Influence-Peddling

Pro-Trump Fund Fraudulently Markets Fake Treasury Event, Sells Sponsorships

| Importance: 8/10

1789 Capital falsely marketed an ‘Inaugural U.S. Treasury A.I. Summit’ featuring Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, selling sponsorships with promised VIP access to senior government officials. The Treasury Department confirmed it never approved the materials or event. Organizers later …

1789 Capital Scott Bessent Treasury Department Corporate Sponsors systematic-corruption influence-peddling fraud pay-to-play
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Oracle Spends $11 Million on Federal Lobbying, Focuses on TikTok Data Storage Deal

| Importance: 7/10

Oracle Corporation spent approximately $11 million on federal lobbying during 2024, maintaining its position among an exclusive group of companies that exceeded eight figures in annual lobbying expenditures. This lobbying investment placed Oracle alongside tech giants including Amazon, …

Oracle U.S. Senate Senate Commerce Committee Senate Intelligence Committee lobbying oracle corruption tiktok influence-peddling
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Mar-a-Lago Membership Fee Doubles to $400K for Presidential Access

| Importance: 7/10

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 …

Donald Trump Mar-a-Lago Chris Ruddy Yujing Zhang Secret Service pay-for-access emoluments-clause corruption mar-a-lago influence-peddling
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Essential Consultants Receives Over $2M from Multiple Corporate Entities and Oligarch-Linked Firms

| Importance: 9/10

Cohen’s shell company Essential Consultants receives complex network of payments: $500,000 from Columbus Nova linked to Russian oligarch Vekselberg, $1.2M from Novartis, $200k from AT&T, and $150,000 from Korea Aerospace Industries, turning hush money vehicle into a multi-million dollar …

Essential Consultants LLC Columbus Nova Viktor Vekselberg Novartis AT&T +2 more shell-company russian-money oligarch-payments influence-peddling essential-consultants +2 more
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Clinton Pardon Scandal Reveals Payments to President's Brother and Brother-in-Law

| Importance: 8/10

New revelations emerge that Hugh Rodham, Hillary Clinton’s brother, received $400,000 in payments for successfully lobbying President Clinton to grant a pardon to Almon Glenn Braswell, a businessman under investigation for money laundering, and a commutation for convicted drug trafficker …

Bill Clinton Hillary Clinton Roger Clinton Hugh Rodham Almon Glenn Braswell +1 more presidential-pardons corruption influence-peddling accountability
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Lincoln Bedroom Fundraising Scandal Reveals White House Donor Access Program

| Importance: 8/10

Documents revealed in February 1997 show that President Bill Clinton and top aides orchestrated a broad fundraising operation during his first term, explicitly using overnight stays in the White House Lincoln Bedroom and other perks to woo and reward major donors. President Clinton personally …

Bill Clinton Democratic National Committee Major Donors campaign-finance political-corruption influence-peddling fundraising-scandal white-house
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