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 TrumpElon MuskSpaceXDepartment of TransportationFederal Aviation Administrationregulatory-captureconflicts-of-interesttech
Senate Democrats flagged Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick’s firm Cantor Fitzgerald for creating financial products allowing clients to bet on Supreme Court tariff rulings, raising insider dealing concerns. Lutnick, a top tariff negotiator, is father of Cantor Fitzgerald CEO Brandon Lutnick. …
Howard LutnickBrandon LutnickCantor FitzgeraldRon WydenElizabeth Warrenconflicts-of-interestsystematic-corruptioninsider-trading
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent missed the 90-day ethics deadline for divesting conflicted assets, retaining up to $25 million in North Dakota farmland generating up to $1 million annually in rental income. Bessent owns soybean and corn farmland while shaping agricultural trade policy and farm …
Scott BessentOffice of Government EthicsDepartment of the Treasuryconflicts-of-interestinstitutional-capturesystematic-corruption
Vietnamese farmers in Hung Yen province were forced to surrender land for a $1.5 billion Trump-branded golf resort, receiving compensation as low as $3,200 and rice provisions. Thousands of villagers were offered $12-$30 per square meter for farmland, drastically reduced from initial estimates …
Trump OrganizationKinhbac CityGovernment of Vietnamconflicts-of-interestsystematic-corruptioninternational
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 …
OracleTikTokByteDanceTikTok U.S. Data Security Inc.oracletiktoksurveillancedata-storagecloud-computing+1 more
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 KendallNorthrop GrummanU.S. Air ForceJoe BidenU.S. SenateRevolving DoorMilitary-Industrial ComplexDefense ContractorsCorruptionConflicts of Interest+2 more
Oracle Corporation announced on September 14, 2020, that ByteDance had selected Oracle as TikTok’s “trusted technology provider” in the United States, positioning Oracle to provide cloud infrastructure services and security oversight for TikTok’s U.S. operations. The …
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 DeJoyDonald TrumpUSPS Board of GovernorsElection InterferenceUSPSPostal ServiceConflicts of InterestPolitical Appointees
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 EllisonDonald TrumpOracleRepublican Partypolitical-donationscorruptionconflicts-of-interestcronyismoracle
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 BernhardtWestlands Water DistrictDavid MurilloCabinet CorruptionEthics ViolationsDavid BernhardtInterior DepartmentInspector General+2 more
The Commerce Department Inspector General found that Secretary Wilbur Ross lied to Congress about multiple issues, including the addition of a citizenship question to the 2020 Census and his divestment of Navigator Holdings stock. Ross twice told Congress the addition of the citizenship question was …
Wilbur RossDepartment of JusticeCabinet CorruptionEthics ViolationsWilbur RossInspector GeneralPerjury+2 more
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 BernhardtDonald TrumpCabinet CorruptionEthics ViolationsDavid BernhardtInterior DepartmentConflicts of Interest+2 more
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 CarsonBen Carson Jr.Cabinet CorruptionEthics ViolationsBen CarsonHUDNepotism+1 more
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 ThielErik PrinceLital LeshemJeffrey EpsteinEhud Barak+6 moresurveillance-technologyprivate-intelligenceisraeli-intelligenceunit-8200conflicts-of-interest+2 more
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 RossKirill ShamalovGennady TimchenkoVladimir PutinCabinet CorruptionEthics ViolationsWilbur RossRussiaParadise Papers+1 more
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 TrumpXi JinpingBashar al-AssadRex TillersonVladimir Putinmar-a-lagomilitary-actionsyriaconflicts-of-interestemoluments+1 more
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 TrumpPreet BhararaMarc KasowitzJeff SessionsRoger Ailes+1 moreobstruction-of-justicecorruptionabuse-of-powerconflicts-of-interestfox-news
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 FlynnDonald TrumpRecep Tayyip ErdoganEkim AlptekinFethullah Gulenflynnforeign-agentconflicts-of-interestturkeycorruption+1 more
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 BlackErik PrinceNikolay ZlochevskyiHunter BidenMitt Romneyconflicts-of-interestforeign-influenceprivate-intelligenceregulatory-captureukraine
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 TrumpShinzo AbeSean Spiceremolumentsconflicts-of-interestmar-a-lagonational-security-riskcorruption
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 TrumpIvanka TrumpNordstromSean SpicerRichard Painteremoluments-violationsabuse-of-officeconflicts-of-interestivanka-trumpcorruption
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 …
During Betsy DeVos’s confirmation hearing on January 17, 2017, Democrats raised urgent concerns about her financial investments in student debt collection companies—conflicts of interest that remained unreviewed because Republicans rushed the hearing before the Office of Government Ethics …
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 …
Donald TrumpSheri DillonDonald Trump Jr.Eric TrumpWalter Shaub+2 moreemolumentsconflicts-of-interestcorruptiontrump-organizationconstitutional-violations
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 TillersonDonald TrumpIgor SechinVladimir PutinExxonMobil+1 moreconflicts-of-interestrussia-connectionssanctions-violationsstate-capturefossil-fuel-industry
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 WelshNorthrop GrummanU.S. Air ForceWes BushDonald TrumpRevolving DoorMilitary-Industrial ComplexDefense ContractorsCorruptionPentagon Contracts+2 more
Erik Prince founded Frontier Services Group (FSG), a Hong Kong-listed security, logistics and insurance company backed by Chinese state capital. Prince was introduced to Chang Zhenming, chairman of China’s state-owned CITIC investment conglomerate, in 2013, providing Prince entry to the …
Erik PrinceChang ZhenmingCITIC GroupFrontier Services Groupprivate-militaryforeign-influenceconflicts-of-interestchinatechnology-transfer+1 more
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 PrinceXe ServicesAcademiJohn AshcroftJack Quinn+2 moreprivate-militarycorporate-impunityconflicts-of-interestreputation-launderingaccountability-crisis
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 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 …
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 JonesKBRHalliburtonTed PoeState Department+2 moreprivate-militarycorporate-impunityaccountability-crisissexual-assaultmandatory-arbitration+1 more
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 …
The ApprenticeConflicts of InterestTrump OrganizationMark BurnettNBC+1 more
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. RocheNorthrop GrummanU.S. Air ForceDepartment of DefenseGeorge W. BushRevolving DoorMilitary-Industrial ComplexDefense ContractorsCorruptionConflicts of Interest+1 more
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 CheneyHalliburtonHalliburton Products and ServicesBill Clintonsanctions-evasionconflicts-of-interestregulatory-arbitragecorporate-impunityforeign-influence