#emoluments
8 entries with this tag
The Secret Service Told Trump Not to Fly His $400M Qatari Air Force One Out of a War Zone — It Was "Rushed" Into Service, Lacks the Command-and-Control "Flying Situation Room," Missile Defenses, and Mid-Air Refueling, So He Left Turkey on the Old Plane and Ordered Iran Strikes From It
One week after Trump took his triumphant maiden flight on the new Qatari-gifted Air Force One, the Secret Service advised him not to fly it out of a war zone. Departing the NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey on July 8, 2026 — with the Iran ceasefire collapsing and Trump calling himself Iran's "No. 1 target" — the president left on the original Kennedy-era Air Force One and sent the Qatari jet ahead, empty, to a U.S. base in England. Four U.S. officials told CNN the switch was driven by security concerns tied to the escalating Iran conflict; the New York Times reported the Secret Service urged the swap. The reason: the $400 million gifted Boeing 747-8, hurried into service in roughly 18 months instead of the usual years, lacks the original plane's command-and-control systems — the "flying situation room" that lets a president receive classified briefings, communicate securely, and order military strikes — as well as missile-defense systems, mid-air refueling, and hardening against electromagnetic-pulse attack. It mattered immediately: it was aboard the old plane, mid-flight, that Trump authorized fresh strikes on Iran. "This plane was built for aesthetics, not mission," a former national security official said. The military and Secret Service viewed the Qatari jet as having been "rushed." The Air Force insisted the jet is "safe, secure" but conceded that "several highly complex engineering modifications required for the final aircraft were intentionally excluded from the Bridge aircraft." Trump offered a cascade of conflicting explanations — the troops wanted to "tour the Aircraft," "for old time's sake," "there wasn't a security concern" — before telling reporters who'd been ordered to lower their window shades on takeoff that it was "because you're probably on a dangerous flight." His communications director said they deploy "every tool at our disposal — including distraction and misdirection." The vanity jet that was diverted nuclear-missile money to build, accepted over the Emoluments Clause, and paraded as a triumph could not be trusted to carry the commander in chief during the one crisis it was theoretically there for.
Trump Bragged from the Oval Office That He Dropped Crypto Investigations — "You're Lucky I'm President!" — While His Financial Disclosure Shows He Made $1.4 Billion from Crypto, His Memecoin Lost Investors $3.8 Billion, He Pardoned the Binance Founder Who Pleaded Guilty to Money Laundering, and His SEC Chair Dropped Cases Against Companies That Donated to His Inauguration
President Trump told cryptocurrency figures from the Oval Office: "Every time I see a crypto guy where they dropped an investigation, I said, 'You're lucky I'm president!'" His 2025 financial disclosure, filed days earlier, shows he made $1.4 billion from crypto — $636 million from the $TRUMP memecoin and nearly $800 million from World Liberty Financial, a venture he co-founded with his sons. Meanwhile, nearly one million investors who bought the $TRUMP memecoin lost a combined $3.81 billion as the token crashed 97% from its peak. Trump profited whether the price went up or down — he collected returns whenever anyone traded the tokens, which he promoted on Truth Social. His SEC chair Paul Atkins — who holds $6 million in personal crypto assets — dropped or dismissed at least a dozen crypto enforcement cases, including meritorious litigation against Binance, Coinbase, and Kraken. Crypto-related enforcement fell 60%. Trump pardoned Changpeng Zhao, the Binance founder who pleaded guilty to money laundering in 2023. Binance then deployed engineers to build World Liberty Financial's stablecoin and holds 86% of all USD1 tokens. Companies whose cases were dropped — Coinbase, Kraken, Ripple, Robinhood, Crypto.com — had each donated at least $1 million to Trump's inauguration. At the 2025 memecoin gala dinner, 19 of the top 25 holders were likely foreign nationals. Justin Sun, a Chinese billionaire facing SEC fraud charges that were paused by the Trump administration, held the top spot. Freight Technologies bought $20 million in tokens explicitly to "advocate for fair trade." Rep. Greg Casar: "The Trump family has made over $5 BILLION in corrupt crypto deals. Now Trump is openly bragging that his government won't investigate cryptocurrency-related crimes. Corruption, plain and simple." Senator Gillibrand proposed banning elected officials from issuing memecoins. The president of the United States stood in the Oval Office and boasted about dropping investigations into the industry that made him a billionaire.
Trump's Financial Disclosure: $1.4 Billion in Crypto Income in 2025 — His Meme Coin Made Him $635 Million While Retail Investors Lost $2.3 Billion — He Also Bought Private Prison Stock as ICE Detainees Doubled
Trump's 2025 financial disclosure — 927 pages, compared to Obama's 8 and Biden's 11 — reveals at least $1.4 billion in cryptocurrency income and $2.24 billion in total revenue. The breakdown: $635 million from licensing his $TRUMP meme coin, which he launched three days before inauguration and which has since crashed 97.7% (from $74.27 to $1.68), leaving over one million retail investors with $2.3 billion in combined losses. Another $526 million from World Liberty Financial token sales — the company where an Abu Dhabi royal family member secretly purchased a 49% stake for $187 million to Trump entities, then received approval for hundreds of thousands of advanced AI chips despite national security concerns. And $100+ million in bitcoin held in cold wallets — the first time a sitting president has disclosed direct crypto ownership. Forbes estimates Trump's net worth nearly tripled from $2.3 billion to $6.5 billion, driven by crypto. The same disclosure reveals Trump's investment accounts bought stock in GEO Group, the private prison company, starting 10 days after inauguration — as ICE detainees swelled from 35,000 to 70,000 and GEO reported record $254 million profits (a 700% increase). In 2021, Trump called Bitcoin "a scam." The crypto industry then became the largest corporate donor of the 2024 election at $238 million. He now calls himself the "crypto president." His SEC dropped enforcement actions against Coinbase, Kraken, Ripple, and others. He disbanded the DOJ unit that investigated crypto crime. He signed crypto-friendly legislation. And he made $1.4 billion. A May 2026 poll found 62% of voters don't trust Trump to regulate crypto; even 59% of Republicans oppose officials maintaining crypto business interests while in office.
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.
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.
$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.
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.