, billed to the public it flatters.
Denied His Name on the JFK Memorial by a Federal Judge, Trump Escalated: His Handpicked Board Voted to Close the Kennedy Center, He Warned It Would Be "Ripped Down" Unless He's Recognized, Fencing and a Forklift Appeared Outside, and He Was Photographed on Air Force One Reading a Placard Marked "Kennedy Center DEMOLISH" — Until a Judge Ordered He Give 30 Days' Notice Before Razing a National Cultural Landmark
In mid-September 2026, Trump's fight to stamp his name on the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts escalated from a court argument into the brink of demolition. After U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper again rejected the Trump-controlled board's effort to add the president's name to the building's facade — following his May ruling that the earlier "Trump-Kennedy Center" rebrand was unlawful and the name had to come down — Trump's handpicked board voted on September 15 to immediately close the center, citing its "dire" financial and structural condition. Trump then said publicly that the complex "will end up being ripped down" if he is not properly recognized for a renovation, and that the renovation would not happen unless his name went on the building. Metal fencing went up around the center and a forklift appeared on the grounds; a photojournalist captured Trump aboard Air Force One reading a placard whose visible text read "Kennedy Center DEMOLISH." On September 17-18, Judge Cooper issued a protective order requiring the administration to give the court 30 days' advance notice before demolishing the building or constructing anything new — a measure a court only takes when it fears a landmark could be torn down by surprise. This is the same hostage demand documented earlier in this archive, now with the hostage shuttered and fenced: put my name on the memorial to a murdered president, or I close it and tear it down.
At His Half-Empty Dallas Convention, Trump Promised to Send Every Adult American Citizen a $5,000 "Dividend" — but Only If Republicans Win Both the House and the Senate in November: a Trillion-Dollar-Plus Offer With No Funding Plan, Framed as an Explicit "Elect My Party and I'll Pay You," From the Same President Whose Earlier $2,000 "Tariff Dividend" Checks Were Promised and Never Arrived
On September 9, 2026, in his keynote at the Republican midterm convention in Dallas, Trump promised to pay every adult U.S. citizen a $5,000 "dividend" — on the express condition that Republicans win both the House and the Senate in November. His words: "If the Republicans win the House of Representatives and the United States Senate, both of them ... I will issue a dividend to every adult citizen in the United States of America for $5,000." He branded it the "Trump dividend" and added a caveat that the money must be spent domestically, "not in other nations such as Canada, Germany or China." The offer drew immediate accusations that it amounts to a bribe: a president dangling a cash payment to the entire electorate, contingent on his party winning the election. Two facts make it worse. First, it is almost certainly undeliverable as described — economists put the cost at over $1.2 trillion, there is no funding mechanism, and any such payout would require congressional approval that even Republicans have been reluctant to give. Second, Trump has done this before and not delivered: his 2025 promise of $2,000 "tariff dividend" checks by mid-2026 never materialized, with prediction markets ultimately giving it about a 3% chance. The $5,000 version is more than twice as large, funded by nothing more specific than "our tremendous economic success" — a success contradicted by the record gas prices, trade war, and inflation documented across this archive. It is a promise engineered to move votes, unlikely to be kept, offered to a half-empty arena the party's own candidates avoided.
The President Posted a Meme of Himself Trading Stocks From Behind the Resolute Desk and Profiting Off Intel — a Company He Personally Bought Shares In and His Own Government Has Propped Up — Captioned "I Do This for Our Country, Not Myself," a Claim That Is False on Its Face Because the Money Is His: He Made $2.2 Billion in 2025 and Ran About 3,600 Stock Trades Worth Over $100 Million in a Single Quarter
In September 2026, Trump posted a meme on Truth Social depicting himself at the Resolute Desk, studying trading screens across four monitors and profiting from a rise in Intel's share price, over the caption: "I do this for our Country, not myself." In an accompanying post he wrote: "I've made Hundreds of Billions of Dollars on Stocks, and many other type Holdings, for the U.S.A., not myself, and all I do is get criticized by the Radical Left Dumocrats." The boast is self-refuting in two ways. First, personal stock profits are, by definition, personal — they accrue to Trump, not to the country, so "for the Country, not myself" describes the opposite of what stock trading does. Second, the choice of Intel is self-incriminating: Office of Government Ethics filings show Trump personally bought Intel shares earlier in 2026 (between $50,000 and $100,000 on February 3, and more on March 11, 13, 17, and 23), even though the U.S. government itself acquired a 10% stake in Intel in August 2025 — the textbook conflict of interest that presidents have historically avoided by placing assets in a blind trust, which Trump has not done. The scale is staggering: about 3,600 stock trades in the first quarter of 2026 alone, worth more than $100 million, and a 2025 financial disclosure showing $2.2 billion in income. His "hundreds of billions" is itself an exaggeration of even that enormous figure. The president is not hiding the profiteering; he is turning it into a meme and daring anyone to object.
The Pentagon Secretly Put MAGA Social-Media Influencers — Retired Colonels With Hundreds of Thousands of Followers Who Spend Their Days Praising Defense Secretary Hegseth and Attacking the Reporters Who Scrutinize Him — on the Government Payroll as "Special Government Employees," in Undisclosed Roles With Official Email Addresses but No Stated Duties, and the Pentagon Won't Say What They Do or Whether Taxpayers Are Paying Them
According to a Washington Post investigation published August 30, 2026, the Pentagon has quietly installed several conservative military veterans with large online followings into government positions — declining to disclose their assignments — where they amplify Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's viewpoints and attack those who scrutinize the Trump administration. Among them: Rob Maness, a retired Air Force colonel with roughly 130,000 followers on X; Kurt Schlichter, a retired Army colonel and columnist with nearly 620,000 followers; and Thomas Anderson, a retired colonel who regularly defends Hegseth to his 320,000-plus followers. They were brought on as "special government employees" or "highly qualified experts," hold official Pentagon email addresses, and at least two report to the office of Anthony Tata, the undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness — in roles that the Post reports could shape policy. Yet the Pentagon refused to tell the Post what these people actually do, how long their jobs last, or whether they are drawing a taxpayer-funded salary. In other words: the Defense Department appears to have put partisan influencers on the public payroll to run domestic political messaging for the Secretary and to go after his critics, and then declined to account for any of it. The military is supposed to serve the whole country and stay out of partisan politics. This turns a slice of it into Hegseth's personal PR and troll operation, paid for — as far as anyone outside will confirm — by the public it is aimed at.
For Over a Year, Trump Officials Have Quietly Directed the Park Service to Carve a Strip Out of Yosemite National Park and Hand It to a Private Real-Estate Firm — Giving the Developer's Adjacent 83 Acres the "Exceptionally Rare" Private Road Access That Would Make Its Value "Explode" — and the Firm's CEO Began Making Monthly Donations to Trump and the GOP the Same Year He Bought the Land
According to reporting broken by NOTUS and confirmed by the Washington Post and others, the National Park Service has spent more than a year quietly working to fulfill what one account calls an "unprecedented" directive from Trump officials: to parcel off a roughly quarter-mile strip inside Yosemite National Park and transfer it to a private developer. The beneficiary is Kingsbarn Realty Capital, a real-estate private-equity firm that in 2024 bought 83 acres just outside the park — for about $4 million, through a limited-liability company called "Sanctuary at Yosemite." Kingsbarn's CEO, Jeff Pori, wants to build a short road connecting that private land to one of Yosemite's central roads, which would hand his property "exceptionally rare" private access to a national park and, in the words of one person familiar with the talks, make its value "explode." Here is the "guess who benefits" part: Pori, who had no history of donating to national political campaigns before October 2024, began making monthly donations to the Republican Party, Trump's campaign committee, and associated PACs between 2024 and 2025 — the same window in which he acquired the land and the administration began pursuing the deal. Nothing about the transfer is finalized, and the timeline stops short of a proven quid pro quo. But the shape is unmistakable: a new Trump donor stands to receive a piece of one of America's crown-jewel national parks, at an enormous private windfall, through an unprecedented use of federal power to benefit a single company.
House Democrats Opened an Investigation Into Donald Trump Jr.'s Venture Capital Firm, 1789 Capital — Which Ballooned From a Few Million Dollars to Roughly $3 Billion After He Joined It Just as His Father Retook the White House — Because Its Bets on Startups That Then Won Federal Loans, Contracts, and Favorable Rulings Were Timed, in Rep. Raskin's Words, With "Almost Clairvoyant Accuracy"
In a story first reported by MS NOW, House Judiciary Committee ranking member Jamie Raskin has opened an investigation into Donald Trump Jr. and 1789 Capital, the venture capital firm he joined shortly after his father returned to the White House in January 2025. The question Raskin is pressing is straightforward: has the firm's remarkable success been powered by access to the Trump administration? The numbers are eye-catching. 1789 Capital was reportedly worth only a few million dollars when Trump Jr. came aboard; it is now valued at roughly $3 billion. Raskin's letter points to a run of investments timed with "almost clairvoyant accuracy" — portfolio companies including Vulcan Elements, Anduril, Juul Labs, and Polymarket that subsequently benefited from federal funding, contracts, or regulatory decisions. The starkest example: 1789 took an undisclosed stake in the rare-earth startup Vulcan Elements in 2025 — when it was valued around $200 million — roughly three months before the Pentagon announced a $620 million loan to the company. Two crucial caveats: no wrongdoing has been proven, and 1789's counsel dismisses the allegations as "unsubstantiated talking points" and "repackaging press clippings on congressional letterhead." And because Democrats are in the House minority, Raskin cannot compel a single document or witness — Republicans already blocked a related subpoena in March. This is a demand letter and a preview of the oversight Democrats promise if they win the House in November, not an empowered probe. But the pattern it lays out — the president's son growing a fortune a thousandfold on bets that keep coinciding with his father's government writing checks — is the kind of thing that, in a normal administration, would not need a minority letter to trigger scrutiny.
Told by a Federal Court That Only Congress Can Rename the Kennedy Center — the "Living Memorial" to an Assassinated President — Trump's Administration Filed a Court Argument Warning That if He Isn't Given Naming Recognition, the Building Will Become an "Unsafe, Decrepit Structure That Will Be Required to Be Taken Down," Possibly Replaced by an Amphitheater; the Financial "Death Spiral" It Cited Began the Day Trump Took the Place Over
The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts was created by Congress in 1964 as a "living memorial" to the assassinated president, and federal law bars naming it for anyone but him. That has not stopped Trump from trying to put his own name on it. After his hand-picked board voted in December 2025 to rebrand it "The Donald J. Trump and The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center," a federal judge, Christopher Cooper, ruled in 2026 that "Congress gave the Kennedy Center its name, and only Congress can change it," and ordered Trump's name removed — it came off in June, leaving a tarp over the facade. The board then tried again, moving to emblazon the building "Restored and Renovated by President Donald J. Trump" and rename the grounds "President Donald J. Trump Plaza" by September 8. And in an August court filing fighting to do so, the administration made a remarkable argument: without the renovation and the naming recognition, "the Center will deteriorate further into an unsafe, decrepit structure that will be required to be taken down," perhaps to be replaced by "a large outdoor amphitheater overlooking the Potomac River." Critics called it what it looks like — a threat to damage a national memorial unless Trump gets his name on it. The filing's claimed "death spiral" of fleeing donors and collapsing finances is real, but its cause is inconvenient: the Kennedy Center ran a $6 million surplus in 2023, and the ticket sales and donations only dried up after Trump seized control of it, installed himself as chairman, and remade its programming. He is pointing to a fire he set as the reason he must be allowed to carve his name into the wall.
Republicans Are Staging an Unprecedented Off-Year "Convention" in Dallas That Nominates No One and Conducts No Party Business — a Trump Rally Its Own Organizers Nicknamed "Trumpalooza" — Where "Delegate" Status Isn't Won but Bought: a $25,000 Minimum for House Members to Attend, Rising to a $250,000 "Golden VIP" Package, While Dallas Taxpayers Are Left to Cover Nearly $2 Million in Security
A political convention is supposed to be a gathering of elected delegates who conduct the party's business — above all, nominating its candidate. The Republican Party is holding one anyway, in a year with no presidential nomination to make: a first-of-its-kind midterm convention on September 9-10, 2026, at Dallas's American Airlines Center, that its own organizers have nicknamed "Trumpalooza." It will conduct no official party business. It is a two-day rally built around Donald Trump ahead of the November elections. And its "delegates" are not chosen by voters — they are sold a credential. The National Republican Campaign Committee is asking House members to pay a minimum of $25,000 (with a guest) to attend, with packages rising to $100,000; a California committee's tiers run from $25,000 up to a $250,000 "golden VIP member" package with floor badges, hotels, transfers, gifts, and concierge service; the Texas GOP sells "honorary delegate" credentials for up to $20,000, cowboy hat included. Organizers raised some $45 million privately to fund it — but Dallas taxpayers are still on the hook for roughly $1.8 to $2 million in police and security costs. Even Republican insiders worry aloud that it has become "more of a fundraiser than a convention," pricing out the grassroots volunteers who actually power campaigns. Stripped of its bunting, this is a machine for converting money into proximity to the president, staged as a democratic institution it no longer resembles.
It's Over: On August 17 the Supreme Court Refused Trump's Last Appeal, Making the Jury's Verdict That He Sexually Abused E. Jean Carroll Final and Unchallengeable in Any Court — a Sitting President Now Legally Established, With No Further Appeal Possible, as a Sexual Abuser
On August 17, 2026, the Supreme Court rejected Donald Trump's final bid to escape the E. Jean Carroll case in which a federal jury found him liable for sexually abusing her in 1996 and defaming her about it. The Court had already denied his appeal of that verdict in late June; he petitioned for a rehearing; on August 17 the justices denied the rehearing too. The denial — procedurally routine, since the Court almost never grants rehearings — carries a consequence that is anything but routine: the unanimous jury verdict that Trump sexually abused Carroll, and the roughly $5 million (with interest, about $5.6 million) judgment against him, are now final and cannot be challenged in any court, ever. After years of appeals, a sitting President of the United States stands legally adjudicated, with no further recourse, as a sexual abuser. Importantly, this is the smaller of the two Carroll cases; the separate $83.3 million defamation judgment — over statements Trump made as president in 2019, where his lawyers and the Justice Department are pressing a sweeping presidential-immunity claim — remains pending before the Supreme Court, with a decision on whether to hear it likely in the fall. But the underlying finding at the heart of both cases — that Trump did what Carroll said he did — is now permanent.
The Ballroom Trump Promised Would Cost $200 Million and Be Paid For by Him and Private Donors Has Ballooned to Roughly $900 Million in White House Construction — Now Primarily Billed to Taxpayers, With About $500 Million Reportedly Diverted Without Congress's Approval, After the Historic East Wing Was Demolished to Build It
When Trump announced his White House ballroom in July 2025, the White House said it would cost about $200 million — and that Trump himself and unnamed private donors would pay for it. A Washington Post investigation published August 12, 2026 found the reality: the administration is now set to spend at least $900 million — roughly $927 million — on White House construction, and it is primarily taxpayers, not Trump or donors, footing the bill. The figure covers the roughly 90,000-square-foot ballroom (built where the historic East Wing was demolished), a new South Lawn helipad, and the paving-over of the Rose Garden. The cost has more than quadrupled from the promised $200 million, climbing to $600 million by June 2026 and past $900 million by August. Reporting indicates roughly $500 million in taxpayer funds was diverted to the projects without congressional approval — Congress holds the constitutional power of the purse, and appropriating public money to a president's vanity construction without its sign-off is exactly the kind of end-run that power exists to prevent. Trump defends the ballroom as a secure, modernized venue with bomb shelters and hardened communications. But the through-line is simple: a president promised to build a monument to himself on his own dime, tore down a piece of the People's House to do it, and then sent the public a nine-figure bill it never agreed to pay.
Trump Unveiled a $22.5 Billion Overhaul of Dulles Airport — and Around the Same Time Tried to Trade $16 Billion in Frozen Hudson-Tunnel Funding for Naming Rights, Offering to Unfreeze It Only if Dulles and New York's Penn Station Were Both Renamed After Him, While a GOP Bill Moves to Make Dulles the "Donald J. Trump International Airport" and the Cost per Passenger Jumps Nearly Ninefold
On August 6, 2026, Trump and Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced a $22.5 billion, decade-long overhaul of Washington Dulles International Airport — ripping out the widely disliked "people mover" mobile lounges in favor of a U-shaped passenger train, a central walking tunnel, new concourses and gates, and a 32,000-space parking garage, while preserving Eero Saarinen's landmark 1962 terminal. Parts of that are a genuine improvement, and the airlines, not federal taxpayers, would fund it through Airports Authority bonds. But two things wrap the project in the same self-dealing that defines this presidency. First: separately, Trump reportedly offered to unfreeze $16 billion in federal Gateway Hudson River tunnel funding — money he froze in October 2025, stalling one of the nation's most critical infrastructure projects and roughly 1,000 jobs — only if Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer would support renaming Dulles Airport AND New York's Penn Station after Trump. Schumer rejected it, saying he has no authority to rename them; Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand called it "ridiculous," adding "these naming rights aren't tradable in any negotiations, nor is the dignity of New Yorkers." Second: a bill by Rep. Addison McDowell (R-NC), with GOP cosponsors, would rename Dulles — currently named for Eisenhower's Secretary of State John Foster Dulles — the "Donald J. Trump International Airport." And the overhaul's cost lands on travelers: Dulles' cost per passenger, about $10 today, is projected to reach $90.64 by 2035, a figure airlines typically pass through in fares. It is the Palm Beach airport playbook at national scale: a real project used as a stage for putting the president's name on the country's infrastructure — and, this time, holding a $16 billion tunnel hostage to get it.
Two of Trump's Own Republican Senators Are Blocking His Personal Criminal-Defense Lawyer From Becoming Attorney General Until He Promises Not to Build a $1.8 Billion Fund to Pay January 6 Rioters — So Trump Vowed to Keep Him as Unconfirmed Acting AG Indefinitely and Force the Fund Through Congress Anyway
Todd Blanche — Trump's former personal criminal-defense attorney, acting attorney general since Trump fired Pam Bondi in April, and the lawyer a federal judge referred for bar discipline over the sham IRS settlement — cannot get confirmed as permanent attorney general, and it is Republicans stopping him. Two GOP members of the Senate Judiciary Committee, John Cornyn of Texas and Thom Tillis of North Carolina, are withholding their votes until they get written assurance that the Justice Department will not resurrect the "anti-weaponization fund": a $1.8 billion program to compensate people who claim the government was "weaponized" against them — built, in practice, to pay January 6 rioters Trump pardoned. That is the same fund a federal judge voided in July as an illegal product of a collusive lawsuit, and that DOJ had said it was abandoning. Rather than give the assurance, Trump escalated. On August 1 he posted that if "Senators Cornyn and Tillis … aren't going to approve Todd Blanche … then I will keep Todd as Acting A.G., and push hard to get the Anti-Weaponization Bill … PASSED." In other words: confirm my lawyer and let me pay the rioters, or I keep my lawyer running the Justice Department without confirmation and try to pay the rioters through Congress instead. Tillis said flatly that Blanche will not be confirmed as things stand. The standoff is a rare moment of Republican resistance — and a window into just how far the corruption had to go before even Trump's own party balked.
They Did It Anyway: Trump Media Launched the Truth API Exactly on Schedule on August 1 — Selling $100,000-a-Month Early Access to the President's Market-Moving Posts — Days After Senators Referred It to the SEC as Illegal Insider Trading and a Former SEC Official Called It "Misappropriated Information"
When Trump Media unveiled the Truth API — a paid feed selling banks and high-frequency traders a millisecond head start on the president's market-moving Truth Social posts for up to $100,000 a month — the objections were immediate and bipartisan in their substance. Senators Elizabeth Warren and Adam Schiff wrote to the SEC on July 29 calling it "an outrageous abuse of the President's office for his personal benefit that undermines everyday investors and the integrity of our markets." Rep. Ritchie Torres pressed the SEC on what he labeled the "insider trading API." Renée Jones, a former top SEC official, told NPR the arrangement appears to run afoul of insider-trading law: "If the president's Truth Social posts are being monetized, and if some people get special access to them, that's misappropriated information." None of it mattered. On August 1, 2026 — on schedule, without modification — the Truth API went live. Institutional clients now receive the president's posts before the public, and the president's company collects the fees. The launch is its own, separate scandal from the plan to launch: it is the moment the administration was told, in writing, by U.S. senators and former regulators, that a product might be criminal insider trading and monetized state power — and shipped it anyway, betting that an SEC run by Trump's own appointees will never investigate the president's own company. The going-live, over the objection, is the point.
Trump and the Justice Department Asked the Supreme Court to Erase the $83.3 Million He Owes E. Jean Carroll for Defaming Her — Arguing That Calling His Sexual-Abuse Accuser a Liar Was an "Official Act" of the Presidency He Can't Be Sued For, and Putting Government Lawyers on His Personal Defense
On July 28, 2026, Trump and the U.S. Department of Justice separately asked the Supreme Court to throw out the $83.3 million a jury ordered him to pay writer E. Jean Carroll for defaming her — when, in 2019, as president, he denied her account that he sexually assaulted her in a Bergdorf Goodman dressing room in the mid-1990s and called her a liar. Their argument: presidential immunity. Because the Supreme Court's 2024 ruling held that "most of a President's public communications" are official acts, Trump's lawyers claim his 2019 statements branding Carroll a liar were official presidential acts for which he cannot face personal civil liability. A federal appeals court had already rejected this, affirming the award as "reasonable in light of the extraordinary and egregious facts" and finding Trump had waived any immunity claim by raising it too late. Two things make it a scandal, not just an appeal. First, the Justice Department — taxpayer-funded government lawyers — joined to defend the president's personal liability for defaming the woman a separate jury found he sexually abused. Second, the theory itself: that a president is immune from being sued for defaming his own sexual-assault victim because insulting her from the White House podium was part of the job. Trump is asking the Court to rule that the presidency is a shield not just for governing, but for smearing the people who accuse him of assault.
Trump Signed the Epstein Files Transparency Act Under Pressure, Then His DOJ Defied Both the Law and a Federal Judge's Order to Release the Files — the Same Associate Attorney General Just Referred for Discipline in the IRS Case Asked the Court to Ignore Its Own Deadline
In November 2025, under intense bipartisan and public pressure, Trump signed the Epstein Files Transparency Act, which ordered the Justice Department to release all files connected to the Jeffrey Epstein investigation by December 19. His administration has spent the months since not complying. After journalist Katie Phang sued over withheld materials, U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan ruled the administration had likely violated the Transparency Act and ordered the DOJ to release and unredact the disputed files or explain why they must stay hidden. Hours before the deadline, Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward — the same official a federal judge referred for bar discipline days earlier over the sham IRS settlement — asked Sullivan to delay the deadline by 60 days or disregard it entirely. The DOJ then formally declined to hand over additional unredacted files, claiming the redactions were appropriate and protected victims. Among the disputed materials, according to reporting, are FBI interview notes from a woman who alleged she was forced to perform a sex act on Trump in the 1980s after meeting him through Epstein — an allegation that is uncorroborated and that Trump has strongly denied. Reps. Thomas Massie and Ro Khanna, frustrated that the department was withholding files it was legally required to disclose while survivors' names leaked out, introduced a second bill — the Epstein Files Transparency Act II. The throughline: a president who signed a transparency law to quiet a scandal, then had his Justice Department defy the law, a court, and Congress to keep the files sealed.
Trump's Media Company — Which He Owns Nearly 60% Of — Will Sell Wall Street a Millisecond Head Start on His Own Market-Moving Truth Social Posts for Up to $100,000 a Month, Letting High-Frequency Traders Trade on Presidential Announcements Before the Public Even Sees Them
Trump Media & Technology Group unveiled "Truth API," a paid, licensed data feed that gives banks and high-frequency trading firms "the fastest" access to posts from the 10 most influential Truth Social accounts — Trump's being "by far the most prominent" — delivering them to paying clients up to a thousandth of a second before the public gets them. The fee runs up to $100,000 per month, or $60,000 a month on a three-year plan. It launches August 1, 2026, and the company says it has already signed up customers, including high-frequency trading firms and financial news organizations. The value is obvious and specific: Trump's posts routinely move markets. On April 2, 2025, his "Liberation Day" tariff post helped send stocks down nearly 5%; days later, "THIS IS A GREAT TIME TO BUY!!!" — announcing a 90-day tariff pause — sent them up 9.5%, adding $4 trillion to the S&P 500; his June 2025 "THE CEASEFIRE IS NOW IN EFFECT" post instantly moved oil. Selling a head start on those announcements to the fastest traders is, in effect, monetizing advance access to U.S. government policy. Ordinary conflict-of-interest law would bar a federal official from owning a company that profits off his office — but the president and vice president are explicitly exempt from that provision, and Trump owns roughly 60% of Trump Media (a stake worth about $2 billion on paper, held in a revocable trust controlled by Donald Trump Jr.). Ethics experts were blunt. Kathleen Clark of Washington University: "He's selling expedited, privileged access to information about what he is doing as president... yet more brazen corruption, an improper exploitation of government power to enrich himself." The Project on Government Oversight's Dylan Hedtler-Gaudette: "It's odious, selling access to the highest bidders." The move comes as Trump Media flails — DJT stock is down roughly 70% since he took office, closing around $9.66 against a pre-inauguration price near $40, with losses topping $1 billion — making the one asset that still reliably prints money the presidency itself.
A Judge Voided the Sham Lawsuit Trump Filed Against His Own IRS to Launder Himself Tax Immunity and a $1.776 Billion "Anti-Weaponization" Slush Fund for His Allies — Finding "Bad Faith," No Real Case, and Referring Acting AG Todd Blanche for Discipline Two Days Before His Confirmation Hearing for the Permanent Job
On July 13, 2026, U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams (an Obama appointee in the Southern District of Florida) issued a scathing 56-page order voiding the settlement of Trump's lawsuit against the IRS and referring his lawyers — including Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche — for disciplinary action. The backstory: in January, Trump and his two eldest sons sued the IRS for $10 billion over the leak of his tax returns. In May, "both sides" settled — except both sides were Trump. As president he controlled the IRS he was suing. The settlement created a $1.776 billion "anti-weaponization fund" to pay Trump allies (premised on January 6 and classified-documents claims) and, via a memo Blanche signed and quietly added to the DOJ announcement, granted Trump, his family, and his businesses sweeping immunity from IRS audits and other federal claims for past conduct. Nearly three dozen former federal judges from both parties — including Bush appointee J. Michael Luttig — intervened, calling it "the product of collusion" and "a fraud on the court." Williams agreed: "there was never adverseness between the Parties; there was never a case or controversy; and there was never a question as to who would prevail." She found Trump and his sons "acted in bad faith," said the tax-amnesty order "directly contravenes" the federal law barring presidents from influencing audits, and noted the $1.776 billion figure "speaks of a 'branding' effort rather than a deliberate and thoughtful calculation of damages." She was "extremely troubled" by Blanche's congressional testimony, calling one answer "at best, misleading and, at worst, disingenuous." She referred Blanche and Associate AG Stanley Woodward to the New York and D.C. bars (where disciplinary proceedings are already underway), referred private attorney Alejandro Brito to the Florida Bar, limited attorney Daniel Epstein's practice, voided the agreement so it can never be cited in any proceeding, and ordered sanctions. She closed by quoting John Adams: "Facts are stubborn things." The ruling landed two days before Blanche's Senate Judiciary confirmation hearing to become permanent attorney general.
Kash Patel — Who Spent Years Attacking the Old FBI Director for Using a Jet — Now Has Two Government Jets, Wants an $80 Million Third, Bought Armored BMWs Instead of Suburbans, Put a $1M/Year SWAT Detail on His Country-Singer Girlfriend, and Demanded Snorkeling and Jet-Ski Perks — Until a Republican Who Defended Him Turned
FBI Director Kash Patel — who for years publicly attacked his predecessor Christopher Wray for using a government jet ("Chris Wray doesn't need a government-funded GV jet to go to vacation") — is now under bipartisan scrutiny for exactly that and more. The turning point: Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley, a Republican who had previously defended Patel, sent him a letter demanding proof he reimbursed the FBI for personal flights and an explanation of "why you decided to purchase BMW vehicles instead of Chevy Suburbans," calling for an "independent and objective review." Reporting and whistleblower accounts describe: FBI Gulfstream flights for "date nights" with his girlfriend, sporting events, a hunting retreat, and a George Strait/Chris Stapleton concert watched from a private suite estimated at $35,000–$50,000; a trip to Italy to watch U.S. hockey win gold (he chugged a beer in the locker room); a taxpayer-funded helicopter tour across East Asia and jet-ski excursions; a "VIP snorkeling experience" in Hawaii near the sunken USS Arizona; four FBI SWAT agents and two SUVs assigned to protect his country-singer girlfriend Alexis Wilkins in Nashville — an estimated ~$1 million a year before overtime; a fleet of armored BMWs replacing the standard Chevy Suburbans; and the bureau now seeking a new $80 million jet, after Patel was caught on camera bragging he "has two." Reps. Jamie Raskin and Sen. Dick Durbin, citing whistleblowers, said Patel demoted personnel in Brussels for failing to keep him entertained and that his conduct is "out of control" and "not the conduct of a committed and faithful public servant." One source quoted him telling field offices: "If you have golf, hockey, fishing, or hunting and beautiful sights, you're going to see a lot of me." Patel says FBI directors are "required users of the FBI plane" and that he is "entitled to a personal life"; the FBI says he "reimbursed ALL personal travel." All of it lands as Patel asks Congress for a $12 billion FBI budget.
Florida Renamed Palm Beach International Airport After Trump While He Is Still in Office — the First Sitting President Ever to Get One — Changing PBI to "DJT" at a $5.5 Million Taxpayer Cost, Imposed by the Legislature Over Community Objections, With Trump Keeping Control of His "Name, Likeness and Image" at the Airport
On July 9, 2026, Palm Beach International Airport — which had carried that name for over half a century — officially became "President Donald J. Trump International Airport." The FAA identifier code changed from PBI to DJT. It makes Trump the first sitting president in U.S. history to have an airport named after him; the dozen other presidential airports (JFK, Reagan National, George Bush Intercontinental) were all named after their namesakes left office. The renaming was not a grassroots decision by the local community — it was imposed from above by the Republican-controlled Florida Legislature, which passed HB 919 along party lines (House 81-30, Senate 25-11), signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis in March, giving the state authority to name "major commercial service airports." The airport sits about four miles from Mar-a-Lago. The change cost an estimated $5.5 million, with $2.75 million allocated in the state budget. Travelers interviewed at the airport were blunt: "I think it's disgusting, ridiculous, pompous and a lot of other bad things," said Florida resident Pat Brown. "I resent that the name is on every institution that we have, this included," said Phyllis Malmuth. Rep. Lois Frankel called it "a clear overreach," noting airports are "traditionally designated once they leave office and through decisions made by local communities — not imposed from above." Eric Trump crowed that his father's plane was the first to land at 5:01 a.m. and that he would "forever be proud to see the initials DJT on my boarding pass." The Trump Organization says the family will collect "no royalty licensing fee or financial consideration whatsoever" — but Trump retains control over any use of his "name, likeness, image and biographical information" at the airport, letting his organization dictate how he is presented on signage and photos. On the same day, a Tennessee bridge was also renamed after him.
Trump Personally Called FIFA's President to Get a U.S. Player's Red Card Reversed at the World Cup — FIFA Complied, Belgium Is "Astonished," and the Same FIFA President Gave Trump a Peace Prize, Rents Office Space in Trump Tower, Gave Him $15,000 in Tickets, and Will Let Him Present the Trophy at the Final
President Trump personally called FIFA President Gianni Infantino to ask him to review U.S. striker Folarin Balogun's red card suspension during the 2026 World Cup, the New York Times reported. FIFA then reversed the automatic one-game ban, citing Article 27 of its disciplinary code, making Balogun available for the Round of 16 match against Belgium. The Belgian Football Association said it was "astonished" and is "investigating all potential options." Trump posted: "Thank you to FIFA for doing what was right, and reversing a great injustice!" USMNT coach Mauricio Pochettino, asked if politicians should lobby FIFA over specific decisions: "No, we cannot mix that. We cannot mix that." Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville: "It absolutely stinks, let's be really clear." The call is the latest expression of an extraordinary relationship between Trump and Infantino. FIFA awarded Trump its inaugural "Peace Prize" in December 2025 — a prize no senior FIFA official had heard of before Infantino announced it. FIFA rents office space in Trump Tower at an estimated $40,000 per month — space that reportedly sits largely idle. Infantino gave Trump $15,000 in tickets to the FIFA Club World Cup final. Trump's financial disclosure lists nearly $120,000 in sports tickets from various sources. Infantino announced Trump will help present the World Cup trophy at the July 19 final. Fifty members of the European Parliament sent FIFA a letter urging it to address an ethics complaint over the peace prize, calling it "a clear breach of FIFA's duty of neutrality." The president of the United States called the president of FIFA to get a soccer ruling changed in his country's favor during a tournament his country is hosting, and FIFA — which rents space in his building, gave him a peace prize, and will put him at center stage for the final — said yes.
Kushner's $4 Billion Resort on Protected Albanian Coast Sparks "Flamingo Revolution" — Barbed Wire on Beaches, Bulldozed Turtle Nests, Assets Frozen
Jared Kushner's Affinity Partners is building a $4 billion luxury resort on Albania's Adriatic coast — on the protected Vjosa-Narta wildlife reserve and Sazan island, a former communist military base. Bulldozers destroyed at least one sea turtle nest. Developers installed barbed wire blocking public beach access. Thousands took to the streets in the "Flamingo Revolution," carrying inflatable flamingos and signs reading "Albania is not for sale." Police responded with water cannons. Anti-corruption prosecutors (SPAK) froze developer bank accounts and opened a probe into fraudulent land titles and a 2024 law that conveniently removed the ban on building in protected areas. Ivanka said they "discovered" the island while swimming from a friend's boat. PM Rama: "There is no chance for this investment to stop as long as I am here." In Serbia, a nearly identical Kushner-linked project collapsed after four people — including a government minister — were charged with abuse of office. Diaspora protests spread to Berlin, London, New York, and Toronto.
Federal Judge Halts Trump's $1.776B "Anti-Weaponization Fund" — No Money Can Move While Lawsuits Proceed
U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema blocked the DOJ from transferring money to, reviewing claims for, or disbursing payments from the $1.776 billion Anti-Weaponization Fund — freezing it entirely while lawsuits proceed. The ruling came in a suit filed by former Jan. 6 prosecutor Andrew Floyd and others, represented by Democracy Forward. Three separate lawsuits now challenge the fund. A coalition of 35 former federal judges urged a separate court to reopen the original IRS settlement and examine whether it was fraud. Hearing set for June 12.
Joe Rogan — Who Endorsed Trump — Compares Him to Uday Hussein Over the $1.776B Slush Fund: "This Is Crazy"
Joe Rogan, who endorsed Trump in 2024 and helped propel him to victory, read the details of the $1.776B Anti-Weaponization Fund live on his podcast and was stunned. On the permanent tax immunity: "That is so crazy." He compared it to getting acquitted of murder and then demanding immunity from all future murder prosecutions — "and then you just go straight Uday Hussein." Mitch McConnell called it "a slush fund to pay people who assault cops — utterly stupid, morally wrong."
The $1.776B Slush Fund Is Built on a Lawsuit That Was Filed Too Late — And Video Proves Trump Knew
Video evidence shows Trump's own lawyer Alina Habba was in federal court in October 2023 condemning the IRS leak on Trump's behalf — but Trump's lawsuit claims he didn't learn about it until January 2024. The two-year statute of limitations ran from when he knew, not when the IRS sent a letter. He filed in January 2026 — months too late. A leaked IRS memo confirmed the suit was time-barred. The DOJ settled it anyway, creating the $1.776B fund, two days before a judge was set to rule on whether the case could even proceed.
Jan. 6 Officers Who Were Beaten by Rioters Sue to Block $1.776B Fund That Would Pay Their Attackers
Capitol Police officer Harry Dunn and DC officer Daniel Hodges — both beaten defending the Capitol on Jan. 6 — filed a federal lawsuit to block Trump's $1.776 billion "Anti-Weaponization Fund." They call it an illegal slush fund to reward insurrectionists, citing the 14th Amendment's ban on paying debts incurred in aid of rebellion. The same pardoned rioters who attacked them could now be paid with taxpayer money — from a fund with no congressional authorization, no transparency, and no statutory basis.
Trump's Former Defense Lawyer Signs Order Making Trump "FOREVER BARRED" From IRS Audits — Federal Law Says the President Can't Do That
Acting AG Todd Blanche — Trump's former personal defense attorney — signed a one-page addendum to the IRS settlement declaring the government is "FOREVER BARRED and PRECLUDED" from auditing Trump, his family, trusts, or businesses on any past tax returns. Federal law gives the IRS independent audit authority that the AG has no power to waive. A long-running audit could have cost Trump $100M+. His former lawyer just erased it. Public Citizen called it illegal. An NYU tax law expert called it "a breathtaking abuse of the tax and legal system."
Trump Drops His IRS Lawsuit, Creates $1.776B "Anti-Weaponization Fund" to Reimburse Jan. 6 Rioters With Taxpayer Money
Trump's DOJ officially established the $1.776 billion "Anti-Weaponization Fund" — taxpayer money to reimburse MAGA allies including Jan. 6 rioters. In exchange, Trump dropped his $10 billion IRS lawsuit over the Mar-a-Lago raid. The president settled a lawsuit with himself to create a slush fund he controls. A House Democrat: "the largest single act of grand larceny in American history."
Trump's "Pool Guy" Reflecting Pool Contract Hits $13.1M — 7x What He Promised — and Now Faces a Lawsuit
Trump promised the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool would cost $1.8M to fix. The no-bid contract to his "pool guy" (a culvert waterproofer with no pool experience) started at $6.9M. The Interior Dept. then added $6.2M more — total now $13.1M, over seven times Trump's promise. A preservation nonprofit is suing to halt the blue paint job for violating historic landmark protections.
"I'll Pardon Everyone Who Has Come Within 200 Feet of the Oval"
Per the Wall Street Journal, Trump has repeatedly promised blanket preemptive pardons to his administration before leaving office — "everyone who has come within 200 feet of the Oval." Earlier he said 10 feet. The radius is expanding. White House: "Learn to take a joke; the President's pardon power is absolute."
Trump's WLFI Team Borrows $150M USDC Against Its Own Token — 97.8% of Dolomite's Cap
Per Arkham research, Trump's World Liberty Financial team is lending $406.23M of its own WLFI tokens across 2 wallets — 4.99% of total supply and 97.8% of Dolomite's entire WLFI cap — and using that position to borrow $150M USDC against $400M of their own token. Real dollars out, self-issued token in.
Hegseth's Broker Tried to Make Multimillion-Dollar Defense Investment Before Iran War
The Financial Times reported that Defense Secretary Hegseth's Morgan Stanley broker contacted BlackRock in February about a multimillion-dollar investment in a defense ETF holding Lockheed Martin, RTX, and Northrop Grumman — weeks before the Iran war. The trade didn't go through only because the fund wasn't available yet.
$580M in Oil Trades Minutes Before Trump's Iran Post — "Mind-Blowing Corruption"
6,200 oil futures contracts ($580M) traded in a single minute, 15 minutes before Trump reversed his Iran stance on Truth Social. $1.5B in S&P futures were bought 5 minutes before. A Nobel laureate called it "treason."
Lewandowski Ran Pay-to-Play Scheme at DHS; Noem Lied to Congress
Corey Lewandowski — installed at DHS as Noem's adviser with no experience — personally approved multimillion-dollar contracts and demanded kickbacks from contractors. Noem denied it under oath. Both were fired.
Vought Diverted $15M in Humanitarian Aid for Personal Security Detail
OMB Director Russ Vought — who architected the gutting of USAID — was found using $15 million in USAID humanitarian aid funds to pay for his personal security detail of 12+ U.S. Marshals.
The "Spy Sheikh" Paid $500M for 49% of Trump's Crypto Firm, Then Got 500,000 AI Chips
Per the WSJ: Sheikh Tahnoon — UAE national security adviser, nicknamed the "Spy Sheikh" — paid $500 million for a secret 49% stake in World Liberty Financial, signed by Eric Trump four days before the inauguration. Months later, the U.S. approved 500,000 advanced AI chips per year to the UAE — a deal Biden had blocked. A fifth go to Tahnoon's own AI firm.
Pardoned Binance Founder After $2B Crypto Deal
Trump pardoned Binance founder CZ who had pleaded guilty to money laundering as part of a $4.3B settlement. The pardon came after a $2B deal linked Binance to Trump's own crypto company. Trump then claimed "I don't know who he is."
Pardoned 20+ Convicted Corrupt Politicians
Trump granted clemency to over 20 corruption-convicted politicians, wiping nearly $2 billion in victim restitution. His pardon attorney described the approach as "No MAGA left behind."
Accepted $400M Luxury Jet from Qatar
Trump accepted a $400 million Boeing 747 luxury jet from Qatar to be used as Air Force One — though CNN revealed his administration had actually approached Qatar first. The upgrade will cost taxpayers up to $1 billion.
$TRUMP Memecoin Grift
Three days before inauguration, Trump launched the $TRUMP memecoin. It soared to $13 billion market cap then crashed, earning the Trump family $320M+ in fees while 764,000 investor wallets lost a combined $2 billion.
$7.8 Million from Foreign Governments While President
House investigators documented $7.8 million from 20 foreign governments flowing to Trump businesses during his presidency — China alone paid $5.6M. CREW estimates the true total at $13.6M. Trump never sought required congressional consent.
3,700+ Conflicts of Interest
Trump never divested from his businesses, accumulating over 3,700 documented conflicts of interest during his first term. Foreign governments, lobbyists, and GOP groups spent money at Trump properties to curry favor.
Pardoned Roger Stone, Paul Manafort, and Charles Kushner
Trump pardoned his convicted allies — Roger Stone (witness tampering), Paul Manafort (fraud), and Charles Kushner (Jared's father, tax evasion and witness tampering) — in what even Republican senators called "unprecedented corruption."
Tried to Host G7 at His Own Struggling Resort
Trump announced the 2020 G7 summit would be held at his own Trump Doral resort — whose income had dropped 69%. Even Republicans couldn't defend it. He reversed course within 48 hours.
Scott Pruitt: 16 Ethics Investigations at EPA
EPA chief Scott Pruitt resigned after accumulating 16 simultaneous ethics investigations — including a $50/night lobbyist condo, a $43,000 soundproof phone booth, and using aides to seek a Chick-fil-A franchise for his wife.
Ben Carson's $31,000 Dining Set — GAO Confirmed Illegal
HUD Secretary Ben Carson's office spent $31,561 on a custom mahogany dining set — exceeding the $5,000 legal limit by 6x. Internal emails showed the Carsons personally picked the furniture. The GAO confirmed it broke federal law.
HHS Secretary Tom Price: $1 Million in Private Jet Travel
Self-described fiscal hawk Tom Price resigned after spending nearly $1 million in taxpayer-funded private jet flights — some covering distances as short as DC to Philadelphia. He offered to reimburse only $52,000.
Kushner-Ivanka Nepotism and Security Clearance Override
Trump installed his daughter and son-in-law in senior White House roles despite anti-nepotism laws, then overrode intelligence officials to grant them top-secret clearances. Kushner later received a $2 billion Saudi investment.