Post by Issue One

The presidency has never been used quite like this. Issue One just put out a report breaking down — by the numbers — how Trump & Co. are cashing in on the White House. A few that stopped us cold: $187 million earned by the Trump family after the UAE president's brother bought a 49% stake in their crypto venture. Within months, the administration pledged to give the UAE 500,000 advanced AI chips, worth billions. $75 million invested in that same crypto venture by Chinese-born billionaire Justin Sun — whose SEC fraud case was subsequently settled for $10 million with no admission of wrongdoing. $6.75 million donated to Trump-aligned groups by individuals convicted of crimes, or their relatives, before receiving presidential pardons. $4.8 million donated to Trump's super PAC by nursing home executives. One month later, the administration stopped defending a rule requiring more staffing at nursing homes. $1 billion purchasing agreement between DHS and Palantir — whose CEO donated $2 million to Trump-aligned groups and who paid zero federal income tax three years running. 145 times foreign government officials from 20+ countries have visited Trump's personal properties since his inauguration. None of this is normal. None of this should be acceptable — regardless of party. The Constitution has an entire clause — the Emoluments Clause — designed specifically to prevent a president from profiting off the office. It exists because the Founders understood that financial entanglement with foreign governments is a direct threat to American sovereignty and democratic governance. We should all be paying attention. Read our report on the 20 ways the Trump Administration is putting profit over principles in our latest edition of Corruption Chronicles. Link in comments.