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Trump Raises Over $780 Million for Second Term

July 16, 2026 · 2:38 am ET · Leave a Comment

“Presidents have always raised money from private donors—to run for office, throw inaugural balls and build presidential libraries,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

“But Donald Trump has turned his second term into an unprecedented fundraising blitz, raising well over half a billion dollars from wealthy donors and stashing it in a sprawling network of nonprofits, cultural institutions and committees that he and his allies control.”

“Companies seeking lucrative contracts or favorable policies from the administration have poured millions of dollars into these funds, which have become a key tool for Trump to pursue his political and personal priorities. He has used them to oust his political opponents, change the cultural face of the nation’s capital and boost his postpresidency legacy.”

Campaign Finance, Corruption, White House

Trump Pocketed $2 Million From Firm in Trade Dispute

July 14, 2026 · 5:27 pm ET · Leave a Comment

“The lead investor in a South Korean aluminum company that has challenged Commerce Department penalties on certain exports from South Korea to the United States made a $2 million payment last year to President Trump’s holding company,” the New York Times reports.

“The payment by the parent company, Base Group, was revealed for the first time in Mr. Trump’s annual financial disclosure form released in late June.”

Corruption, White House

Reflecting Pool Firm Botched Prior Cleanup Job

July 13, 2026 · 7:58 am ET · Leave a Comment

“A year before Greenwater Services got a $1.7 million contract to clean the algae-infected Reflecting Pool, it had received another no-bid government contract to deploy at the trash-plagued Tijuana River,” the Washington Post reports.

”Greenwater, which is owned by a Trump donor, was hired to treat sewage in the Tijuana River with its ‘nanobubble technology,’ a system that injects ozone into water.”

”But the month-long water purification pilot to evaluate the technology was cut short last October when a storm flooded the river’s banks. The remnants of machinery were washed into the border river, with diesel leaking along the way, frustrating scientists and environmentalists at federal agencies who had questioned internally whether the company’s project would work in a flood-prone area.”

Corruption, Environment

The Most Corrupt Presidency in American History

July 11, 2026 · 7:47 pm ET · Leave a Comment

Reason: “At its heart, the otherwise complicated and multi-stage Teapot Dome affair of the 1920s, which until Watergate was considered the greatest federal government scandal of all time, was about secret bribes to an administration official that lubricated lucrative regulatory outcomes.”

“In 1921, Interior Secretary Albert Fall clandestinely accepted $404,000 ($7.6 million in today’s money) in cash and no-interest loans from two oil executives, who then became recipients of no-bid leases to exploit oil fields in California’s Elk Hills and Wyoming’s Teapot Dome. As part of the scheme, Fall had previously convinced the secretary of the Navy to transfer authority over those lands to the Department of the Interior. The no-bid contracts were legal (at the time, anyway); the bribes were not, and the secrecy exploded upon revelation.”

“Fast forward a century. Four days before Trump’s second inauguration, a company called Aryam Investments 1 signed a deal with the president-elect’s son Eric to buy a 49 percent stake in World Liberty Financial for a reported $500 million, half of it in cash up front. The Trump family received $187 million overnight, and the family of World Liberty Financial co-founder Steve Witkoff, who by then was already conducting sensitive Middle East diplomacy on behalf of the incoming president, received an additional $31 million, according to The Wall Street Journal. Amazingly, the transaction was made in secret, revealed only one year later.”

Corruption, Trump Legacy

Lewandowski May Face Criminal Referral

July 11, 2026 · 2:10 pm ET · Leave a Comment

“Investigators have found evidence that Corey Lewandowski may have been involved in improperly awarding government contracts during his time as a senior aide at the Department of Homeland Security,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

“Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin and White House officials have been briefed on the inquiry, as investigators weigh a potential criminal referral to the Justice Department.”

Corruption, White House

Trump Justifies $2 Billion Made as President

July 11, 2026 · 6:06 am ET · Leave a Comment

“The $2.2 billion windfall President Trump reaped since his second term has raised questions over potential conflicts of interest and whether he has profited from public office, but Mr. Trump has dismissed any notion of impropriety,” the New York Times reports.

“Some of Mr. Trump’s most lucrative ventures seemed to intersect directly with his administration’s policies like cryptocurrency and dealings with foreign governments.”

“But, Mr. Trump has argued, his personal financial gains reflected a stock market benefiting everyone; his investments and business dealings were in a blind trust, not unlike other presidents; and unlike his predecessors, he donated his presidential salary.”

NewsNation: Top Democrats bash Trump over cryptocurrency income.

Corruption, Ethics, White House

Hungary Unveils Agency to Recover Lost Orban-Era Assets

July 10, 2026 · 10:31 am ET · Leave a Comment

“Hungary’s government unveiled plans for a new investigative authority with the power to prosecute suspects and recover misappropriated public assets, fulfilling one of Prime Minister Peter Magyar’s key anti-corruption pledges,” Bloomberg reports.

“A bill submitted to parliament on Friday will establish the National Asset Recovery and Asset Protection Office, an independent prosecutorial body with nationwide jurisdiction over major corruption cases involving public officials and state assets.”

“It will have the power to investigate crimes, prosecute suspects, pursue civil claims to recover assets and temporarily take control of companies suspected of holding improperly obtained public wealth. The bill amends more than 100 laws to embed the institution across Hungary’s legal system.”

Corruption, Foreign Affairs

Ex-Jackson Mayor Pleads Guilty in Public Corruption Case

July 7, 2026 · 12:54 pm ET · Leave a Comment

“Former Jackson Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba and former City Council member Aaron Banks on Monday pleaded guilty to conspiracy in a federal corruption case that rocked Mississippi’s capital city,” Mississippi Today reports.

“Lumumba pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit bribery, wire fraud and money laundering, with Banks pleading guilty to one count conspiracy to commit bribery. They face penalties of up to five years in prison, a fine up to $250,000, and the government on Monday said it will be requesting restitution.”

The Guardian: Former mayor of Mississippi’s capital pleads guilty to bribery and fraud.

Corruption

Quote of the Day

July 6, 2026 · 10:02 am ET · Leave a Comment

“He and his family believe they are entitled to this… This is Putin-esque type of corruption and self-enrichment.”

— Former Gov. Chris Christie (R), on ABC News, talking about President Trump’s corruption.

Corruption

Pump and Dump and Trump

July 6, 2026 · 6:58 am ET · Leave a Comment

Paul Krugman: “Donald Trump has distinguished himself in many ways. One of them is that he is our first pump and dump president.”

Corruption

Democrats Plot Subpoena Storm for Trump’s Inner Circle

July 4, 2026 · 11:14 am ET · Leave a Comment

“Democrats are preparing a hostile audit of President Trump and his inner circle, intent on exposing — and ultimately ending — the most lucrative presidency in American history,” Axios reports.

“Since winning the 2024 election, Trump has operated in a Wild West of his own making — monetizing the office to the tune of billions, while enabling family, friends and donors to cash in along the way.”

“He and the White House have denied any conflicts of interest. Republicans, who spent years investigating the Biden family’s business dealings, have shielded Trump from the same scrutiny.”

“But Democrats see the presidential gold rush as corruption personified — and plan to bury Trump’s orbit in subpoenas if they win the House in November’s midterms.”

The Guardian: Democrats will have “field day” with Trump inquiries if they win House, legal experts say.

Corruption, White House

Democrats Will Have ‘Field Day’ with Trump Investigations

July 3, 2026 · 8:21 am ET · Leave a Comment

“Donald Trump’s presidency is facing investigations and corruption charges from a key House Democrat and ex-prosecutors, involving political and personal abuses of power, which legal experts predict will get heavy scrutiny if Democrats win the House majority in the midterms,” The Guardian reports.

“Legal critics call the scandals dogging the president ‘target rich’ for investigations that Democrats will have a ‘field day’ investigating if they win the House majority.”

Corruption, House of Representatives

Trump Made Big Trades Around ‘Liberation Day’ Tariffs

July 3, 2026 · 7:01 am ET · Leave a Comment

“President Trump’s ‘Liberation Day’ tariffs in April 2025 pushed financial markets into a tailspin, sending Wall Street and everyday investors scrambling to shield themselves from the fallout,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

“Trump’s money managers were also busy. In a series of trades on April 3 and April 4—the days after Trump announced global tariffs in the Rose Garden—his investment accounts bought and sold hundreds of individual stocks, according to financial disclosures released this week.”

Corruption

Trump’s Huge Windfall Has Few Known Global Precedents

July 3, 2026 · 6:48 am ET · Leave a Comment

New York Times: “Mr. Trump’s profits are a haul once unimaginable for any leader of a liberal democracy, particularly a sitting American president. No modern Western leader has ever publicly disclosed such big windfalls while in office.”

“The Trump family’s earnings, experts said, have moved him into an echelon of enrichment more associated with strongmen in Russia and Turkey.”

Los Angeles Times: As Trump reports $2.2 billion in 2025 income, ethics experts raise alarms.

Corruption

How Trump’s Financial Interests Intersect with Government

July 1, 2026 · 9:10 pm ET · Leave a Comment

“When President Trump’s annual financial disclosure was released on Tuesday, it showed that he reaped at least $2.2 billion from his various businesses last year, a singular haul for a president,” the New York Times reports.

“Many of the gains stemmed from ventures that intersect with his administration, posing unparalleled potential conflicts of interest.”

Corruption

Trump Made More Last Year Than His Entire First Term

July 1, 2026 · 3:56 pm ET · Leave a Comment

“During President Donald Trump’s first term in office, we frequently heard about the many ways he was profiting off of the presidency and for good reason: No other U.S. president in history had enriched himself to the extent Trump did (to the tune of $1.6 billion) and in such flagrant ways (charging taxpayers for the water he drank at Mar-a-Lago, for example),” New York Magazine reports.

“But those days now look downright quaint given the unbelievable amount of money the businessman president took in during his first year back in Washington.”

“According to new financial disclosures, Trump made more in 2025 than he did in his entire first term in the White House, raking in at least $2.2 billion last year.”

Corruption, White House

Trump Bought Axon Stock Before ICE Contract

June 29, 2026 · 7:01 am ET · Leave a Comment

“President Donald Trump bought as much as $5 million in shares of Axon Enterprise — maker of Tasers, body cameras and policing software — two weeks before Immigration and Customs Enforcement sought a five-year, $220 million contract that experts said appeared tailored to the company’s weapons,” CNBC reports.

Corruption

Mining Agreement Could Enrich Trump’s Sons

June 28, 2026 · 7:47 am ET · Leave a Comment

“An agreement between the U.S. and Kazakhstan has given a group of American investors with ties to the president and the commerce secretary access to one of the world’s largest untapped reserves of tungsten,” the New York Times reports.

Corruption, Foreign Affairs

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Taegan Goddard

Taegan Goddard

Taegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire -- which for more than two decades has been one of the nation's most influential political news sites.

More about Taegan Goddard →

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