Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club doubled its membership fee from $200,000 to $400,000 immediately after his election, selling access to the president for profit. Members gained direct access to Trump during his 142 visits as president, with the club becoming known as the ‘Winter White …
The Trump Organization received at least 3.6 million from foreign governments including China, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, UAE, and Qatar during Trump’s presidency, violating the Constitution’s Foreign Emoluments Clause. Saudi officials alone paid at least 15,000 to Trump properties. T-Mobile …
The Secret Service paid at least $1.4 million directly to Trump properties during his presidency, often at rates far exceeding government limits. Trump charged the Secret Service up to $1,185 per night at Mar-a-Lago, five times the government rate of $195. Eric Trump claimed they only charged …
FOIA-released records compiled by watchdogs show the Secret Service spent nearly $2 million at Trump-owned properties while protecting the president and his family. A 2020 DHS OIG report on the Scotland trip documented specific Turnberry payments but noted incomplete cost capture due to system …
The Heritage Foundation placed 70+ personnel in the Trump administration and achieved implementation of 64% of their policy recommendations within Trump’s first year, unprecedented corporate capture of government. Heritage alumni included OMB Director Mick Mulvaney, EPA Administrator Scott …
Despite campaign rhetoric opposing Wall Street, Trump appointed an unprecedented concentration of Goldman Sachs executives to key positions. Gary Cohn, who received a $285 million severance from Goldman, became National Economic Council Director. Steven Mnuchin, a 17-year Goldman partner who …
At a January 11, 2017 press conference, President-elect Trump’s tax attorney Sheri Dillon unveiled a plan to address conflicts of interest that ethics experts universally condemned as woefully inadequate. Rather than divesting from his businesses as ethics norms require, Trump would merely …
Rex Tillerson, Trump’s nominee for Secretary of State, faced aggressive Senate questioning about massive conflicts of interest stemming from his 41-year career at ExxonMobil, particularly the company’s extensive Russia dealings and opposition to sanctions. Tillerson had served as …
On January 6, 2017, the U.S. Intelligence Community released a comprehensive assessment concluding that Russian President Vladimir Putin personally ordered an extensive influence campaign aimed at undermining the 2016 U.S. presidential election. The Intelligence Community Assessment (ICA), titled …
David Pecker and Dylan Howard remove remaining Trump documents from National Enquirer safe weeks before inauguration, fearing liability, either destroying or relocating files. This action was part of a broader pattern of document management and potential evidence suppression related to Trump’s …
Retired General Mark Welsh joined Northrop Grumman’s board of directors just five months after retiring as Air Force Chief of Staff and barely one year after the company won the $21.4 billion initial contract to build the B-21 Raider next-generation stealth bomber, exemplifying the revolving …
Within weeks of the 2016 election, Saudi-funded lobbyists booked about 500 nights at Trump’s Washington, D.C., hotel as part of a campaign flying U.S. veterans to lobby against JASTA (the 9/11 victims’ law). This booking was part of a broader pattern of foreign government spending at the …
Donald Trump agreed on November 18, 2016 to pay $25 million to settle all three Trump University fraud lawsuits—two class actions and the New York Attorney General civil suit—just 10 days after winning the presidential election and less than two weeks before the San Diego class action was scheduled …
Michael Cohen wires $130,000 from Essential Consultants LLC to Stormy Daniels’ attorney, using fraudulent HELOC loan, completing hush money payment days before election
Michael Cohen establishes Essential Consultants LLC in Delaware, shell company used to pay Stormy Daniels $130,000 and later receive $4 million from corporations and oligarch-linked firms
Carl Icahn permanently closed the Trump Taj Mahal casino in Atlantic City on October 10, 2016, after a bitter 102-day labor dispute with Unite-HERE Local 54 union workers. Icahn, who had acquired the casino through Trump Entertainment Resorts in 2014, cited substantial financial losses, claiming to …
On October 9, 2016, just 90 minutes before the second presidential debate in St. Louis, Donald Trump staged a surprise press conference with four women who have accused Bill Clinton of sexual misconduct or been connected to the Clintons’ legal history. The event, held at the Four Seasons Hotel …
On October 7, 2016, exactly one month before the presidential election, Washington Post reporter David Fahrenthold published a 2005 video recording of Donald Trump making sexually aggressive comments about women. The recording was made on an Access Hollywood bus as Trump and television host Billy …
New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman issued a cease-and-desist order requiring the Donald J. Trump Foundation to immediately stop soliciting contributions in New York State because it had been operating for nearly 30 years without proper registration. The order revealed that the Trump …
After buying Donald Trump’s ‘Maison de L’Amitié’ for $95M in 2008, Dmitry Rybolovlev obtained local approval to demolish the mansion in 2016 and subdivided the oceanfront parcel into three lots that sold for a combined ~$108M by 2019.
Washington Post investigative reporter David Fahrenthold published a groundbreaking series of investigations revealing that the Donald J. Trump Foundation had engaged in a systematic pattern of illegal self-dealing, using tax-exempt charitable funds to purchase items for Trump’s personal use, …
National Enquirer pays former Playboy model Karen McDougal $150,000 for exclusive rights to story about year-long affair with Trump, largest catch-and-kill payment of campaign
On July 27, 2016, at a televised press conference, Donald Trump publicly called on Russia to hack Hillary Clinton’s emails: “Russia, if you’re listening, I hope you’re able to find the 30,000 emails that are missing.” According to Mueller’s indictment of 12 GRU …
On July 22, 2016, WikiLeaks released 19,252 DNC emails and 8,034 attachments stolen by Russian GRU intelligence—strategically timed for maximum political damage just three days before the Democratic National Convention. The release, coordinated between Russian intelligence (via Guccifer 2.0), …
Tech billionaire Peter Thiel delivers prime-time RNC speech endorsing Trump, marking Silicon Valley’s entry into MAGA movement and first openly gay speaker at Republican convention
J.D. Vance publishes Hillbilly Elegy, a memoir that gains national prominence during the 2016 presidential election. Vance openly criticizes Donald Trump, describing him as “the most-raw expression of a massive finger pointed at other people” and privately comparing him to …
Donald Trump Jr. accepted meeting at Trump Tower after being promised “official documents and information that would incriminate Hillary” as “part of Russia and its government’s support for Mr. Trump.” Meeting included Russian lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya, Rinat …
The Eric Trump Foundation, ostensibly dedicated to raising money for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital to fight childhood cancer, systematically funneled charitable donations to Trump Organization businesses by paying inflated costs for charity golf events held at Trump properties. Despite …
Donald Trump launched racist attacks against U.S. District Judge Gonzalo Curiel, who was presiding over the Trump University fraud lawsuits, falsely claiming the judge’s Mexican heritage created bias against him. At a San Diego rally in late May and in subsequent media interviews, Trump …
Court documents and victim testimony released in June 2016 revealed the devastating human cost of Trump University’s fraudulent scheme, with students testifying they lost retirement savings, disability income, and home equity after being pressured into purchasing courses costing up to $35,000. …
U.S. District Judge Gonzalo Curiel ordered the unsealing of over 400 pages of Trump University documents on May 31, 2016, revealing internal sales “playbooks” that detailed aggressive, predatory tactics designed to extract maximum money from vulnerable consumers. The documents exposed …
Alexander Torshin, working with Maria Butina, requested that Donald Trump meet with him on the sidelines of the National Rifle Association’s convention in Louisville, Kentucky from May 20-22, 2016. While Torshin never succeeded in meeting with then-candidate Trump himself, he did secure a …
During the 2016 campaign, Donald Trump made a pivotal strategic commitment to outsource Supreme Court nominee selection entirely to the Federalist Society, a move that would fundamentally reshape the federal judiciary. In March 2016, Trump, campaign lawyer Don McGahn, and Federalist Society …
Federal judge dismisses Alexia Palmer’s class-action lawsuit against Trump Model Management on procedural grounds, ruling she failed to exhaust administrative remedies before filing suit. The dismissal avoided ruling on the merits of extensive evidence showing models were paid less than $4,000 …
Donald Trump staged a campaign fundraiser in Des Moines, Iowa disguised as a charitable event, using the Trump Foundation in direct violation of federal tax law prohibiting 501(c)(3) charitable organizations from participating in political campaigns. The January 28, 2016 event occurred just days …
During the 2016 election cycle, the National Rifle Association spent a record $30-55 million supporting Donald Trump’s presidential campaign—triple its 2012 spending for Mitt Romney. The unprecedented spending occurred during and after Maria Butina and Alexander Torshin’s systematic …
In late 2016, Deutsche Bank’s internal anti-money laundering specialists flagged multiple suspicious transactions involving Trump businesses and Russian individuals, with the bank simultaneously continuing to loan Trump billions while being implicated in a $10 billion Russian money-laundering …
Donald Trump signs letter of intent for Trump Tower Moscow while running for president, with lawyer Michael Cohen continuing negotiations through June 2016. Felix Sater boasts: “Our boy can become president…we can engineer it.” The 17-page letter proposed a massive development in …
Trump personally signed Letter of Intent for Trump Tower Moscow project valued at over $1 billion while publicly denying Russian business dealings during campaign. Michael Cohen told Mueller investigators that Trump viewed his campaign as a significant “infomercial” for Trump-branded …
National Enquirer publisher David Pecker meets with Trump, Cohen, and Hope Hicks at Trump Tower, agrees to use tabloid to catch and kill sexual affair allegations against Trump during campaign
On July 11, 2015, at the FreedomFest libertarian conference in Las Vegas, Russian intelligence operative Maria Butina publicly questioned presidential candidate Donald Trump about US sanctions on Russia. Trump responded that he knew Putin and believed they would “get along very nicely” …
Jamaican model Alexia Palmer files federal lawsuit against Trump Model Management seeking class-action status. Palmer’s H-1B visa application promised $75,000 per year, but she received only $3,880.75 over three years after agency fees. Court documents reveal systematic exploitation: models …
Twelve years after DNA evidence conclusively proved the innocence of the Central Park Five, Donald Trump published an opinion piece in the New York Daily News calling the city’s $41 million settlement with the wrongfully convicted men “a disgrace” and continuing to assert their …
The Donald J. Trump Foundation spent $20,000 in charitable funds to purchase a portrait of Donald Trump painted by a speed-painter at a charity gala at Mar-a-Lago. The four-foot portrait, created during the event, was supposed to be sold with proceeds benefiting the charity hosting the auction. …
On November 9, 2013, Donald Trump brought the Miss Universe pageant to Moscow, held at Crocus City Hall owned by Aras Agalarov—a Russian billionaire known as “Putin’s Builder” with close Kremlin ties. During the event, Trump pursued meetings with Vladimir Putin (who sent a gift via …
Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi’s political committee “And Justice for All” received a $25,000 donation from the Donald J. Trump Foundation on September 17, 2013, just four days after her office announced it was reviewing complaints about Trump University and might join New …
New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman filed a $40 million civil lawsuit against Donald Trump, The Trump Entrepreneur Initiative (formerly Trump University LLC), and Michael Sexton on August 24, 2013, alleging “persistent fraudulent, illegal and deceptive conduct.” Schneiderman …
Court records and testimony reported by Reuters show AT&T played a pivotal role in launching and sustaining One America News Network (OANN), at times accounting for the vast majority of its revenue via carriage deals. OANN’s founder testified AT&T executives sought a conservative …
The Donald J. Trump Foundation illegally paid a $25,000 settlement related to Trump University litigation using tax-exempt charitable funds rather than Trump’s personal or business accounts. This payment represented another instance of Trump using his charitable foundation as a personal …
The Donald J. Trump Foundation used $158,000 in tax-exempt charitable funds to settle a legal dispute between the Town of Palm Beach and Trump’s for-profit Mar-a-Lago Club over an illegal 80-foot flagpole. The town had fined Trump’s private club for violating local ordinances by erecting …