#self-dealing — Public Fediverse posts
Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #self-dealing, aggregated by home.social.
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A FOIA Update, Of Sorts
Last week, a Government Information Specialist at the State Department emailed to ask if I would still be interested in records I requested in 2021 under the Freedom of Information Act. “The Department is undertaking a comprehensive review of its backlog of FOIA requests,” she wrote, and if (after failing to respond to my request for five years) she did not hear from me within thirty days, “the Department will conclude you are no longer interested in pursuing this request, and your request will be administratively closed.”
The request itself concerned the Kalorama mansion purchased by Chilean billionaire Andronico Luksic Craig right after the 2016 election, where Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump lived during Trump’s first term. (I’ve written several posts about the situation over the years. This one is a pretty good primer.) When Jared and Ivanka decamped to Florida in 2021, the Kuwaiti foreign mission leased Luksic’s Washington, DC property; federal law required State Department approval. So I asked to see the Kuwaiti foreign mission’s written request and the State Department’s Notice of Approval.
I was casting a wide net in order to learn what I could about Luksic, his influence operations, and his international network of business relationships, which now extends to the very edge of the Boundary Waters, where Luksic-controlled Antofagasta plc plans to build the Twin Metals copper and nickel mine.
It was a longshot request to begin with. Is there anything to learn from these Foreign Mission Office records, five years later? Not likely, but who knows? So I replied that I am still interested. I feel obliged to see the thing through, or to see that the Department of State meets its obligation to the public.
While I had the attention, or at least the email address, of someone involved in the comprehensive review, I thought I should ask about two other requests I’d filed with the Department of State back in October of 2018, and which I’ve been trying to chase down ever since. These requests concern the use of the US embassy in Santiago, Chile as a business backchannel for Antofagasta: one asks for records of a 2017 meeting between Antofagasta CEO Ivan Arriagada and Carol Perez, then US ambassador to Chile; the other asks for embassy communications regarding Trump’s nomination of Andrew Gellert to replace Perez. Over the years, the Department has set and missed several estimated dates of completion for these requests. I detailed some of the back and forth in a 2023 post. Since then, or at least for the past couple of years, the FOIA Office has failed to respond to my requests for more information about the status of these requests.
On Monday, this reply came:
These requests remain in process and has [sic] a new estimated date of completion (EDC) of January 31, 2028. EDCs are estimates and subject to change. You will be notified of the results of the Department’s search and review efforts in response to these requests as soon as that information becomes available.
This is just boilerplate, of course; the subject-verb disagreement in the first sentence looks like a copy-paste accident. Still, a few observations.
The requests are said to be “in process,” but in eight years no “search and review efforts” have been undertaken. The new estimated date of completion falls in the last year of Trump’s second term – a year and a half from now – and the FOIA office is not even committing to a response when the 2018 request hits the ten-year mark. I am sufficiently annoyed by this delay that I have to wonder aloud (but without evidence) if there is some directive at State to push FOIA matters, or certain FOIA matters, to the end of this administration.
The FOIA office blames a backlog of requests, and that backlog is real. “The State Department’s FOIA backlog spiked by 6,000 cases to a total of 27,619” this fiscal year, reports Justin Doubleday. Back in June, Minho Kim did some great data analysis for the New York Times showing that federal agencies “accumulated the highest-ever backlog of cases in fiscal year 2025, raising questions about compliance with the Freedom of Information Act.” Not surprisingly, “the problem appears to have worsened under President Trump.” And the backlog problem has been compounded by cuts to FOIA staff, leaving “several key FOIA leadership and staff positions vacant” at State. One administration official quoted by the Times says the Trump administration chose to “hire ICE officers instead of FOIA processors.” That snide remark alone speaks volumes about this administration’s misplaced priorities, its refusal of all accountability, and its contemptuous disregard for the public interest.
To put it another way: the FOIA backlog is itself a symptom of bad government and corruption, a condition that is only exacerbated by the Trumpist dismantling and hijacking of public institutions and federal agencies.
In 2019, William J. Burns warned against Trump’s “diplomacy of narcissism, bent on advancing private interests at the expense of our national interests.” The events that prompted my FOIA requests in 2018 – the meeting of an Antofagasta executive with Ambassador Perez and the nomination of Gellert, a Kushner friend – fit the pattern. The cronyism and self-dealing of the first term have gotten much worse and much more blatant this go-round. Charles Kushner is ambassador to France! Jared and Steve Witkoff are the faces of US diplomacy. The ambassador to Chile is Brandon Judd, a longtime Trump campaign stalwart and former head of the Border Patrol union. Judd’s main qualification seems to be that he spent some time in Chile in the 1990s, proselytizing for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. José Miguel Insulza put it bluntly: “de diplomacia no sabe nada.”
AmbassadorJudd has not exactly covered himself in glory. He caused an uproar just a couple of weeks ago when he criticized Chilean cabinet ministers for expressing serious and legitimate concerns about the new 12.5 percent tariffs on Chilean exports, petulantly adding that there would be no agreement if they continued their criticisms. Judd went on to suggest that Chile’s business leaders should “complain to your authorities to prevent them from making declarations about the relationship with the United States.”
“The ambassador,” said Juan Gabriel Valdés, “does not seem to understand that he is not part of the Chilean political system…. he does not have a role to play in internal Chilean political debate.” And this was not an isolated incident, Valdés noted. It was “the third or fourth time” that Judd had acted more like a colonial viceroy than a diplomat.
For the moment, at least, Chile’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Francisco Pérez Mackenna and his team are handling Judd. Pérez Mackenna is a seasoned negotiator. Before joining the right-wing Kast government this past spring, he spent nearly three decades as CEO of Quiñenco, managing the global operations of the Luksic business empire. Make of that what you will.
#corruption #cronyism #diplomacy #FOIA #FreedomOfInformationAct #oligarchy #power #selfDealing #softPower -
Federal Judge Nukes Trump’s Self-Dealt IRS ‘Settlement,’ Sends Lawyers To The Bar
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Federal Judge Nukes Trump’s Self-Dealt IRS ‘Settlement,’ Sends Lawyers To The Bar
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Federal Judge Nukes Trump’s Self-Dealt IRS ‘Settlement,’ Sends Lawyers To The Bar
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Federal Judge Nukes Trump’s Self-Dealt IRS ‘Settlement,’ Sends Lawyers To The Bar
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Federal Judge Nukes Trump’s Self-Dealt IRS ‘Settlement,’ Sends Lawyers To The Bar
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The #Trump sons are part of #investment groups that have poured money into established #government contractors, such as #SpaceX & #Anduril, as well as lesser-known start-ups aspiring to build a new generation of nimble, tech-forward weaponry — from drones to humanoid robots that can either mow a lawn or use deadly force. Most of the firms are in the #defense industry,
#law #ethics #emoluments #SelfDealing #SelfEnrichment #corruption #InsiderTrading #NationalSecurity
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The #Trump sons are part of #investment groups that have poured money into established #government contractors, such as #SpaceX & #Anduril, as well as lesser-known start-ups aspiring to build a new generation of nimble, tech-forward weaponry — from drones to humanoid robots that can either mow a lawn or use deadly force. Most of the firms are in the #defense industry,
#law #ethics #emoluments #SelfDealing #SelfEnrichment #corruption #InsiderTrading #NationalSecurity
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The #Trump sons are part of #investment groups that have poured money into established #government contractors, such as #SpaceX & #Anduril, as well as lesser-known start-ups aspiring to build a new generation of nimble, tech-forward weaponry — from drones to humanoid robots that can either mow a lawn or use deadly force. Most of the firms are in the #defense industry,
#law #ethics #emoluments #SelfDealing #SelfEnrichment #corruption #InsiderTrading #NationalSecurity
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The #Trump sons are part of #investment groups that have poured money into established #government contractors, such as #SpaceX & #Anduril, as well as lesser-known start-ups aspiring to build a new generation of nimble, tech-forward weaponry — from drones to humanoid robots that can either mow a lawn or use deadly force. Most of the firms are in the #defense industry,
#law #ethics #emoluments #SelfDealing #SelfEnrichment #corruption #InsiderTrading #NationalSecurity
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The #Trump sons are part of #investment groups that have poured money into established #government contractors, such as #SpaceX & #Anduril, as well as lesser-known start-ups aspiring to build a new generation of nimble, tech-forward weaponry — from drones to humanoid robots that can either mow a lawn or use deadly force. Most of the firms are in the #defense industry,
#law #ethics #emoluments #SelfDealing #SelfEnrichment #corruption #InsiderTrading #NationalSecurity
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Most of the investments have taken place since #Trump was elected president for a second time. The companies have collectively generated at least $3.2 billion in direct #government business since the sons invested & an additional $3.1 billion in future contract options. Some have gained coveted spots on shortlists of preapproved contractors that can bid exclusively on up to nearly $200 billion in future work.
#law #ethics #emoluments #SelfDealing #corruption #InsiderTrading #NationalSecurity
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Most of the investments have taken place since #Trump was elected president for a second time. The companies have collectively generated at least $3.2 billion in direct #government business since the sons invested & an additional $3.1 billion in future contract options. Some have gained coveted spots on shortlists of preapproved contractors that can bid exclusively on up to nearly $200 billion in future work.
#law #ethics #emoluments #SelfDealing #corruption #InsiderTrading #NationalSecurity
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Most of the investments have taken place since #Trump was elected president for a second time. The companies have collectively generated at least $3.2 billion in direct #government business since the sons invested & an additional $3.1 billion in future contract options. Some have gained coveted spots on shortlists of preapproved contractors that can bid exclusively on up to nearly $200 billion in future work.
#law #ethics #emoluments #SelfDealing #corruption #InsiderTrading #NationalSecurity
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Most of the investments have taken place since #Trump was elected president for a second time. The companies have collectively generated at least $3.2 billion in direct #government business since the sons invested & an additional $3.1 billion in future contract options. Some have gained coveted spots on shortlists of preapproved contractors that can bid exclusively on up to nearly $200 billion in future work.
#law #ethics #emoluments #SelfDealing #corruption #InsiderTrading #NationalSecurity
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Most of the investments have taken place since #Trump was elected president for a second time. The companies have collectively generated at least $3.2 billion in direct #government business since the sons invested & an additional $3.1 billion in future contract options. Some have gained coveted spots on shortlists of preapproved contractors that can bid exclusively on up to nearly $200 billion in future work.
#law #ethics #emoluments #SelfDealing #corruption #InsiderTrading #NationalSecurity
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As the current admin has made modernizing the tools of warfighting a centerpiece of its #NationalSecurity agenda, funds linked to the #Trump brothers have invested in more than a dozen #defense #tech companies & other firms seeking businesses from the #Pentagon & federal agencies, a WaPo analysis finds, based on public federal contracting databases & news releases as well as data from PitchBook, a VC research database.
#law #ethics #emoluments #SelfDealing #SelfEnrichment #InsiderTrading
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As the current admin has made modernizing the tools of warfighting a centerpiece of its #NationalSecurity agenda, funds linked to the #Trump brothers have invested in more than a dozen #defense #tech companies & other firms seeking businesses from the #Pentagon & federal agencies, a WaPo analysis finds, based on public federal contracting databases & news releases as well as data from PitchBook, a VC research database.
#law #ethics #emoluments #SelfDealing #SelfEnrichment #InsiderTrading
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As the current admin has made modernizing the tools of warfighting a centerpiece of its #NationalSecurity agenda, funds linked to the #Trump brothers have invested in more than a dozen #defense #tech companies & other firms seeking businesses from the #Pentagon & federal agencies, a WaPo analysis finds, based on public federal contracting databases & news releases as well as data from PitchBook, a VC research database.
#law #ethics #emoluments #SelfDealing #SelfEnrichment #InsiderTrading
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As the current admin has made modernizing the tools of warfighting a centerpiece of its #NationalSecurity agenda, funds linked to the #Trump brothers have invested in more than a dozen #defense #tech companies & other firms seeking businesses from the #Pentagon & federal agencies, a WaPo analysis finds, based on public federal contracting databases & news releases as well as data from PitchBook, a VC research database.
#law #ethics #emoluments #SelfDealing #SelfEnrichment #InsiderTrading
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As the current admin has made modernizing the tools of warfighting a centerpiece of its #NationalSecurity agenda, funds linked to the #Trump brothers have invested in more than a dozen #defense #tech companies & other firms seeking businesses from the #Pentagon & federal agencies, a WaPo analysis finds, based on public federal contracting databases & news releases as well as data from PitchBook, a VC research database.
#law #ethics #emoluments #SelfDealing #SelfEnrichment #InsiderTrading
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President Donald Trump’s sons Donald Trump Jr & Eric Trump have amassed a portfolio of #defense #technology start-ups that are benefiting from new #Pentagon priorities & spending, further entangling the #UnitedStates’ interests & the #Trump family’s financial fortunes in an area with immense stakes for #NationalSecurity.
#law #ethics #emoluments #SelfDealing #SelfEnrichment #corruption #InsiderTrading
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President Donald Trump’s sons Donald Trump Jr & Eric Trump have amassed a portfolio of #defense #technology start-ups that are benefiting from new #Pentagon priorities & spending, further entangling the #UnitedStates’ interests & the #Trump family’s financial fortunes in an area with immense stakes for #NationalSecurity.
#law #ethics #emoluments #SelfDealing #SelfEnrichment #corruption #InsiderTrading
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President Donald Trump’s sons Donald Trump Jr & Eric Trump have amassed a portfolio of #defense #technology start-ups that are benefiting from new #Pentagon priorities & spending, further entangling the #UnitedStates’ interests & the #Trump family’s financial fortunes in an area with immense stakes for #NationalSecurity.
#law #ethics #emoluments #SelfDealing #SelfEnrichment #corruption #InsiderTrading
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President Donald Trump’s sons Donald Trump Jr & Eric Trump have amassed a portfolio of #defense #technology start-ups that are benefiting from new #Pentagon priorities & spending, further entangling the #UnitedStates’ interests & the #Trump family’s financial fortunes in an area with immense stakes for #NationalSecurity.
#law #ethics #emoluments #SelfDealing #SelfEnrichment #corruption #InsiderTrading
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President Donald Trump’s sons Donald Trump Jr & Eric Trump have amassed a portfolio of #defense #technology start-ups that are benefiting from new #Pentagon priorities & spending, further entangling the #UnitedStates’ interests & the #Trump family’s financial fortunes in an area with immense stakes for #NationalSecurity.
#law #ethics #emoluments #SelfDealing #SelfEnrichment #corruption #InsiderTrading
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Trump’s sons are #investing in #defense as the #Trump administration pours money in.
The companies have collectively generated at least $3.2 billion in direct #government business since Donald Trump Jr. & Eric Trump invested.
#law #ethics #emoluments #SelfDealing #SelfEnrichment #corruption #InsiderTrading #NationalSecurity
https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/interactive/2026/07/13/trumps-sons-invest-heavily-defense-fathers-administration-pours-money/?utm_campaign=tt_2510:control;rct:0:0:2:20260701&utm_source=webview&no_nav=true&utm_medium=referral_home&itid=back_to_front -
Trump’s sons are #investing in #defense as the #Trump administration pours money in.
The companies have collectively generated at least $3.2 billion in direct #government business since Donald Trump Jr. & Eric Trump invested.
#law #ethics #emoluments #SelfDealing #SelfEnrichment #corruption #InsiderTrading #NationalSecurity
https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/interactive/2026/07/13/trumps-sons-invest-heavily-defense-fathers-administration-pours-money/?utm_campaign=tt_2510:control;rct:0:0:2:20260701&utm_source=webview&no_nav=true&utm_medium=referral_home&itid=back_to_front -
Trump’s sons are #investing in #defense as the #Trump administration pours money in.
The companies have collectively generated at least $3.2 billion in direct #government business since Donald Trump Jr. & Eric Trump invested.
#law #ethics #emoluments #SelfDealing #SelfEnrichment #corruption #InsiderTrading #NationalSecurity
https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/interactive/2026/07/13/trumps-sons-invest-heavily-defense-fathers-administration-pours-money/?utm_campaign=tt_2510:control;rct:0:0:2:20260701&utm_source=webview&no_nav=true&utm_medium=referral_home&itid=back_to_front -
Trump’s sons are #investing in #defense as the #Trump administration pours money in.
The companies have collectively generated at least $3.2 billion in direct #government business since Donald Trump Jr. & Eric Trump invested.
#law #ethics #emoluments #SelfDealing #SelfEnrichment #corruption #InsiderTrading #NationalSecurity
https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/interactive/2026/07/13/trumps-sons-invest-heavily-defense-fathers-administration-pours-money/?utm_campaign=tt_2510:control;rct:0:0:2:20260701&utm_source=webview&no_nav=true&utm_medium=referral_home&itid=back_to_front -
Trump’s sons are #investing in #defense as the #Trump administration pours money in.
The companies have collectively generated at least $3.2 billion in direct #government business since Donald Trump Jr. & Eric Trump invested.
#law #ethics #emoluments #SelfDealing #SelfEnrichment #corruption #InsiderTrading #NationalSecurity
https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/interactive/2026/07/13/trumps-sons-invest-heavily-defense-fathers-administration-pours-money/?utm_campaign=tt_2510:control;rct:0:0:2:20260701&utm_source=webview&no_nav=true&utm_medium=referral_home&itid=back_to_front -
IF THEY ARE ADMITTING #Felon47 made $2.2 BILLION JUST LAST YEAR while in office (while #MAGAts swoon over his selflessness for not taking a salary), just imagine how much he's REALLY profiting off the presidency thru his flagrant #grifting, #SelfDealing, #PayToPlay schemes, #SellingPardons and flat-out #bribery.
But... but... #HunterBiden! 🤬
https://www.ms.now/the-briefing-with-jen-psaki/watch/investigations-already-underway-as-trump-goes-overboard-with-corruption-2505385027746 -
IF THEY ARE ADMITTING #Felon47 made $2.2 BILLION JUST LAST YEAR while in office (while #MAGAts swoon over his selflessness for not taking a salary), just imagine how much he's REALLY profiting off the presidency thru his flagrant #grifting, #SelfDealing, #PayToPlay schemes, #SellingPardons and flat-out #bribery.
But... but... #HunterBiden! 🤬
https://www.ms.now/the-briefing-with-jen-psaki/watch/investigations-already-underway-as-trump-goes-overboard-with-corruption-2505385027746 -
IF THEY ARE ADMITTING #Felon47 made $2.2 BILLION JUST LAST YEAR while in office (while #MAGAts swoon over his selflessness for not taking a salary), just imagine how much he's REALLY profiting off the presidency thru his flagrant #grifting, #SelfDealing, #PayToPlay schemes, #SellingPardons and flat-out #bribery.
But... but... #HunterBiden! 🤬
https://www.ms.now/the-briefing-with-jen-psaki/watch/investigations-already-underway-as-trump-goes-overboard-with-corruption-2505385027746 -
IF THEY ARE ADMITTING #Felon47 made $2.2 BILLION JUST LAST YEAR while in office (while #MAGAts swoon over his selflessness for not taking a salary), just imagine how much he's REALLY profiting off the presidency thru his flagrant #grifting, #SelfDealing, #PayToPlay schemes, #SellingPardons and flat-out #bribery.
But... but... #HunterBiden! 🤬
https://www.ms.now/the-briefing-with-jen-psaki/watch/investigations-already-underway-as-trump-goes-overboard-with-corruption-2505385027746 -
IF THEY ARE ADMITTING #Felon47 made $2.2 BILLION JUST LAST YEAR while in office (while #MAGAts swoon over his selflessness for not taking a salary), just imagine how much he's REALLY profiting off the presidency thru his flagrant #grifting, #SelfDealing, #PayToPlay schemes, #SellingPardons and flat-out #bribery.
But... but... #HunterBiden! 🤬
https://www.ms.now/the-briefing-with-jen-psaki/watch/investigations-already-underway-as-trump-goes-overboard-with-corruption-2505385027746 -
The Insurrection Payout Fund Is Dead. Long Live The Federal Tort Claims Act!
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The Insurrection Payout Fund Is Dead. Long Live The Federal Tort Claims Act!
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The Insurrection Payout Fund Is Dead. Long Live The Federal Tort Claims Act!
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The Insurrection Payout Fund Is Dead. Long Live The Federal Tort Claims Act!
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The Insurrection Payout Fund Is Dead. Long Live The Federal Tort Claims Act!
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More on #Trump #SelfDealing
Laura Rozen reposted:
Josh Marshall -- @joshtpm
"In effect, this means Trump and his family never have to pay taxes again. Quite literally. Curious how this agreement would stand up in court since it was an agreement Trump signed with himself"
* * * * *
Josh Gerstein -- @joshgerstein
"FLASH: DOJ expands settlement in Trump-IRS leak suit to cover audits of all tax returns filed by Trump, family members, companies and trusts. Waiver of IRS' claims contained in addendum signed by AAG Blanche that was not in agreement released Monday"
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"since it was an agreement Trump signed with himself""
#DonaldTrump #Trump #PeteHegseth #MarcoRubio #StephenMiller #MAGA #RepublicanParty #Republicans #GOP
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More on #Trump #SelfDealing
Laura Rozen reposted:
Josh Marshall -- @joshtpm
"In effect, this means Trump and his family never have to pay taxes again. Quite literally. Curious how this agreement would stand up in court since it was an agreement Trump signed with himself"
* * * * *
Josh Gerstein -- @joshgerstein
"FLASH: DOJ expands settlement in Trump-IRS leak suit to cover audits of all tax returns filed by Trump, family members, companies and trusts. Waiver of IRS' claims contained in addendum signed by AAG Blanche that was not in agreement released Monday"
* * * * *
"since it was an agreement Trump signed with himself""
#DonaldTrump #Trump #PeteHegseth #MarcoRubio #StephenMiller #MAGA #RepublicanParty #Republicans #GOP
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More on #Trump #SelfDealing
Laura Rozen reposted:
Josh Marshall -- @joshtpm
"In effect, this means Trump and his family never have to pay taxes again. Quite literally. Curious how this agreement would stand up in court since it was an agreement Trump signed with himself"
* * * * *
Josh Gerstein -- @joshgerstein
"FLASH: DOJ expands settlement in Trump-IRS leak suit to cover audits of all tax returns filed by Trump, family members, companies and trusts. Waiver of IRS' claims contained in addendum signed by AAG Blanche that was not in agreement released Monday"
* * * * *
"since it was an agreement Trump signed with himself""
#DonaldTrump #Trump #PeteHegseth #MarcoRubio #StephenMiller #MAGA #RepublicanParty #Republicans #GOP
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More on #Trump #SelfDealing
Laura Rozen reposted:
Josh Marshall -- @joshtpm
"In effect, this means Trump and his family never have to pay taxes again. Quite literally. Curious how this agreement would stand up in court since it was an agreement Trump signed with himself"
* * * * *
Josh Gerstein -- @joshgerstein
"FLASH: DOJ expands settlement in Trump-IRS leak suit to cover audits of all tax returns filed by Trump, family members, companies and trusts. Waiver of IRS' claims contained in addendum signed by AAG Blanche that was not in agreement released Monday"
* * * * *
"since it was an agreement Trump signed with himself""
#DonaldTrump #Trump #PeteHegseth #MarcoRubio #StephenMiller #MAGA #RepublicanParty #Republicans #GOP
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More on #Trump #SelfDealing
Laura Rozen reposted:
Josh Marshall -- @joshtpm
"In effect, this means Trump and his family never have to pay taxes again. Quite literally. Curious how this agreement would stand up in court since it was an agreement Trump signed with himself"
* * * * *
Josh Gerstein -- @joshgerstein
"FLASH: DOJ expands settlement in Trump-IRS leak suit to cover audits of all tax returns filed by Trump, family members, companies and trusts. Waiver of IRS' claims contained in addendum signed by AAG Blanche that was not in agreement released Monday"
* * * * *
"since it was an agreement Trump signed with himself""
#DonaldTrump #Trump #PeteHegseth #MarcoRubio #StephenMiller #MAGA #RepublicanParty #Republicans #GOP
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A Timeline of Trump’s Intel Trades
Here’s a timeline that plots Trump’s Intel trades against Intel’s stock price. I’ve included a few major policy changes and announcements.
It’s a rough sketch that tries to put the Intel trades in context. Maybe others will find it useful.
Trump boasted in January of this year that he had made “tens of billions of dollars for the American people” in the four months after he converted Intel’s Biden CHIPS Act grant to an equity stake. Shares of Intel jumped from the mid-forties to the mid-fifties on this claim, hitting a 52-week high.
Trump’s 278-T disclosures show that he waited things out for a couple of months, as shares settled back into the mid-forties. He started buying shares in early March and continued buying throughout the month.
The president’s disclosure shows him buying Intel stock on six separate occasions. The transactions were relatively small, some around $15,000 others in the 15-50K range, and all below 100,000, according to the disclosure. Fortune notes that “several” of these trades were “unsolicited” (meaning they were not made on the recommendation of a broker). By my count, four of the six trades made in March were unsolicited.
Here’s another look* at Trump’s March Intel trades listed by date and organized into a table. Trades marked “unsolicited” are so described in the president’s disclosure form; those not so described are left blank.
The trades are relatively small, three in the 15-50K range, only one in the 50-100K range. Let’s not get hung up on that. The dollar amount of the bet is not really the issue, at least as far as presidential ethics and Article II Section 4 misdemeanors go. And, pace Vance, Trump’s wealth does not mean that the rules don’t apply.
It’s also worth noting that the four trades marked unsolicited are bigger bets than the two trades of 17 and 23 March. The first move, on 2 March, looks pretty confident, the kind of move one might make on reliable information. It was repeated in two steps the following week.
March was a good month to buy. Shares took off at the very start of April on news that the company bought out Apollo Global’s stake in an Irish fab. As the chart shows, shares jumped about 9 percent on the day of the announcement (April 1). It was a breakaway event.
Intel’s press release names some of the many players involved in this transaction.
Among them, Skadden Arps, the law firm that advised Intel in the US government’s acquisition of the equity stake. Under public pressure from Trump, Skadden had previously agreed, in March of 2025, to provide “$100 million in pro bono legal services to causes the president supports.” A shareholder lawsuit in the Delaware Court of Chancery calls out the obvious conflict of interest.
Apollo came away from the deal with a 27 percent return on its initial investment: $3 billion in less than two years. The deal happened quickly (but it didn’t happen overnight), and it’s unclear exactly who was involved in or privy to the buyback negotiations. Certain people had to be. For example, the CEO of Apollo Global: Marc Rowan, billionaire Wharton alumnus, big republican donor, and a member of Trump’s Board of Peace. After the 2024 election, Trump considered appointing Rowan Secretary of the Treasury.
Strong earnings announced on April 23 further boosted the stock. A week later, on April 30, Trump posted that “Intel stock continues to rise.” That’s true: since April, the stock has climbed steadily, reaching a record high of 129.44.
The news that sent Intel to that record high, tripling Trump’s stake, was the May 8 announcement of the Intel-Apple deal. The deal was in the works for a year or so. Now there are reports that Trump “brokered,” or claims to have brokered, that deal. It would come as no surprise if he were taking credit for Howard Lutnick’s work. Either way, it’s not a good look.
None of this is.
*I added this table and the three paragraphs discussing it on 23 May 2026. I created it in connection with another post I am drafting then realized it belonged here, not there.
#APO #ApolloGlobalManagement #APPL #corruption #extortion #fiduciaryDuty #governance #insiderTrading #INTC #Intel #PaisnerVTan #personalistRule #selfDealing -
Wow - have to say, he takes #SelfDealing to new levels - an inspiration to corrupt leaders everywhere in government, non-profit and business.
Trump moves to dismiss $10bn lawsuit against IRS amid reports he’s considering settlement
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/may/18/trump-dismiss-10-billion-dollar-irs-lawsuit?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other -
Wow - have to say, he takes #SelfDealing to new levels - an inspiration to corrupt leaders everywhere in government, non-profit and business.
Trump moves to dismiss $10bn lawsuit against IRS amid reports he’s considering settlement
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/may/18/trump-dismiss-10-billion-dollar-irs-lawsuit?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other -
Wow - have to say, he takes #SelfDealing to new levels - an inspiration to corrupt leaders everywhere in government, non-profit and business.
Trump moves to dismiss $10bn lawsuit against IRS amid reports he’s considering settlement
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/may/18/trump-dismiss-10-billion-dollar-irs-lawsuit?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other -
Wow - have to say, he takes #SelfDealing to new levels - an inspiration to corrupt leaders everywhere in government, non-profit and business.
Trump moves to dismiss $10bn lawsuit against IRS amid reports he’s considering settlement
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/may/18/trump-dismiss-10-billion-dollar-irs-lawsuit?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other -
Wow - have to say, he takes #SelfDealing to new levels - an inspiration to corrupt leaders everywhere in government, non-profit and business.
Trump moves to dismiss $10bn lawsuit against IRS amid reports he’s considering settlement
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/may/18/trump-dismiss-10-billion-dollar-irs-lawsuit?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other -
"Trump is a real estate guy who sees the United States government as a bigger version of the company he spent his life running, and he is using it to serve the same values and goals on a global stage."
https://www.contrariannews.org/p/trump-is-a-just-real-estate-guy-who?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email
#trump #donold #donaldvonshitsinpants #trumpstein #trumpsteinclass #trumpcrimefamily #tariffs #economy #uspol #uspolitics #history #news #selfdealing #foreignpolicy #realestate #europe #middleeast #war #eliteprivilege #taxation #greenland #gaza #canada #putin #xijinpeng -
"Trump is a real estate guy who sees the United States government as a bigger version of the company he spent his life running, and he is using it to serve the same values and goals on a global stage."
https://www.contrariannews.org/p/trump-is-a-just-real-estate-guy-who?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email
#trump #donold #donaldvonshitsinpants #trumpstein #trumpsteinclass #trumpcrimefamily #tariffs #economy #uspol #uspolitics #history #news #selfdealing #foreignpolicy #realestate #europe #middleeast #war #eliteprivilege #taxation #greenland #gaza #canada #putin #xijinpeng -
"Trump is a real estate guy who sees the United States government as a bigger version of the company he spent his life running, and he is using it to serve the same values and goals on a global stage."
https://www.contrariannews.org/p/trump-is-a-just-real-estate-guy-who?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email
#trump #donold #donaldvonshitsinpants #trumpstein #trumpsteinclass #trumpcrimefamily #tariffs #economy #uspol #uspolitics #history #news #selfdealing #foreignpolicy #realestate #europe #middleeast #war #eliteprivilege #taxation #greenland #gaza #canada #putin #xijinpeng -
#MoveAlong, #NothingToSeeHere, Folks
US defense official overseeing AI reaped millions selling xAI stock after Pentagon entered agreement with company
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/apr/09/pentagon-ai-xai-emil-michael?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other -
#MoveAlong, #NothingToSeeHere, Folks
US defense official overseeing AI reaped millions selling xAI stock after Pentagon entered agreement with company
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/apr/09/pentagon-ai-xai-emil-michael?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other -
#MoveAlong, #NothingToSeeHere, Folks
US defense official overseeing AI reaped millions selling xAI stock after Pentagon entered agreement with company
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/apr/09/pentagon-ai-xai-emil-michael?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other -
#MoveAlong, #NothingToSeeHere, Folks
US defense official overseeing AI reaped millions selling xAI stock after Pentagon entered agreement with company
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/apr/09/pentagon-ai-xai-emil-michael?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other -
#MoveAlong, #NothingToSeeHere, Folks
US defense official overseeing AI reaped millions selling xAI stock after Pentagon entered agreement with company
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/apr/09/pentagon-ai-xai-emil-michael?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other