Trumpโ€™s Business Dealings With U.A.E. Sheikh Fuels More Corruption Allegations

On the February 1, 2026 edition of ABCโ€™s This Week, host George Stephanopoulos raised a question that cuts to the heart of the ethical cloud hanging over the Trump administration: how can President Trumpโ€™s private business dealings with a senior foreign power broker not constitute a glaring conflict of interest? Pressing Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, Stephanopoulos pointed directly to reporting that suggests the lines between U.S. policy, presidential power, and private profit are once again dangerously blurred.

Citing a Wall Street Journal investigation, Stephanopoulos noted that Sheikh Tahnoum bin Zayed Al Nahyanโ€”one of the most powerful figures in the United Arab Emirates and a central player in its national security and intelligence apparatusโ€”made a substantial investment in a Trump familyโ€“linked cryptocurrency venture around the time Trump was inaugurated for his second term. The WSJ underscored how extraordinary this arrangement is: it is virtually unprecedented for a senior foreign government official to hold an ownership stake in a business tied to a sitting U.S. president. The concern is obvious and unavoidable. Such a financial relationship creates at least the appearance, if not the reality, of leverage over the president of the United States by a foreign actor whose interests may not align with Americaโ€™s.

Those concerns only deepen when viewed alongside subsequent U.S. policy decisions. Not long after Sheikh Tahnoumโ€™s investment became public, the United States approved the sale or transfer of advanced, high-end computer chips to the UAEโ€”technology the country had previously been restricted from accessing due to national security concerns. The timing invites scrutiny. At minimum, it raises the question of whether a foreign officialโ€™s financial stake in a presidentโ€™s business created privileged access or influence over U.S. decision-making. At worst, it suggests a pay-to-play dynamic in which private investment is rewarded with favorable government action.

The national security implications are significant. The United Statesโ€™ dominance in artificial intelligence and advanced computing rests heavily on its control of cutting-edge semiconductor technology. Allowing these chips to flow to the UAE carries the risk that they could be shared, resold, or otherwise end up in the hands of strategic competitors such as China. Even the possibility of that outcome should demand extreme caution. When such decisions coincide with financial entanglements involving the presidentโ€™s private ventures, the question is no longer hypotheticalโ€”it becomes whether U.S. security interests are being subordinated to personal enrichment.

This episode fits a broader pattern that has defined Trumpโ€™s return to power: persistent allegations that public office is being used as an extension of private business interests. From foreign investments and licensing deals to policy decisions that appear to benefit political allies and financial partners, the administration has repeatedly asked the public to accept ethical gray zones that past presidents were expected to avoid outright. The strategy has been familiarโ€”dismiss every concern as partisan noise or the hysterics of the โ€œradical leftโ€โ€”but the sheer volume and seriousness of the allegations make that defense increasingly untenable.

As the 2026 midterms approach, these issues are unlikely to fade. Voters may disagree on ideology, but conflicts of interest that implicate foreign influence and national security tend to cut across partisan lines. If Democrats can frame these stories not as abstract ethics debates but as concrete examples of corruption that put American interests at risk, they may find a potent line of attack. Simply put, there are now too many red flags, too many suspicious alignments between money and policy, for the administration to wave them away. Whether Trump chooses to confront these questions or continue to ignore them may help determine not only the political narrative of his second term, but the balance of power in Congress come 2026.

Corruption Becoming A Central Theme In Trump Admin 2.0

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On the 12/22/25 edition of MSNBCโ€™s Rachel Maddow Show, Maddow zeroed in on what is rapidly emerging as a defining feature of Trump administration 2.0: corruption. There is a bitter irony here. Trump first rode to power on the promise to โ€œdrain the swamp,โ€ arguing that his personal wealth insulated him from influence peddling and that his outsider status would free Washington from its culture of self-dealing. Instead, one year into his second term, corruption is no longer a peripheral criticism of Trumpโ€™s presidency โ€” it is becoming the central storyline.

Maddow opened the segment not in Washington, but in Bulgaria. There, a government recently collapsed under sustained public pressure over endemic corruption. Maddowโ€™s choice was deliberate. By beginning abroad, she framed corruption not as an abstract moral failing, but as a destabilizing force capable of toppling governments when it becomes too blatant to ignore. The lesson was implicit but unmistakable: corruption has political consequences, and no democracy is immune. Only after establishing that broader context did she pivot back to the United States โ€” and to Trump administration 2.0.

What followed was a catalogue of ethically dubious dealings that, taken together, have led many observers to already label this administration as the most corrupt in modern American history. Maddow focused first on Donald Trump Jr., whose proximity to power appears to be translating directly into extraordinary financial opportunities. One case involves a little-known drone company that placed Trump Jr. on its board and awarded him company shares, only to subsequently land a $15 million Pentagon contract. The timing alone raises obvious questions, and Maddow bluntly asked the one many Americans are already asking: was the contract awarded on merit, or because the presidentโ€™s son now sat inside the companyโ€™s boardroom?

That deal, troubling as it is, appears to be only part of a much larger pattern. Maddow reported that another company tied to Trump Jr. received a staggering $620 million loan or contract from the Pentagon โ€” the largest loan ever issued by the Department of Defense. The scale of that award, coupled with Trump Jr.โ€™s personal financial stake, moves the story beyond appearances and into territory that looks like textbook influence trading. Even by Washingtonโ€™s historically lax standards, this is extraordinary.

The corruption narrative does not stop with the presidentโ€™s family. Maddow also revisited the case of Tom Homan, now serving as Trumpโ€™s Border Czar. Before assuming his current role, Homan reportedly accepted $50,000 in cash โ€” money allegedly intended to influence how DHS contracts would be steered once he reentered government. What makes the episode particularly striking is the level of foresight involved. Both Homan and those paying him appeared confident not only that Trump would return to power, but that Homan would land in a specific, strategically valuable position within the administration. It suggests corruption that is not opportunistic, but premeditated โ€” a system anticipating power and positioning itself to exploit it.

Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has also found herself at the center of corruption allegations. Maddow detailed how DHS steered lucrative advertising contracts to a little-known firm with longstanding political ties to Noem, dating back well before her appointment as secretary. The pattern again feels familiar: public money flowing toward private entities connected to powerful figures, with little transparency and even less accountability. These are not isolated incidents; they form a mosaic of governance that treats the federal government as an extension of a political and personal network.

Hovering over all of this is the unresolved legacy of Jared Kushner. His dealings during the first Trump administration โ€” particularly his post-White House financial windfall tied to foreign governments โ€” were never fully reckoned with. Now, Maddow noted, Kushner is once again positioned to profit, this time through involvement in discussions surrounding the rebuilding of Gaza. The reemergence of Kushner in a role adjacent to foreign policy and massive reconstruction funding reinforces the sense that Trumpworld never truly left its transactional mindset behind. It simply paused, regrouped, and returned more emboldened.

All of this is unfolding as the country barrels toward the 2026 midterm elections. Historically, corruption has been one of the few issues capable of cutting through partisan loyalty, particularly when it becomes this overt and this personal. Democrats are clearly betting that the accumulation of these scandals โ€” not one, but many โ€” will erode public trust and mobilize voters who may be exhausted by chaos but still responsive to clear abuses of power. For Republicans, the question is whether they can continue to normalize or deflect these stories without paying an electoral price.

The Bulgarian example Maddow opened with now feels less like a foreign curiosity and more like a cautionary tale. Corruption, when left unchecked, does not merely stain reputations โ€” it destabilizes governments and reshapes political futures. Whether Trump administration 2.0 faces similar consequences will be decided not just in courtrooms or congressional hearings, but at the ballot box in November 2026.

Is Talarico The Texas Democrat Who Finally Bags A U.S. Senate Seat?

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One of the most closely watched races of the 2026 election cycle is the U.S. Senate contest in Texas, where longtime incumbent John Cornyn faces not only pressure from his own MAGA-aligned base but also a rejuvenated Democratic challenge. At the forefront of that challenge is State Representative James Talarico, whose record, communication skills, and appeal across the political spectrum suggest he could finally break the Republican hold on this Senate seat. On a recent appearance on MSNBCโ€™s All In with Chris Hayes, Talarico made a compelling case for why votersโ€”Democrat and moderate Republican alikeโ€”should consider a new direction.

Talarico highlighted how Republicans rode a wave of promises into the 2024 elections, pledging to tackle inflation, support working families, and confront corruption in Washington. One year into the Trump administration, however, those promises remain largely unfulfilled, and the failure to meaningfully address corruption, particularly in the highest levels of government, has left a growing swath of voters disillusioned. This is the message Talarico brings to the table: a reasoned, principled alternative to empty rhetoric, one that not only strengthens his appeal in a Democratic primary crowded with talent but also positions him to take on Cornyn directly in November 2026.

Talaricoโ€™s devout Christian faith is another asset that could resonate in rural Texas and among voters who recall the compassionate conservatism of George W. Bush. Many Texans who privately chafe at the performative cruelty of modern MAGA politicsโ€”from gutting food stamps to rolling back student loan forgiveness, and the harsh treatment of undocumented immigrants who have committed no crimesโ€”may find in Talarico a candidate who aligns with their moral values while offering pragmatic solutions. The Trump administrationโ€™s ongoing evasions surrounding the Epstein case have also shaken faith in Republican leadership, creating an opening that Cornyn will struggle to defend. In contrast, Talarico presents himself as both ethical and effective, someone capable of bridging divides without compromising principle.

The dynamics that nearly propelled Beto Oโ€™Rourke to victory in 2018 are very much alive for Talaricoโ€”but with added advantages. Unlike Beto, whose insurgent campaign relied heavily on excitement and turnout without a fully seasoned political apparatus, Talarico combines grassroots energy with legislative experience and a clear, grounded message. His middle-ground approach, moral credibility, and proven communication skills make him exceptionally well-positioned to capitalize on the frustration with unkept Republican promises while energizing the Democratic base. In a state increasingly restless over entrenched incumbents, Talaricoโ€™s youth, clarity of vision, and principled appeal could make him the candidate who finally pushes a Democrat across the finish line, unseating Cornyn and reshaping Texas politics for years to come.

Grifting Nepo-Babies In Trump Admin 2.0?


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An interesting segment on MSNOWโ€™s Weekend Primetime show delved into the staggering corruption emerging in Trump administration 2.0 โ€” even coining the phrase โ€œGrifting Nepo-Babiesโ€ to capture the growing concern about the financial windfalls reportedly enjoyed by the children of several senior Trumpโ€“era officials. Co-host Catherine Rampell laid out what she called a pattern of politically connected offspring cashing in during the second Trump presidency. According to the segment, Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnickโ€™s sons were among those observers have flagged as benefiting enormously from their fatherโ€™s presence in government โ€” and in their case, the benefits come via the Wall Street powerhouse their father built, Cantor Fitzgerald.

Specifically: when Lutnick stepped into the Cabinet, ownership and control of Cantor Fitzgerald were formally transferred to his two oldest sons, Brandon Lutnick (now Chairman & CEO) and Kyle Lutnick (Executive Vice-Chairman). Under their leadership, the firm is on track for a 2025 revenue haul that reportedly represents its most profitable year ever โ€” a jump of more than a quarter over last year. Much of that windfall stems from Cantorโ€™s aggressive crypto-investment banking, SPAC dealmaking, stablecoin custody and other high-risk, high-reward operations that the firm has doubled down on since the crypto boom took off. Critics argue that this close alignment between a senior Cabinet official and a high-performing Wall Street firm controlled by his children constitutes a textbook example of revolving-door conflicts of interest โ€” especially given the firmโ€™s deep involvement in sectors (like crypto) where regulatory and trade policy decisions may directly affect their bottom line. The optics are stark: a firm once headed by the Commerce Secretary is now raking in record profits under the leadership of his sons, just as policies that shape global trade and regulation are being decided by that same Secretary.

The segment also highlighted another striking example beyond the Lutnicks: Alex Witkoff, the son of Steve Witkoff โ€” himself appointed by Trump as a Middle East envoy. According to multiple recent reports, Alex has aggressively pursued large-scale investments from sovereignโ€wealth funds and Gulf-state investors. In 2024 he pitched a $4 billion U.S. real-estate credit fund to the Qatar Investment Authority, promising returns and sizeable management fees; while Qatar reportedly declined, sources say Alex continued courting investors from Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, and Kuwait through at least August 2025. As his father negotiated cease-fire and hostage-release deals across the Middle East under the auspices of the Trump administration, Alex was quietly soliciting money โ€” a convergence of diplomacy and real-estate finance that ethics experts argue raises serious conflict-of-interest concerns. Indeed, GULF-state investment vehicles have already backed several properties owned or developed by the family firm (known as the Witkoff Group), including major assets in New York and Florida. While a spokesperson for the firm has since claimed the specific real-estate fund proposal was โ€œpreliminaryโ€ and will not move forward, critics maintain that even the attempt โ€” coming alongside high-stakes diplomatic negotiations โ€” exemplifies the growing problem of political power being leveraged for private enrichment.

Rampell then pivoted to Trumpโ€™s own children, where the accusations grow louder and the optics far more politically potent. She cited a Forbes report claiming Eric Trumpโ€™s wealth has increased dramatically since his father returned to office โ€” with critics arguing that this level of enrichment while a parent is in the White House reflects the same ethical vulnerabilities that plagued Trumpโ€™s first term. She also referenced reporting about a startup associated with Donald Trump Jr. that has reportedly secured a major Pentagon-related deal โ€” figures like the oft-circulated โ€œ$600 millionโ€ have fueled alarm among ethics experts and bipartisan government watchdogs who argue that such arrangements warrant far more transparency. And even Trumpโ€™s youngest son, Barron Trump โ€” normally kept out of the political spotlight โ€” was mentioned in the segment due to media chatter about alleged lucrative cryptocurrency-related ventures linked indirectly to his name, though these claims remain murky and largely unverified, further contributing to the perception of a sprawling and loosely monitored financial ecosystem orbiting around the Trump family.

Rampell also revisited the long-running controversies around Trumpโ€™s son-in-law Jared Kushner, whose massive financial gains following Trumpโ€™s first term โ€” including high-profile investments from foreign sovereign funds โ€” continue to be held up by critics as one of the most glaring examples of blurred ethical boundaries. His ongoing business expansions during Trumpโ€™s second presidency only reinforce concerns among ethics observers who argue that the revolving door between political power and personal enrichment is now swinging more freely than ever.

The larger point the MSNOW hosts made was that corruption โ€” whether alleged, implied or documented โ€” has quickly become a defining theme of Trump 2.0. Democrats are already gearing up to make it a core message for the 2026 midterms, framing the administration as a government increasingly captured by the financial ambitions of the presidentโ€™s inner circle and their families. But what may pose a more immediate threat to Trump is that even portions of his MAGA base are beginning to grumble. Online circles that once defended every decision of the Trump family have begun to express frustration at what they see as blatant self-dealing โ€” especially as the administration continues to sideline issues that energized Trumpโ€™s grassroots supporters in the first place: lower prices, avoiding new foreign conflicts, demands for release of the Epstein files, and promises of โ€œdraining the swamp.โ€ For some longtime loyalists, the contrast between those unmet commitments and the constant headlines about politically connected children becoming wealthier has begun to feel impossible to ignore.

How this discontent evolves could have real consequences in the 2026 midterms. If the corruption narrative continues to grow, and if MAGA voters feel increasingly alienated or taken for granted, Republicans could find themselves facing a demoralized base at the very moment Democrats are preparing to campaign on a simple, sharp message: that Trump 2.0 has become a family business masquerading as a government. The question heading into 2026 is not just whether Democrats can capitalize on this narrative, but whether the erosion of enthusiasm among core Trump supporters will quietly do the job for them.

Is Corruption The Dem Ticket To Victory In 2026?

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Ever since President Trump beat his Democratic challenger Kamala Harris in the 2024 U.S. presidential election, Democrats have been in disarray, struggling to find a compelling narrative with which to challenge the new Trump administration.

Corruption is slowly becoming the galvanizing issue that is uniting Democrats in their opposition to the Trump administration. My posts on X(formerly Twitter) referencing these corruption stories generate a lot of engagement(retweets, likes, comments) which supports my assertion that corruption is clearly a hot topic for Democrats as we approach the 2026 midterms. Below are examples of such posts.

Will Democrats capitalize on this corruption issue to victory in the 2026 midterms? Only time will tell.

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Is MAGA Trumpism A Form Of Political Religion?

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An interesting segment on MSNBC’s Alex Wagner Tonight (01/1624) show delved into the strange daliance between Evangelical Christians(predominantly White), and the politics of former President Donald Trump, often referred to as Trumpism, or MAGA Trumpism. The alliance between these two strange bedfellows has led many to question whether MAGA Trumpism has become some sort of political/civil religion.

The MSNBC segment came against the backdrop of Trump’s massive win in the Iowa Republican presidential primary, and specifically, his command of the White Evangelical vote, which polls placed at 53%. Back in 2016, when Trump first ran for president, he only received 21% of the White Evangelical vote in Iowa, a clear sign that he has now consolidated the White Evangelical vote in Iowa, and arguably nationwide.

Host Alex Wagner posed this question to her guest, Author Tim Alberta, who’s also a staff writer at The Atlantic (2:07): “I wonder in your estimation, what it means to be an Evangelical in this country, at this moment?”
Tim Alberta responded in relevant part: “We are beginning to flirt with this territory where definitionally speaking, Evangelicalism has far more to do, at least in the perception of the greater public, with political engagement, partisan political identification, than it does with any particular theology or any real religious conviction, and if you take it a step further, if you look at the exit polling, if you look at some of the social science around this, if you look at the fact that during Donald Trump’s presidency, more and more of Donald Trump’s supporters were self-identifying as Evangelicals even though they were simultaneously attending Church less and less often, I think one might reach the uncomfortable conclusion that perhaps the best definition now for what it means to be an Evangelical, is to be a conservative White Republican Trump supporter, and that is a tragedy on any number of different levels, but I think most profoundly, it’s a tragedy for the Gospel of Jesus Christ.”

Host Alex Wagner then interjected with this profound question (3:50): “If the Gospel is no longer part of the equation, what is it replaced by…do you think MAGA-ism has become a placeholder for a certain kind of religion?”

Tim Alberta: “Yes…I don’t want to paint with too broad a brush, the Evangelical community is large, it’s huge, and it’s complicated…but…we are reaching a place where we are being confronted with some uncomfortable realities about what it means to be a part of the Evangelical movement and frankly, where the line blurs between sort of religious identity and political identity, and is there a merging of the two, and frankly I think that there’s always a danger in politics…of sort of turning political conviction into religious conviction, or worshipping at a certain altar that is not an altar to God, but is an altar to political idolatry or to political identity. That is a danger that has always been there, but it is I think uniquely dangerous in this moment, and to be clear…we have examples from the not so distant past, of a sort of political religion, or at least a civil religion, supplanting, competing with actual religion, and I don’t think that we’re all that far removed from that in this country now, looking at just what happened…in Iowa.”

To conclude the segment, Tim Alberta floated this interesting scenario, which gets right to the fallacy of the Evangelical-MAGA Trumpism alliance. He said (8:19): “If during Barack Obama’s presidency, or while he was running for president, if you had heard him talking with, or promoting a video saying that he was a shepherd to all of mankind, the Evangelical movement would have been up in arms [and rightly so], I mean this is heretical, this is blasphemous and yet, Donald Trump seems to get a pass time and time again for doing these things that no other politician, Republican or Democrat frankly, would get a pass for doing, and we should ask ourselves why. If the answer does not at least start to flirt with this terrain of civil religion, or political religion, then I think that we’re not being honest with ourselves, and if we are being honest with ourselves, if we are willing to engage with the very uncomfortable topic around what happens when Trumpism becomes civil religion in this country for millions of millions of people, and what that might imply moving forward, then we are doing a disservice to our prularistic democracy.”

Bottom line folks, we’ve always operated on the separation of church and state doctrine, and have for decades, shunned foreign theocracies like the ones in Afghanistan and Iran. Author Tim Alberta is absolutely correct when he says, we need to be honest with ourselves, and admit that there is no difference between the Evangelical-MAGA dalliance in the American political scene, and the theocracies in Iran and Afghanistan. Simply put, we need to make a decision as to whether we want to continue with the separation of church and state doctrine, or whether, that time-honored tradition has also been sacrificed at the altar of MAGA Trumpism.

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NYTโ€™s Maggie Haberman Ensnared In Feud Over Trump Inaugural Funds

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Melania Trump with Stephanie Winston Wolkoff

In case you missed it, the Trump inaugural saga has taken a new, and very interesting twist lately, with now Twitter-active Stephanie Winston Wolkoff taking a direct shot at Maggie Haberman and Ken Vogel of the New York Times(NYT), as being part of the plot to throw her under the bus.

Youโ€™ll remember that after the bombshell revelation that a staggering $40 million of Trumpโ€™s inaugural funds had mysteriously disappeared, there was an effort by Trumpโ€™s allies to pin the blame on then First Lady Melania Trumpโ€™s Senior Advisor Stephanie Winston Wolkoff. Stephanie Wolkoff talked about this effort to throw her under the bus at an appearance on MSNBCโ€™s Rachel Maddow show on September 1, 2020.

In the interview, a visibly upset Stephanie Wolkoff told host Maddow, that then First Lady Melania Trump basically told her she had to be the fall person for the Trump inaugural scandal. Wolkoff specifically said, โ€œMelania and the [Trump]White House had accused me of criminal activity, then publicly shamed and fired me, and made me their scapegoat. At that moment in time, thatโ€™s when I pressed record. She was no longer my friend, and she was willing to let them take me down, and she told me herself, that this is the way it has to be. She was advised by the attorneys at the White House that there was no other choice because there was a possible investigation into the presidential inauguration committeeโ€ฆ.At first I really did think maybe she would come to my aid? Maybe she would tell the truth? She turned her back, she did. She folded like a deck of cards., and Iโ€™m shocked she did it.โ€

This 05/23/2021 tweet however, shows that Stephanie Wolkoff is not only going after Trump and his allies in her effort to set the record straight regarding Trumpโ€™s inaugural, sheโ€™s also calling out NYTโ€™s Maggie Haberman and Ken Vogel, as being part of the plot to destroy her. This, if proven, could turn out to be a huge scandal unto itself, given the fact that many liberals still blame the New York Times for Trumpโ€™s ascension to the White House. Specifically, many liberals believe NYTโ€™s excessive coverage of the โ€œemail scandalโ€, weakened Hillary Clintonโ€™s campaign during the final stretch of the 2016 campaign.

Thereโ€™s no other way any reasonable person can interpret Stephanie Wolkoffโ€™s tweet other than NYTโ€™s Haberman and Vogel were doing Trumpโ€™s bidding when they wrote the referenced piece. This is especially so considering Wolkoffโ€™s invocation of โ€œSETUP. COVERUP. TAKEDOWNโ€ in her tweet. For the record, accusations of โ€œaccess journalismโ€ against then White House reporter for the New York Times, Maggie Haberman, persisted throughout Trumpโ€™s presidency. Stephanie Wolkoff is not the first person drawing that inference.

Bottom line folks, Yours Truly is not accusing Maggie Haberman or Ken Vogel of any wrongdoing. By all accounts, these are serious journalists, who exhibit a high level of professionalism(my personal opinion). What Yours Truly is simply pointing out, is what any reasonable person presented with Stephanie Wolkoffโ€™s recent tweet would conclude, and that is, Haberman and Vogel were in on the plot by Trumpโ€™s allies to throw her under the bus. It would be in everybodyโ€™s interest, especially Wolkoff who suffered greatly as a result of the Trump inaugural saga, if Haberman, Vogel or even the New York Times management, addressed this issue.

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Paxtons Are A Symbol Of Texas GOPโ€™s Corruption

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Texas Attorney-General and his wife State Senator Angela Paxton

A lot has been made about the corruption of the Trump administration and Republicans generally at the national level, and deservedly so. Very little however is said about the entrenched corruption among Republicans at the state level, especially in so-called โ€œRed Statesโ€ like Texas that have a GOP trifectaโ€“control of the Judiciary, Legislature and Executive Branch.

Hopefully this bombshell piece by Texas Tribune will open the door to more coverage of the entrenched GOP Corruption in the Lone Star State and other โ€œRed Statesโ€

The Texas Tribune piece above goes into great detail about how State Senator Angela Paxtonโ€™s new bill opens her up to charges of corruption. So in order to avoid redundancy, Yours Truly will do what he does bestโ€“cut to the chase and tell grassroots Democrats what is corrupt/swampy about Senator Paxtonโ€™s bill.

You will remember that in 2015, Texas Attorney-General was indicted and charged for violating a Texas securities lawโ€“essentially giving investment advice that he was not authorized to give. In Texas, as in many other states, one is required to register with the state board before giving investment advice. Giving investment advice without registering with the state board is a third degree felony in Texas (2-10 years jail). There are many reasons for the state board registration requirement, key among them curbing corruption/self dealing. If I am a major shareholder at a large Texas company, and I am advising someone/ a corporation to make a major investment in the same company, the folks at the Texas state board can easily sniff out the self dealing because they will have records of all my financial entanglements. Simply put, it is a very important anti-corruption measure to have investment advisers register with the Texas state board.

Angela Paxton the wife of Texas AG Ken Paxton ran for office in 2018 and was elected Texas State Senator for Senate District 8(SD 8). One of her first actions as a Texas legislator was introducing Senate Bill 860 (SB860) which among other things, seeks to make it legal for someone to give investment advice without registering with the Texas state boardโ€“the same thing her husband is currently in trouble for. Itโ€™s not hard to see why the naked self-dealing/corruption that is inherent in Sen Paxtonโ€™s SB860 has sparked outrage in Texas. Sadly however, this is just a sample of the kind of entrenched corruption that is commonplace in โ€œRed Statesโ€ like Texas that never get the mainstream media attention they deserveHopefully from here on out the Texas Tribune and other major Texas publications will expose instances of public corruption like the one exhibited by the Paxtons. Yours Truly will certainly make #TexasSwamp a major topic of debate especially as we approach the 2020 elections.

Bottom line if Democrats hope to turn Texas blue, they have to make the entrenched GOP Corruption a key campaign issue in 2020 and beyond. Maybe just maybe this may be the key to Democrats capturing the coveted US Senate seat currently held by John Cornyn in 2020.

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Staggering $40 Million Of Trumpโ€™s Inaugural Funds Missing

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President Donald J. Trumpโ€™s Inauguration Ceremony, Jan 20, 2017

In case you missed it, a stunning segment on OutFrontCNN with Erin Burnett said that a staggering $40 million dollars of Trumpโ€™s inaugural funds have just disappeared. Citing a Pro Publica report, host Erin Burnett said, โ€œWe know that they[Trumpโ€™s Inaugural Committee] raised $107 million from donorsโ€ฆ.Of the $107 million, we to this day do not know where $40 million of it went. How is that possible?โ€ Erin Burnett is not alone in her outrage. A lot of Americans are shocked at how this level of public corruption has gone unanswered(no prosecution) for 2 years.

An even more troubling revelation from the bombshell OutFrontCNN segment is that Ivanka Trump who doubles up as Presidential daughter and Adviser apparently was in the middle of the price negotiations between the Trump Inaugural committee and the Trump Organization raising obvious conflict of interest questionsโ€“self-dealing. The Trump Organization apparently extremely overcharged the Trump Inaugural Committee for rooms, meals and event space at Trump Hotel in DC and there are emails showing that Ivanka Trump was in on the price negotiations.  

This is hands down one of the biggest stories of the week but it has strangely received very little mainstream media attention. It is mind-boggling how $40 million dollars can just disappear in thin airโ€“outright theft/embezzlementโ€“ and two years later nobody is either sitting in jail for it, or fighting a criminal indictment. Can you imagine if this happened under the Obama administration and the Obama family was suspected of having embezzled inaugural funds? 

This is by all objective standards a shocking case of public corruption. But you donโ€™t have to take Yours Trulyโ€™s word for it, listen to what Richard Painter, the Ethics Chief under the George W. Bush administration told OutFrontCNN host Erin Burnett; โ€œItโ€™s shocking. Somebodyโ€™s stealing moneyโ€ฆ.somebodyโ€™s putting money in their own pocketโ€ฆ$40 million dollars unaccounted for, that is a telltale sign of fraudโ€ฆcriminal activity is very likely. If we had seen any amount of money missing in the Bush inaugural committee I would have called people into my office and said I want to find out exactly where that money is, and better find out fast because it could be a crime…โ€

Bottom line folks when incidents of blatant corruption by public officials go on for this long without any legal consequences, the spotlight shifts from the corrupt act itself to who we are as a society. In this case it raises the question as to whether certain people are above the law. There is absolutely no way that two years after a suspected theft/embezzlement by members of any other previous U.S. administration, one that was widely reported by the mainstream media and has a lot of documentary evidence, would not have yielded indictments already.

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