Corruption

Binance.US Lists Trump's USD1 Stablecoin Days After Presidential Pardon of Binance Founder

| Importance: 9/10

Binance.US added support for World Liberty Financial’s USD1 stablecoin on October 29, 2025, just six days after President Trump pardoned Binance founder Changpeng Zhao (CZ). The timing triggered immediate accusations of corruption from Senator Chris Murphy, who alleged the listing represented …

Binance Binance.US Changpeng Zhao Donald Trump Senator Chris Murphy +2 more binance binance-us changpeng-zhao conflict-of-interest corruption +7 more
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Trump Terminates SNAP Benefits for 42 Million Americans Despite Available Funds

| Importance: 9/10

President Trump announced termination of SNAP food assistance benefits for 42 million Americans starting November 1 during the second month of his government shutdown, despite $5 billion in available contingency funds that could maintain the program. The administration’s refusal to deploy …

Donald Trump Mike Johnson Trump Administration abuse-of-power corruption cruelty weaponization-of-government
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Trump Family Crypto Platform Tied to Pardoned Binance Executive Generated $500M

| Importance: 10/10

Bloomberg investigation revealed Trump pardoned Binance founder Changpeng Zhao months after Binance’s infrastructure supported World Liberty Financial—the Trump family’s crypto venture—in deals that generated over $500 million for the Trump family. Binance provided critical technical …

Binance Changpeng Zhao Donald Trump Trump Family World Liberty Financial bribery conflicts-of-interest corruption kleptocracy self-dealing
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NPR Sues After Corporation for Public Broadcasting Cancels $36M Contract Under Trump Pressure

| Importance: 8/10

NPR filed suit alleging the Corporation for Public Broadcasting unlawfully canceled a $36 million satellite contract after President Trump attacked NPR and demanded defunding of public media. CPB executives privately acknowledged political pressure motivated the cancellation and consulted GOP …

Corporation for Public Broadcasting CPB executives Donald Trump NPR corruption institutional-capture media-suppression weaponization-of-government
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Tech Billionaires Block Trump Military Deployment to San Francisco

| Importance: 9/10

After urgent calls from Nvidia’s Jensen Huang, Salesforce’s Marc Benioff, and OpenAI’s Sam Altman, President Trump scrapped plans to deploy federal troops to San Francisco. The reversal came after a 25-minute call with Mayor Daniel Lurie, demonstrating how billionaire access …

Jensen Huang Marc Benioff Mayor Daniel Lurie Sam Altman Trump abuse-of-power conflicts-of-interest corruption institutional-capture oligarchy
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MAGA-Aligned Lobbying Firms Quadruple Revenue Selling Trump Access

| Importance: 9/10

MAGA-aligned lobbying firms, led by Ballard Partners (founded by Trump fundraiser Brian Ballard), have quadrupled revenue as corporations seek influence on tariffs, healthcare, and China policy through Trump’s inner circle. Major clients including Harvard, TikTok, and Fortune 500 companies pay …

Brian Ballard corporate clients Pam Bondi Susie Wiles Trump Administration conflicts-of-interest corruption institutional-capture lobbying pay-to-play
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Kash Patel Uses $60M FBI Jet for Date Night with Girlfriend After Calling Wray "Government Gangster" for Same

| Importance: 8/10

FBI Director Kash Patel used the FBI’s $60 million government jet to fly to State College, Pennsylvania on October 25, 2025, to attend a Real American Freestyle wrestling event where his 27-year-old girlfriend, country singer Alexis Wilkins, was scheduled to perform. Public flight logs for …

Kash Patel Kash Patel FBI Corruption Hypocrisy
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Federal Grand Jury Convened to Investigate 'Conspiracy Against Trump'

| Importance: 10/10

Conservative lawyer Mike Davis announced a federal grand jury in Florida will convene in January to investigate an alleged decade-long ‘conspiracy’ against Trump involving Merrick Garland, Lisa Monaco, Chris Wray, and Jack Smith. Court filings confirm the grand jury’s existence, …

Chris Wray federal grand jury Jack Smith Lisa Monaco Merrick Garland +3 more corruption institutional-capture political-persecution rule-of-law-erosion weaponization-of-government
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Binance Paid $450K to Trump Jr. Ally for Zhao Pardon Lobbying

| Importance: 10/10

Binance paid $450,000 to lobbying firm Checkmate Government Relations, run by Donald Trump Jr.’s ally Ches McDowell, in the months before Trump pardoned convicted money-launderer Changpeng Zhao. The lobbying campaign coincided with Binance forming a high-level task force to negotiate with …

Binance Changpeng Zhao Ches McDowell Donald Trump Jr. Trump +1 more conflicts-of-interest corruption institutional-capture kleptocracy self-dealing
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Pentagon Awards Drone Contract to Company Where Trump Jr. Holds $4 Million Stake

| Importance: 9/10

The U.S. Army awarded Unusual Machines a major contract to produce 3,500 drone motors, with expectations of 20,000 additional components in future orders, months after Donald Trump Jr. joined the company’s advisory board in November 2024. Trump Jr. holds a disclosed $4 million stake in the …

Donald Trump Jr. Unusual Machines Pentagon U.S. Army Trump Administration corruption conflicts-of-interest kleptocracy self-dealing nepotism
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Trump Pardons Binance Founder Changpeng Zhao After $2 Billion Stablecoin Deal

| Importance: 10/10

President Trump issued a full pardon to Changpeng Zhao (CZ), the founder of Binance cryptocurrency exchange, who had pleaded guilty to enabling money laundering and served four months in federal prison. The pardon came days after Binance.US added support for Trump family’s USD1 stablecoin and …

Donald Trump Changpeng Zhao Binance World Liberty Financial Charles McDowell +3 more binance changpeng-zhao cryptocurrency presidential-pardon corruption +8 more
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Trump Pardons Binance Founder After Crypto Platform Aided Trump Family Venture

| Importance: 10/10

President Trump pardoned Binance founder Changpeng Zhao, who served only four months of his sentence for money-laundering violations, after Binance provided critical infrastructure support for the Trump family’s World Liberty Financial crypto venture. The pardon came after Binance formed a …

Donald Trump Changpeng Zhao Binance World Liberty Financial Donald Trump Jr. +1 more corruption conflicts-of-interest kleptocracy self-dealing regulatory-capture
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Billionaire Timothy Mellon Donates $130 Million to Pay Troops During Shutdown

| Importance: 9/10

Reclusive billionaire Timothy Mellon donated $130 million to the Pentagon to help pay military salaries during the Trump administration’s government shutdown. The donation, accepted under the Pentagon’s gift authority, raises serious legal concerns about violating the Antideficiency Act, …

Timothy Mellon Pentagon Trump Administration corruption conflicts-of-interest institutional-capture oligarchy constitutional-violation
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Trump Orders Demolition of Historic White House East Wing for Personal Ballroom

| Importance: 8/10

President Trump approved demolition of the 123-year-old White House East Wing to construct a 90,000-square-foot personal ballroom, with project costs escalating from $250 million to $300 million. The East Wing houses the First Lady’s offices, the Office of Social Secretary, and the historic …

Donald Trump Treasury Department White House Staff corruption abuse-of-power self-dealing institutional-capture
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Trump Obsession with $300M Ballroom: Demolishes Historic East Wing While Miller and Vought Run Government

| Importance: 9/10

President Trump demolished the entire historic White House East Wing in October 2025 to build a 90,000-square-foot $300 million ballroom, funded by corporate donors including Amazon, Google, Meta, and Lockheed Martin, while spending hours obsessing over marble choices and column styles as Stephen …

Donald Trump Stephen Miller Russ Vought Trump Corruption Historic Preservation Cognitive Decline
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Trump Installs Election Deniers in DHS Election Security Positions

| Importance: 9/10

President Trump appointed Heather Honey and Marci McCarthy—prominent 2020 election conspiracy activists—to senior DHS roles overseeing federal election integrity efforts. Both appointees actively promoted false claims about the 2020 election and participated in attempts to overturn legitimate …

Donald Trump Heather Honey Marci McCarthy DHS institutional-capture election-interference corruption conflicts-of-interest authoritarianism
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Trump Administration Seeks Government Equity Stakes in Quantum Computing Firms

| Importance: 8/10

Trump officials negotiated with quantum computing firms (IonQ, Rigetti, D-Wave) to trade federal funding for government ownership stakes, mirroring state control models used by authoritarian regimes. Commerce official Paul Dabbar and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick led negotiations to embed …

Paul Dabbar Howard Lutnick Trump Administration quantum computing companies corruption state-capture conflicts-of-interest institutional-capture authoritarian-economics
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Trump Administration Prioritizes White South Africans in Refugee Admissions

| Importance: 8/10

The Trump administration capped refugee admissions at 7,500 with nearly all slots reserved for Afrikaners (white South Africans), bypassing UN refugee processes and standard persecution criteria. The fast-tracking of white refugees while excluding people of color from war-torn regions demonstrates …

Trump Administration State Department pro-Afrikaner advocacy groups corruption discrimination institutional-capture racism abuse-of-power
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Trump Fires Export-Import Bank Inspector General as Oversight Purge Continues

| Importance: 9/10

President Trump fired Parisa Salehi, Export-Import Bank inspector general, as part of broader oversight elimination that has removed or sidelined approximately two dozen inspectors general. The administration has defunded watchdog councils responsible for coordinating independent oversight across …

Donald Trump Parisa Salehi Inspectors General institutional-capture corruption power-consolidation accountability-elimination
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Trump Demands $230 Million from DOJ as 'Compensation' for Investigations

| Importance: 10/10

President Trump is seeking $230 million in taxpayer funds from the Justice Department as ‘compensation’ for past federal investigations into his conduct. The payout would be approved by former Trump defense lawyers now occupying senior DOJ positions, creating severe ethical conflicts …

Donald Trump DOJ former Trump defense lawyers corruption conflicts-of-interest institutional-capture self-dealing abuse-of-power
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Ethics Probe Launched into Border Czar's Contract Ties with Detention Firms

| Importance: 8/10

The Campaign Legal Center requested investigation into Tom Homan and Mark Hall for possible ethics violations after revelations that both officials had prior financial connections to firms now seeking multimillion-dollar detention contracts with DHS. The request raises concerns about conflicts of …

Tom Homan Mark Hall Campaign Legal Center DHS private detention contractors conflicts-of-interest corruption institutional-capture self-dealing
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Trump Hosts $250 Million White House Ballroom Fundraiser with Defense and Tech Executives

| Importance: 9/10

President Trump hosted defense and technology executives at a White House ballroom fundraiser for his $250 million renovation project, with major donors including Lockheed Martin, Amazon, Meta, Google, and Palantir. Google’s $22 million settlement with Trump for social media suspension …

Donald Trump Google Amazon Meta Lockheed Martin +2 more corruption conflicts-of-interest pay-to-play institutional-capture self-dealing
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Secret Interagency Working Group Coordinates Trump Retaliation Against Political Opponents

| Importance: 10/10

Reuters revealed that 39 officials spanning the White House, DOJ, CIA, FBI, and intelligence agencies coordinate Trump’s systematic retaliation against perceived enemies from the Russia probe and January 6 investigations through a secret ‘Interagency Weaponization Working Group.’ …

Pam Bondi Tulsi Gabbard Trump Administration DOJ CIA +2 more weaponization-of-government institutional-capture corruption political-persecution authoritarianism
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North Carolina GOP Advances Mid-Decade Redistricting to Eliminate Black Representative

| Importance: 8/10

North Carolina Republicans advanced mid-decade congressional redistricting explicitly designed to eliminate the seat of Black Democratic Representative Don Davis and secure another House seat for the GOP. State Senator Ralph Hise openly acknowledged the partisan motivation, making no attempt to …

North Carolina Republican Party Sen. Ralph Hise Rep. Don Davis corruption voter-suppression racial-discrimination institutional-capture election-manipulation
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Musk's DOGE Uploads Hundreds of Millions of Americans' SSA Data to Unsecured Cloud

| Importance: 9/10

Former Social Security Administration chief data officer Charles Borges revealed that Elon Musk’s DOGE operatives uploaded hundreds of millions of Americans’ personal data from SSA systems to an unsecured cloud server, creating a massive security breach. Borges resigned after facing …

Elon Musk DOGE Charles Borges Social Security Administration corruption institutional-capture data-breach whistleblower-retaliation negligence
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FTC Deletes Consumer Protection Guidance on AI Fraud and Surveillance

| Importance: 7/10

The Federal Trade Commission deleted blog posts warning consumers about AI fraud, algorithmic bias, and corporate surveillance published under former Chair Lina Khan. The purge potentially violates federal record-keeping laws and shields tech companies from regulatory accountability. FTC’s …

FTC Lina Khan Trump Appointees tech companies institutional-capture corruption regulatory-capture consumer-harm
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Senate Confirms Industry Lobbyist to Lead EPA Chemical Safety Division

| Importance: 8/10

The Senate approved Douglas Troutman, chief lobbyist for the American Cleaning Institute, to lead EPA’s Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention. Troutman previously fought California’s hazardous ingredient disclosure laws on behalf of chemical manufacturers, representing …

Douglas Troutman American Cleaning Institute Senate EPA institutional-capture regulatory-capture conflicts-of-interest corruption
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Federal Prosecutor Fired for Refusing Trump Demand to Indict Letitia James

| Importance: 10/10

Federal prosecutor Elizabeth Yusi was purged from her position after refusing President Trump’s demand to indict New York Attorney General Letitia James without evidence of criminal conduct. Trump loyalist Lindsey Halligan—a former Trump personal attorney with no prosecutorial …

Elizabeth Yusi Donald Trump Letitia James Lindsey Halligan DOJ weaponization-of-government institutional-capture political-persecution corruption
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DHS Purchases $172 Million in Luxury Jets for Kristi Noem During Shutdown

| Importance: 8/10

Department of Homeland Security purchased two Gulfstream G700 luxury jets for Secretary Kristi Noem at a cost of $172 million—more than triple the original $50 million request. The purchase occurred during the government shutdown while 1.4 million federal workers remained unpaid and many resorted to …

Kristi Noem DHS Trump Administration corruption misuse-of-funds conflicts-of-interest abuse-of-power
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Trump Freezes $11 Billion in Infrastructure Projects in Democratic Cities

| Importance: 8/10

President Trump directed the Army Corps of Engineers to halt $11 billion in infrastructure funding across Democratic-led cities including New York, San Francisco, Boston, and Baltimore. The selective funding freeze represents weaponization of federal resources for partisan punishment rather than …

Donald Trump Army Corps of Engineers Democratic city governments corruption weaponization-of-government abuse-of-power political-retaliation
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Trump Commutes George Santos Prison Sentence for Fraud and Identity Theft

| Importance: 7/10

President Trump commuted the seven-year prison sentence of former GOP Rep. George Santos after he served only three months, despite Santos pleading guilty to wire fraud and identity theft in a donor scam. The commutation followed lobbying from Trump allies including Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene. …

Donald Trump George Santos Marjorie Taylor Greene corruption patronage abuse-of-power fraud
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Trump Commutes George Santos Prison Sentence After 3 Months

| Importance: 8/10

President Trump commuted the 87-month federal prison sentence of former Rep. George Santos (R-NY) after Santos served only three months of his sentence. Santos pleaded guilty in August 2024 to multiple counts of wire fraud, aggravated identity theft, campaign finance violations, and financial crimes …

Donald Trump White House George Santos executive-power pardons abuse-of-power corruption accountability-crisis
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OMB Director Russell Vought Consolidates Authoritarian Control Over Federal Government

| Importance: 9/10

ProPublica investigation revealed that Trump’s budget director Russell Vought controls federal funding and employment decisions to systematically dismantle agencies and purge staff deemed insufficiently loyal. Vought, a self-described Christian nationalist, wields unchecked power over the …

Russell Vought Donald Trump Elon Musk OMB corruption institutional-capture power-consolidation authoritarianism unelected-influence
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Trump Requires Political Loyalty Tests for All Federal Hiring

| Importance: 9/10

President Trump replaced the federal hiring freeze with an executive order mandating that political appointees approve all new government hires through ‘strategic hiring committees,’ converting civil service into a partisan screening mechanism. The order transforms federal employment …

Donald Trump Political Appointees Federal Agencies institutional-capture corruption abuse-of-power authoritarianism
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Trump Publicly Identifies Political Opponents for DOJ Prosecution

| Importance: 10/10

President Trump publicly named Jack Smith, Andrew Weissmann, and Lisa Monaco as targets for federal prosecution while Attorney General Pam Bondi and FBI Director Kash Patel stood silently beside him, signaling their complicity. The public targeting of former prosecutors and Justice Department …

Donald Trump Pam Bondi Kash Patel Jack Smith Andrew Weissmann +1 more corruption institutional-capture weaponization-of-government abuse-of-power rule-of-law-erosion
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Trump Pledges $40 Billion Argentina Bailout Tied to Milei Reelection

| Importance: 9/10

President Trump committed $40 billion in U.S. assistance to bail out Argentina’s economy while explicitly tying aid to President Javier Milei’s reelection prospects, stating he would ‘cut it off’ if Milei loses. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent assembled a $20 billion private …

Donald Trump Javier Milei Scott Bessent Treasury Department corruption conflicts-of-interest abuse-of-power foreign-policy-weaponization election-interference
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Trump Administration Plans IRS Overhaul to Target Liberal Donors and Nonprofits

| Importance: 9/10

Trump officials announced plans to remake the IRS to investigate liberal donors and nonprofit organizations, including specifically targeting George Soros and affiliated groups. The scheme involves replacing agency lawyers with political loyalists under the guise of ’terrorism financing’ …

Donald Trump Scott Bessent Gary Shapley IRS George Soros corruption institutional-capture weaponization-of-government political-persecution abuse-of-power
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Florida Officials Concealed $608 Million Federal Funding for Immigration Detention Facility

| Importance: 8/10

Florida officials concealed a $608 million federal funding request for an immigration detention facility nicknamed ‘Alligator Alcatraz,’ misleading courts about federal involvement to bypass environmental safeguards and legal challenges. The DeSantis administration’s secrecy …

DeSantis administration Florida officials Federal Courts Trump Administration corruption institutional-capture government-secrecy fraud
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YouTube Pays Trump $24.5M to Settle Suspension Lawsuit, $22M for White House Ballroom

| Importance: 9/10

YouTube agreed to pay Trump $24.5 million to settle his lawsuit over account suspension following the January 6, 2021 Capitol attack, with Google dedicating $22 million to Trump’s White House ballroom construction. Free speech experts stated the lawsuit raised no credible legal claims since …

Donald Trump YouTube Google Meta X corruption pay-to-play conflicts-of-interest shakedown tech-regulation
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ProPublica Reveals Noem Fast-Tracked $11M FEMA Funds to Naples Pier After Donor Intervention

| Importance: 9/10

ProPublica exposed that Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem expedited over $11 million in federal disaster funds to rebuild Naples, Florida’s tourist pier within 24 hours after major donor Dr. Sinan Gursoy texted her on behalf of the city’s mayor. After Gursoy told the mayor ‘I …

Kristi Noem Sinan Gursoy Teresa Heitmann FEMA DHS corruption pay-to-play disaster-relief cronyism fema-abuse
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Envoy Witkoff's Son Pitches $4B Fund to Qatar and UAE While Father Negotiates Ceasefire

| Importance: 9/10

The New York Times revealed that Alex Witkoff pitched a $4 billion real estate fund to sovereign wealth funds of Qatar, UAE, and Kuwait while his father Steve Witkoff served as Trump’s special envoy negotiating Gaza ceasefire with those same nations. The proposed ‘Special Situations Real …

Steve Witkoff Alex Witkoff Qatar Investment Authority UAE Kuwait corruption conflicts-of-interest foreign-influence pay-to-play nepotism
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Trump Signs Executive Order Approving TikTok Deal with Oracle Partnership

| Importance: 7/10

President Trump signed Executive Order 14352 titled ‘Saving TikTok While Protecting National Security’ on September 25, 2025, approving a deal that allows TikTok to continue operating in the United States under majority U.S. ownership. The order extended the enforcement deadline by 120 …

Donald Trump White House Oracle ByteDance TikTok executive-power executive-orders tech-policy corruption
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Trump Approves TikTok Deal Giving Control to Allies Ellison and Murdoch, Demands Billions

| Importance: 9/10

Trump signed an executive order approving a TikTok deal that hands control to close allies Larry Ellison (Oracle), Rupert and Lachlan Murdoch (Fox Corp), and Michael Dell, with Oracle managing the algorithm and security infrastructure. The investor group—including Oracle, Silver Lake, Andreessen …

Donald Trump Larry Ellison Oracle Rupert Murdoch Lachlan Murdoch +3 more corruption conflicts-of-interest cronyism tech-regulation surveillance +1 more
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POGO Exposes Ballard Partners Clients Winning No-Bid ICE Biometric Surveillance Contracts

| Importance: 9/10

Project On Government Oversight revealed that Ballard Partners—the lobbying firm that employed Attorney General Pam Bondi and White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles—secured lucrative no-bid ICE contracts for clients providing controversial biometric surveillance technology. In August, …

Ballard Partners Pam Bondi Susie Wiles ICE BI² Technologies +1 more corruption pay-to-play conflicts-of-interest surveillance government-contracts +1 more
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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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Trump Demands 10% Equity Stake in Lithium Americas During $2.26B Federal Loan Renegotiation

| Importance: 8/10

The Trump administration demanded up to a 10 percent equity stake in Lithium Americas as it renegotiated terms of a $2.26 billion federal loan for the Thacker Pass mine project in Nevada—the western hemisphere’s largest planned lithium source. Two sources confirmed Trump officials sought to …

Donald Trump Lithium Americas Department of Energy General Motors conflicts-of-interest government-ownership corruption resource-extraction cronyism
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Meta Launches Second Super PAC in Month, Pledging Tens of Millions to Fight AI Regulation

| Importance: 8/10

Meta announced the launch of the American Technology Excellence Project, its second super PAC in a month, pledging tens of millions of dollars to elect ’tech-friendly politicians’ from both parties in the 2026 midterms. The PAC—run by Republican operative Brian Baker and Democratic …

Meta American Technology Excellence Project Brian Baker Hilltop Public Solutions regulatory-capture corruption tech-regulation campaign-finance super-pacs
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DOJ Closes Bribery Investigation of Border Czar Tom Homan Despite FBI Evidence

| Importance: 9/10

The Trump Justice Department officially closed an FBI investigation into border czar Tom Homan after FBI recordings captured him accepting $50,000 in cash in a restaurant takeout bag on September 20, 2024, from undercover agents posing as business executives. In the recordings, Homan agreed to help …

Tom Homan Emil Bove Kash Patel FBI Department of Justice corruption obstruction-of-justice institutional-capture doj-weaponization impunity
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Trump's $200M White House Ballroom Funded by Government Contractors Seeking Access

| Importance: 9/10

Trump announced construction of a $200-250 million White House ballroom funded entirely by private donors including Lockheed Martin, Google, Palantir, Microsoft, Amazon, Meta, and Blackstone. Nearly 40 corporations with billions in federal contracts pledged $5-10 million each, with donors’ …

Donald Trump Lockheed Martin Google Palantir Microsoft +3 more corruption pay-to-play conflicts-of-interest institutional-capture government-contracts
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Trump Signs 'Gold Card' Visa Executive Order Requiring $1-2 Million Payments

| Importance: 8/10

President Trump signed Executive Order 14351 establishing the ‘Gold Card’ visa program, requiring foreign nationals to make ‘unrestricted gifts’ of $1 million to the Department of Commerce ($2 million if a corporation gives on behalf of an individual) to obtain residency. The …

Donald Trump White House Department of Commerce executive-power executive-orders immigration corruption
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