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Trump is exploiting the Presidency with relentless
consistency. Just look.
You’ve likely already heard about
many or most of the conflicts and invitations to corruption Trump has spawned
in just the first four months of his second term. Here’s everything, all at once,
together, in no special order. The scope is mind blowing, and tragic: ·
CBS lawsuit - I put this one first because I sense it’s flying
under the radar. Trump is demanding $25 million and an apology to settle
his private lawsuit against Paramount over a 60 Minutes Kamala
Harris interview he considered unfairly edited during the 2024 campaign.
Paramount, which owns CBS News, offered $15 million, which Trump rejected
this week. But $15 million and journalistic integrity isn’t what’s at stake for Paramount. They
have an $8 billion merger deal pending before the Trump Administration.
Paramount executives have even been warned that settling with the President
of the United States before the merger deal is done could expose them to
potential bribery charges. That’s right: A corporation controlling one of
America’s largest news networks understands that the president could kill its
financial prospects if it doesn’t capitulate and pay up to him personally. ·
World Liberty
Financial - Trump and the Trump Org. are
60% partners in this crypto-brokerage business. Early on in their investment,
Justin Sun, a Chinese national under an SEC fraud investigation, poured $30 million in token
purchases into World Liberty, an estimated $18 million of which went directly
to the Trump family, and the president. The SEC, which answers to Trump,
then suspended its investigation.
Sun’s total investment has since been upped to around $75 million. World
Liberty was also the place where a UAE-backed fund purchased $2 billion in
stablecoins to invest in Binance. Trump will earn tens of millions per year
in interest on the $2 billion in addition to millions in transaction fees for
the original purchase…all courtesy of the royal family of the a
Middle-Eastern government. Trump is also in charge of enforcing (or not
enforcing) regulations on the crypto industry, as well as holding the keys to
whether new crypto rules become law. ·
$TRUMP - Donald Trump launched his personal memecoin just
before taking office. It’s not clear how much he owns. Last month the group
the runs the coin offered a private dinner with the president to top 220
holders. The top 25 got a VIP White House tour. Attendees spent a total
of $148 million to attend the dinner,
hosted at Trump’s private club in Virginia. Incidentally, Justin Sun, who had
been avoiding travel to the US for fear of arrest, bought $20 million worth
of the $TRUMP memecoin and showed up without fear to attend
the dinner. ·
$MELANIA - First Lady Melania Trump has her own meme coin,
with a current market cap of $203 million. And speaking of the First
Lady… ·
Amazon - Disney bid $14 million for the
rights to Melania’s autobiographical documentary film. Then Jeff Bezos’
Amazon swooped in an paid $40 million. Melania nets an estimated $28
million from the deal. Amazon is embroiled in a massive antitrust suit with
the Federal Trade Commission and has billions in government contracts. ·
Trump Media &
Technology - Trump is the majority
shareholder in the company that controls Truth Social. It’s publicly traded,
meaning any individual or entity wishing to increase his net worth need only
buy stock. Alternatively, anyone wishing to leverage Trump could threaten to
sell shares. This week the company announced a $2.5 billion Bitcoin buy. As
tariffs, trade wars and $3 trillion in new debt in the GOP reconciliation
bill weaken the dollar, that’s a potential upside for Bitcoin. That means
Trump increasingly stands to gain personally from the policies he’s
pushing that weaken the dollar’s standing as the world’s reserve currency. ·
Tariffs and the Trump
Org. - Trump still makes money IRL.
His sons are busy negotiating development deals—some worth billions—in
countries looking for ways out of Trump’s tariffs. Pressure to avoid 27%
tariffs and the “personal attention” of President Trump spurred the Vietnamese
government to “break its own laws” and fast-track a $1.5 billion Trump golf
and resort deal earlier this month. Other Trump real estate deals are going ahead in Dubai and Saudi
Arabia. ·
Starlink - US trade officials are also pushing countries negotiating
on tariffs to buy contracts with Elon Musk’s satellite internet company.
Starlink has secured deals in India, Somalia, the Democratic Republic of
Congo, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Lesotho and Vietnam. Musk spent $280 million on
Trump’s 2024 election. ·
Qatari jet - Who can forget Trump’s $400 million gift jet
courtesy of the Qatari royal family? Even GOP lawmakers couldn’t hold back their discomfort with
the gift to the Defense Dept, to be later transferred for Trump’s personal
use at his presidential library foundation. After expressing discomfort,
they’ve done nothing about it. ·
Executive Branch - If you pay Don Jr. and his partners $500,000 you
can get into the posh club they’re launching in
DC’s Georgetown. For the payment you get access to a place meant to “cater to
the business and tech moguls who are looking to nurture their relationships
with the Trump administration.” ·
Trump properties - This one seems almost quaint at this point, and
it’s worth millions. Donald Trump continues to profit directly from every
event and presidential visit to one of his properties. That includes the
crypto dinner in Virginia, which paid Trump for hosting the event for a meme coin
where investors also paid him. Trump charged the US Secret Service
nearly $2 million in his first term alone just to accommodate personnel at
Mar-a-Lago. ·
Pardons - Trump issued more than two dozen pardons and
commutations this week to a legion of admitted fraudsters,
tax cheats and thieves. There’s no direct evidence I’m aware of that he’s
been paid money for them. BUT a sordid cottage industry sprang up in Trump’s first term
where cronies charged clients tens of thousands of dollars to lobby Trump for
pardons. Former CIA officer and convicted felon John Kiriakou claimed Rudy
Giuliani asked for $2 million. How much money, if any, was kicked up to Trump
is unknown. This week Trump pardoned tax cheat Paul Walczak
after his mother touted her political support and spent $1 million to attend
a Trump fundraiser…at Mar-a-Lago (meaning Trump personally made money on the
dinner itself.) But, worse than in the first term,
supplicants, applicants and everyone else are now aware that all they need do
to increase the president’s net worth is buy stock in Trump Media. If more
anonymity is desired, purchase $TRUMP. No one need ever know except them, the
boss, and the blockchain. Hold onto this list and look at it
once in a while. Its sheer size—and the variety and consistency of
self-dealing it represents—are critical reminder of what’s at stake for journalism,
for democracy, and for all of us.
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