Conflicts-of-Interest

House Judiciary Democrats Release Report Exposing Trump Family's $800 Million Cryptocurrency Empire Built on Foreign Influence and Self-Dealing

| Importance: 10/10

Rep. Jamie Raskin, Ranking Member of the House Judiciary Committee, released a comprehensive staff report revealing that President Donald Trump and his family earned more than $800 million from cryptocurrency ventures in the first half of 2025 alone, with total crypto holdings valued at up to $11.6 …

Jamie Raskin Donald Trump Trump Organization Trump Family Paul Atkins +21 more cryptocurrency corruption self-dealing foreign-influence emoluments +13 more
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DHS Uses Multi-Year Reconciliation Funding to Pay 70,000 Immigration Enforcement Officers During Shutdown While 700,000 Federal Workers Go Unpaid

| Importance: 8/10

During the fourth week of the October 2025 government shutdown affecting over 700,000 federal employees, DHS Secretary Kristi Noem announced that approximately 70,000 Department of Homeland Security law enforcement officers—including ICE deportation officers, CBP border patrol agents, Secret Service …

Kristi Noem Department of Homeland Security Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Secret Service +2 more government-shutdown institutional-capture immigration-enforcement accountability-crisis budget-reconciliation +1 more
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Trump Administration Develops Gaza GREAT Trust Reconstruction Plan Led by Kushner and Witkoff

| Importance: 9/10

The Trump administration developed the Gaza Reconstitution, Economic Acceleration and Transformation (GREAT) Trust plan (also known as “Project Sunrise”), with Trump Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and adviser Jared Kushner leading the development over 45 days beginning in October 2025. The …

Trump Jared Kushner Steve Witkoff Elon Musk conflicts-of-interest self-dealing international-corruption war-profiteering
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Bessent Announces $20B Argentina Bailout for Trump Ally Milei, Enriching Connected Billionaire

| Importance: 8/10

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced a $20 billion rescue package for Argentina’s president Javier Milei, including currency swap agreements, direct peso purchases (only the fourth time since 1996 the U.S. bought another country’s currency), and Treasury bond purchases. The bailout …

Scott Bessent Donald Trump Javier Milei Rob Citrone Treasury Department corruption conflicts-of-interest foreign-policy cronyism financial-fraud
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NYT Reveals UAE $2B Crypto Investment Tied to AI Chip Deal Approval

| Importance: 10/10

The New York Times revealed that after UAE entity MGX (controlled by Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed) invested $2 billion in World Liberty Financial—a cryptocurrency venture co-founded by Trump and special envoy Steve Witkoff—the White House approved the UAE’s acquisition of hundreds of thousands of …

Donald Trump Steve Witkoff David Sacks Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan MGX +2 more corruption pay-to-play institutional-capture conflicts-of-interest cryptocurrency +2 more
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Trump Envoy Steve Witkoff Divests $120M Real Estate Stake While Retaining $350M in Assets Including Trump Crypto

| Importance: 8/10

Trump’s Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff sold his stake in the Witkoff Group for $120 million, according to financial disclosures released publicly in mid-September 2025. The sale was described as addressing conflict of interest concerns between his government role and business …

Steve Witkoff Trump Adam Schiff World Liberty Financial conflicts-of-interest self-dealing crypto-corruption
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Trump Convenes Oval Office Meeting on Gaza Development With Jared Kushner's Business Interests Central

| Importance: 10/10

Trump convened an Oval Office meeting on Gaza’s future with Jared Kushner, real estate developer Steve Witkoff, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair. During discussions, Trump floated expelling Palestinian residents and redeveloping Gaza into a luxury resort, …

Trump Jared Kushner Steve Witkoff Marco Rubio conflicts-of-interest kleptocracy foreign-policy-corruption self-dealing human-rights
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Trump Eliminates SpaceX Environmental Safeguards via Executive Order

| Importance: 7/10

Trump signed an executive order directing the Transportation Department to slash FAA regulations on rocket launches, eliminating or expediting environmental reviews for commercial spaceflight. The order directly benefits SpaceX, whose owner Elon Musk repeatedly complained about FAA environmental …

Donald Trump Elon Musk SpaceX Department of Transportation Federal Aviation Administration regulatory-capture conflicts-of-interest tech
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Musk's Starlink Installed on White House Roof Raises Cybersecurity and Conflict of Interest Concerns

| Importance: 8/10

A Starlink satellite internet terminal belonging to Elon Musk’s SpaceX was installed on the White House roof, raising immediate concerns about cybersecurity vulnerabilities and unprecedented conflicts of interest. The installation gives Musk’s company direct communication infrastructure …

Elon Musk Donald Trump Starlink SpaceX conflicts-of-interest cybersecurity corruption government-contracts
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McKinsey Agrees to $650 Million Criminal Settlement for Role in 'Turbocharging' Opioid Sales for Purdue Pharma

| Importance: 9/10

McKinsey & Company agrees to pay $650 million to settle federal criminal and civil investigations into its role in helping Purdue Pharma ’turbocharge’ sales of OxyContin, the highly addictive opioid painkiller at the center of America’s overdose epidemic. This marks the first …

McKinsey & Company U.S. Department of Justice Purdue Pharma Martin Elling Food and Drug Administration (FDA) mckinsey opioid-crisis purdue-pharma consulting-scandal corporate-crime +4 more
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Oracle Launches "Project Texas" with TikTok, $1 Billion Data Storage Partnership

| Importance: 8/10

TikTok and Oracle formally launched “Project Texas” in July 2022, a comprehensive data isolation initiative designed to address U.S. national security concerns by migrating all American user data to Oracle’s cloud infrastructure and establishing new corporate structures to limit …

Oracle TikTok ByteDance TikTok U.S. Data Security Inc. oracle tiktok surveillance data-storage cloud-computing +1 more
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French Senate Investigation Reveals 'McKinsey Gate' Scandal: Nearly €1 Billion in Government Consulting Fees

| Importance: 8/10

A French Senate inquiry committee releases a 400-page report revealing that the French government has spent almost €1 billion in consulting fees since 2017, with very little to show for it. The scandal, dubbed ‘McKinsey Gate,’ centers on the deep ties between McKinsey & Company and …

McKinsey & Company Emmanuel Macron Karim Tadjeddine French Senate Jean Castex mckinsey france consulting-scandal tax-evasion conflicts-of-interest +4 more
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Biden Nominates Frank Kendall for Air Force Secretary After $702,000 in Northrop Grumman Consulting Fees

| Importance: 9/10

President Joe Biden nominated Frank Kendall for Air Force Secretary in May 2021 despite Kendall having received $702,319 in consulting fees from Northrop Grumman as part of a $300,000 per year consulting contract after serving as Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics …

Frank Kendall Northrop Grumman U.S. Air Force Joe Biden U.S. Senate revolving door military-industrial complex defense contractors corruption conflicts of interest +2 more
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Ginni Thomas Attends "Stop the Steal" Rally Before Capitol Attack, CNP Board Member at Insurrection

| Importance: 9/10

Virginia “Ginni” Thomas, wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas and board member of the Council for National Policy’s lobbying arm CNP Action, attended the “Stop the Steal” rally in Washington, D.C., on January 6, 2021, before the violent attack on the U.S. …

Ginni Thomas Clarence Thomas Council for National Policy CNP Action Turning Point USA +4 more january-6 insurrection supreme-court cnp conflicts-of-interest +4 more
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Louis DeJoy Begins Serving as Postmaster General Despite Conflicts of Interest

| Importance: 9/10

Louis DeJoy officially began serving as the 75th Postmaster General of the United States and USPS Chief Executive Officer, having been unanimously selected by the USPS Board of Governors on May 6, 2020. DeJoy was a major Republican Party megadonor who contributed over $1.2 million to Trump’s …

Louis DeJoy Donald Trump USPS Board of Governors election interference usps postal service conflicts of interest political appointees
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Larry Ellison Hosts Trump Fundraiser at California Estate, Raises $7 Million

| Importance: 8/10

Oracle Chairman Larry Ellison hosted President Donald Trump at his Rancho Mirage, California estate on February 19, 2020, for a high-dollar campaign fundraiser that raised approximately $7 million for Trump’s reelection campaign. Attendees paid $100,000 for a golf outing and photo opportunity …

Larry Ellison Donald Trump Oracle Republican Party political-donations corruption conflicts-of-interest cronyism oracle
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Interior IG Investigates Bernhardt for California Water Decision Benefiting Former Client Westlands

| Importance: 8/10

The Interior Department Inspector General opened an investigation into Secretary David Bernhardt’s California water policy decisions that benefited Westlands Water District, his former lobbying client. The investigation examined whether Bernhardt violated ethics agreements by influencing new …

David Bernhardt Westlands Water District David Murillo cabinet corruption ethics violations david bernhardt interior department inspector general +2 more
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Interior Secretary David Bernhardt Confirmed Despite Extensive Conflicts from Oil and Gas Lobbying Career

| Importance: 8/10

The Senate confirmed David Bernhardt as Interior Secretary on April 11, 2019, by a vote of 56 to 41 despite extensive conflicts of interest from his career as an oil and gas lobbyist. A Center for American Progress analysis determined Bernhardt had the dubious distinction of being the most …

David Bernhardt Donald Trump cabinet corruption ethics violations david bernhardt interior department conflicts of interest +2 more
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HUD Inspector General Finds Ben Carson Violated Ethics Rules by Involving Son in Official Business

| Importance: 7/10

The HUD Office of Inspector General investigated allegations that Secretary Benjamin Carson used his office for the personal benefit of his son, Benjamin Carson Jr., a federal contractor, by allowing him to participate in official Department matters including a June 2017 HUD “listening …

Ben Carson Ben Carson Jr. cabinet corruption ethics violations ben carson hud nepotism +1 more
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Peter Thiel's Founders Fund Invests $15M in Carbyne, Connecting Epstein-Barak Surveillance Network to Erik Prince Operations

| Importance: 9/10

Peter Thiel’s Founders Fund led a $15 million Series B investment in Carbyne (formerly Reporty Homeland Security), the Israeli surveillance technology company founded by Unit 8200 intelligence veterans and previously funded by Jeffrey Epstein and Ehud Barak. The investment directly connected …

Peter Thiel Erik Prince Lital Leshem Jeffrey Epstein Ehud Barak +6 more surveillance-technology private-intelligence israeli-intelligence unit-8200 conflicts-of-interest +2 more
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Paradise Papers Reveal Commerce Secretary Ross Concealed Stake in Russian-Linked Shipping Company

| Importance: 8/10

The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) revealed through the Paradise Papers investigation that U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur L. Ross Jr. maintained a stake in Navigator Holdings, a shipping firm that received millions of dollars annually from a Russian gas company whose …

Wilbur Ross Kirill Shamalov Gennady Timchenko Vladimir Putin cabinet corruption ethics violations wilbur ross russia paradise papers +1 more
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Trump Orders Syria Missile Strike from Mar-a-Lago During State Dinner with Xi Jinping - Military Action as Mar-a-Lago Spectacle

| Importance: 9/10

On April 6, 2017, President Trump ordered the first direct U.S. military action against the Assad regime—launching 59 Tomahawk missiles at Shayrat air base in Syria—from his private Mar-a-Lago club while hosting Chinese President Xi Jinping for a state dinner. At approximately 8:40 PM, as Trump and …

Donald Trump Xi Jinping Bashar al-Assad Rex Tillerson Vladimir Putin mar-a-lago military-action syria conflicts-of-interest emoluments +1 more
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Trump Fires Preet Bharara After Broken Promise to Keep Him - Obstruction Amid Trump-Related Investigations

| Importance: 10/10

President Trump fired U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara on March 11, 2017, after Bharara refused to resign when ordered to do so—breaking Trump’s direct promise made just months earlier at Trump Tower to allow Bharara to keep his position. Bharara, the highly respected U.S. Attorney for the Southern …

Donald Trump Preet Bharara Marc Kasowitz Jeff Sessions Roger Ailes +1 more obstruction-of-justice corruption abuse-of-power conflicts-of-interest fox-news
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Michael Flynn Retroactively Registers as Turkey Foreign Agent - $530K Lobbying During Campaign and as National Security Advisor

| Importance: 10/10

On March 7, 2017, Michael Flynn belatedly filed Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) paperwork with the Department of Justice, revealing his consulting firm received $530,000 from August through November 2016 for work that could be construed to have principally benefited the Republic of Turkey. …

Michael Flynn Donald Trump Recep Tayyip Erdogan Ekim Alptekin Fethullah Gulen flynn foreign-agent conflicts-of-interest turkey corruption +1 more
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Cofer Black, Former Blackwater Vice Chairman and CIA Counterterrorism Chief, Joins Burisma Board

| Importance: 7/10

Burisma Holdings, the Ukrainian energy company, announced the appointment of Joseph Cofer Black to its board of directors on February 15, 2017, less than one month after Donald Trump’s presidential inauguration. Black, the former vice chairman of Blackwater (the private military contractor …

Joseph Cofer Black Erik Prince Nikolay Zlochevskyi Hunter Biden Mitt Romney conflicts-of-interest foreign-influence private-intelligence regulatory-capture ukraine
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Trump Handles North Korea Missile Crisis at Mar-a-Lago in Front of Paying Club Members - Unprecedented Security Breach

| Importance: 9/10

When North Korea test-fired a ballistic missile on February 11, 2017, President Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe conducted national security deliberations in full view of Mar-a-Lago club members and guests at Trump’s private resort. As wealthy club members looked on from their …

Donald Trump Shinzo Abe Sean Spicer emoluments conflicts-of-interest mar-a-lago national-security-risk corruption
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Trump Attacks Nordstrom Using Presidential Office to Promote Daughter Ivanka's Business After Brand Dropped

| Importance: 8/10

President Trump used his official presidential Twitter account on February 8, 2017, to attack Nordstrom department store for dropping daughter Ivanka Trump’s clothing and shoe line, writing: “My daughter Ivanka has been treated so unfairly by @Nordstrom. She is a great person — always …

Donald Trump Ivanka Trump Nordstrom Sean Spicer Richard Painter emoluments-violations abuse-of-office conflicts-of-interest ivanka-trump corruption
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Betsy DeVos Confirmed as Education Secretary in Historic VP Tie-Breaking Vote - First Ever for Cabinet Nominee

| Importance: 8/10

Vice President Mike Pence cast a historic tie-breaking vote on February 7, 2017, to confirm Betsy DeVos as Education Secretary—the first time in American history that a vice president’s tie-breaking power was used to confirm a Cabinet nominee. The Senate vote split exactly 50-50, with two …

Betsy DeVos Mike Pence Susan Collins Lisa Murkowski Donald Trump cabinet-corruption education-privatization conflicts-of-interest senate-confirmation political-donations
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Trump Reverses Dakota Access Pipeline Denial, Orders Expedited Approval

| Importance: 9/10

Just four days after taking office, President Donald Trump signed an executive memorandum on January 24, 2017, directing the Army Corps of Engineers to expedite approval and review of the Dakota Access Pipeline, reversing the Obama administration’s December 2016 decision to halt construction …

Donald Trump Energy Transfer Partners Kelcy Warren Army Corps of Engineers Standing Rock Sioux Tribe environmental regulatory-capture corporate-corruption lobbying environmental-justice +2 more
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Rex Tillerson Confirmation Hearing Reveals ExxonMobil-Russia Conflicts and Sanctions Violations

| Importance: 9/10

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 …

Rex Tillerson Donald Trump Igor Sechin Vladimir Putin ExxonMobil +1 more conflicts-of-interest russia-connections sanctions-violations state-capture fossil-fuel-industry
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Former Air Force Chief of Staff Mark Welsh Joins Northrop Grumman Board After B-21 Bomber Contract Award

| Importance: 9/10

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 …

Mark Welsh Northrop Grumman U.S. Air Force Wes Bush Donald Trump revolving door military-industrial complex defense contractors corruption pentagon contracts +2 more
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Erik Prince Sells Xe Services (formerly Blackwater), Rebranded as Academi with John Ashcroft on Board

| Importance: 8/10

Xe Services (formerly Blackwater) was acquired by a group of private investors and renamed Academi, with Erik Prince exiting the company he founded. The acquisition and rebranding represented the second major corporate transformation designed to distance the entity from Blackwater’s documented …

Erik Prince Xe Services Academi John Ashcroft Jack Quinn +2 more private-military corporate-impunity conflicts-of-interest reputation-laundering accountability-crisis
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Halliburton Completes Spin-Off of KBR to Distance from Iraq War Scandals, Fraud Investigations, and $2.7 Billion in Questioned Costs

| Importance: 8/10

Halliburton announced the completion of its spin-off of KBR on April 5, 2007, separating the subsidiary that had generated most of its Iraq War controversies after 44 years of corporate integration. The separation followed KBR’s initial public offering on November 16, 2006, which raised $470 …

Halliburton KBR David Lesar Dick Cheney Senate Armed Services Committee corporate-impunity accountability-crisis private-military reputation-laundering conflicts-of-interest
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Halliburton Moves CEO and Corporate Headquarters to Dubai for Tax Advantages and Distance from Iraq War Scandals, Weeks Before Completing KBR Spin-Off

| Importance: 8/10

Halliburton announced on March 12, 2007, that it was relocating its corporate headquarters and CEO David Lesar from Houston, Texas, to Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, citing business opportunities in the Middle East where 38% of its $13 billion in oil field services revenue originated and 16,000 …

Halliburton David Lesar Dick Cheney Patrick Leahy tax-avoidance corporate-impunity accountability-crisis conflicts-of-interest regulatory-arbitrage
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KBR Employee Jamie Leigh Jones Alleges Gang Rape in Iraq, Exposes Systematic Use of Mandatory Arbitration to Shield Contractor Accountability

| Importance: 9/10

On July 28, 2005, KBR employee Jamie Leigh Jones, then 22 years old and working her fourth day on the job in Baghdad, alleged she was drugged and gang-raped by KBR coworkers at Camp Hope in the Green Zone. Army doctors examined Jones and found evidence of sexual assault “both vaginally and …

Jamie Leigh Jones KBR Halliburton Ted Poe State Department +2 more private-military corporate-impunity accountability-crisis sexual-assault mandatory-arbitration +1 more
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The Apprentice Serves as 14-Season Promotional Vehicle for Trump Properties and Brand

| Importance: 6/10

Throughout its 14-season run from 2004 to 2015, “The Apprentice” functions as an elaborate promotional platform for Trump’s properties, businesses, and brand, with Trump maintaining a 50% ownership stake in the show and earning an estimated $214 million while simultaneously using …

Donald Trump NBC Mark Burnett the apprentice conflicts of interest trump organization mark burnett nbc +1 more
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Air Force Secretary James Roche Appointed After 17 Years as Northrop Grumman Executive

| Importance: 9/10

President George W. Bush appointed James G. Roche as Secretary of the Air Force in 2001 despite—or perhaps because of—Roche’s 17-year career as a top executive at Northrop Grumman, one of the Air Force’s largest contractors, exemplifying the revolving door that enables defense industry …

James G. Roche Northrop Grumman U.S. Air Force Department of Defense George W. Bush revolving door military-industrial complex defense contractors corruption conflicts of interest +1 more
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Halliburton Opens Tehran Office While Cheney Still CEO, Completing $40 Million Annual Iran Business Through Cayman Islands Subsidiary Designed to Circumvent U.S. Sanctions

| Importance: 9/10

In February 2000, Halliburton’s offshore subsidiary Halliburton Products and Services opened an office in Tehran, Iran, while Dick Cheney remained CEO of the parent company, completing a systematic sanctions evasion structure that generated approximately $40 million annually in oil field …

Dick Cheney Halliburton Halliburton Products and Services Bill Clinton sanctions-evasion conflicts-of-interest regulatory-arbitrage corporate-impunity foreign-influence
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