Ethics Issues
1989
1989 Trump called for reinstating the death penalty and funded full-page newspaper ads in New York City following the case involving five Black and Latino boys who were later wrongfully convicted of rape
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/18/nyregion/central-park-five-trump.html
https://www.npr.org/2024/09/11/nx-s1-5108632/central-park-five-trump-debate
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/10/22/why-are-the-central-park-five-suing-donald-trump
https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=1779055166234356
https://entertainmentnow.com/news/central-park-five-donald-trump/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Central_Park_jogger_case
2008
2008-07-01 Justice Samuel Alito – the person who helped overturn Roe v. Wade – took luxury fishing trips with GOP mega donors Leonard Leo and Paul Singer. Alito wrote an opinion article in the Wall Street Journal claiming ProPublica misleads its readers and that he didn’t have to report on the luxury trip. After the trip, Alito did not recuse himself from a case before the Supreme Court involving Paul Singer, or from a 2023 tax case involving an attorney who interviewed him for articles in the Wall Street Journal. It wasn’t until 2026 when Alito did recuse himself from an oil industry case due to a discovered conflict with his ConocoPhillips stock.
https://www.propublica.org/article/samuel-alito-luxury-fishing-trip-paul-singer-scotus-supreme-court
https://fixthecourt.com/2026/01/alito-recusal/
2009
2009-05-30 In 2009 Republicans pissed their pants over the Obamas attending a Broadway play, yet in 2025 through 2026 they took little accountability for:
~~~ JD Vance pressuring the Army Corps of Engineers to release river water for his birthday,
~~~ Kash Patel using a government jet to visit his girlfriend numerous times,
~~~ Kristi Noem spending $250M in taxpayer money to fund a selfie-campaign disguised as ICE commercials,
~~~ Trump destroying the White House for his ballroom,
~~~ The Trump administration stealing of SNAP funds from children,
~~~ The Trump administration spending billions and trillions in taxpayer money to fund an elective war in Iran,
~~~ Trump suing the DOJ and making taxpayers give him $230M,
~~~ Trump sending $40B in American taxpayer dollars to fund Argentina,
~~~ DOGE firings that cost American taxpayers roughly $135B,
~~~ Forcing American taxpayers to fund rich private schools while cutting funding to public schools,
~~~ Passing tariff costs onto American taxpayers,
~~~ Charging American taxpayers $125M to rebrand the Department of Defense as the Department of War,
~~~ Forcing taxpayers to foot the bill for a lawsuit Trump filed with the IRS and Treasury for $10B, or
~~~ Rerouting $8B in national emergency funds into building the border wall.
https://www.upi.com/Top_News/2009/05/30/RNC-slams-Obama-Broadway-date-night/75081243725725/
https://newschannel9.com/news/entertainment/on-broadway-obama-takes-a-bow-mocking-republicans
2020
2020-12-19 Trump posted on social media “Big protest in D.C on january 6th Be there, will be wild!”
https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/tweets-december-19-2020
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-january-6-univision-town-hall/
https://www.cbsnews.com/live-updates/january-6-committee-hearing-trump-extremists/
https://www.democracynow.org/2022/7/13/trump_summoned_mob_after_unhinged_meeting
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-62140410
2021
2021-01-17 An upside-down U.S. flag was displayed outside Justice Samuel Alito’s Virginia home, and an “Appeal to Heaven” flag flew at his New Jersey property. Both symbols have been linked to far-right Christian nationalist movements.
.
2022
2022-03-29 Kash Patel published a politically biased children’s book The Plot Against the King, featuring King Donald, Hillary’s horrible plot, and Komey’s spying slugs.
https://www.npr.org/transcripts/nx-s1-5213692
2022-04-10 The House Oversight Committee investigated a $2 billion Saudi investment in Jared Kushner’s firm and Trump’s receipt of more than $250,000 in foreign gifts. In an article with CBS, Kushner stated he was not interested in rejoining the White House if Trump won the 2024 presidential election. In 2025, Kushner DID JOIN the White House as Trump’s special envoy in foreign affairs.
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/10/us/jared-kushner-saudi-investment-fund.html
2023
2023-02-16 In a $1.6B defamation lawsuit between U.S. Dominion v. Fox News Network, Sean Hannity, Rupert Murdoch and Tucker Carlson allegedly did not find election fraud claims fully credible or found them “crazy” but reported election fraud claims anyways.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/fox-news-hosts-2020-election-fraud-claims-dominion-defamation-suit/
https://www.washingtonpost.com/media/2023/03/07/fox-news-lawsuit/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9RuPvv0maCQ&list=WL&index=7
2023-09-15 Beginning in 2023, multiple reports alleged an ongoing affair between Kristi Noem and Corey Lewandowski.
2024 March
2024-03-06 RFK Jr. allegedly boasted about friendships with multiple sex offenders.
https://www.rawstory.com/rfk-jeffrey-epstein/
2024 August
2024-08-12 Trump used the Epstein “Lolita Express” to fly to campaign events. Did You Know? Lolita is a controversial 1955 novel by Vladimir Nabokov about predatory manipulation of a 14-year-old girl?
https://x.com/MiamiHerald/status/1823099687538184446
https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=1514436049193330
2024 November
2024-11-29 News outlets reported that Pete Hegseth’s own mother wrote him a letter back in 2018 accusing him of being an abuser, then later defended her son and apologized for the letter December of 2024.
https://edition.cnn.com/2024/11/30/politics/pete-hegseth-mother-email-new-york-times
https://www.politico.com/live-updates/2024/12/04/congress/pete-hegseth-mother-email-00192546
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/pete-hegseths-mother-email-defense-secretary-donald-trump/
https://www.yahoo.com/news/fact-check-hegseths-mother-accused-005200776.html
2024 December
2024-12-23 A House Ethics Committee report concluded Matt Gaetz had engaged in illicit drug use and sex with underage girls.
https://ethics.house.gov/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Committee-Report.pdf
https://19thnews.org/2024/12/matt-gaetz-ethics-report-released/
https://www.npr.org/2024/12/23/nx-s1-5233060/matt-gaetz-ethics-report-released
2025 January
2025-01-29 During a confirmation hearing, Bernie Sanders questioned RFK about his non-profit Children’s Health Defense selling anti-vax propaganda onesies for infants on their website: “Unvaxxed – Unafraid” and “No Vax - No Problem”.
2025 February
2025-02-10 Trump fired the head of the independent Office of Government Ethics David Huitema.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-office-of-government-ethics-director/
2025-02-14 New York US Attorney Danielle Sassoon resigned after refusing to drop corruption charges against Mayor Eric Adams per order of Pam Bondi who wanted Sassoon to quash the federal indictment as a favor to Trump.
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/clyz4lm4q1mo
2025 March
2025-03-07 The Trump administration fired head of the Office of Professional Responsibility Jeffrey Ragsdale.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2025/03/07/justice-department-trump-firings/
2025 May
2025-05-09 Reporters asked Karoline Leavitt about conflicts of interest involving Trump’s Middle East business contacts. Leavitt berated the reporter stating it was “frankly ridiculous” that anyone “would suggest that President Trump is doing anything for his own benefit” and claimed that this administration holds itself to the “highest of ethical standards”.
https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=1022049649537020
2025-05-21 Saudi Arabia gifted Trump with a luxury jetliner.
https://www.cnn.com/2025/05/14/politics/video/trump-plan-accept-qatari-jet-digvid
https://www.cnn.com/2025/05/14/world/video/qatar-pm-becky-anderson-trump-luxury-jet-digvid
2025 June
2025-06-02 Iraqi war vet Hagan Scotten resigned rather than follow an order from Bondi to drop corruption charges against Mayor Eric Adams. He wrote, “If no lawyer within earshot of the President is willing to give him that advice, then I expect you will eventually find someone who is enough of a fool, or enough of a coward, to file your motion. But it was never going to be me”.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/fb-14401037/Read-Resignation-Letter-Hagan-Scotten.html
2025 July
2025-07-11 Pam Bondi fired Justice Department ethics chief Joseph Tirrell. Tirrell had sought to investigate Kash Patel over luxury gifts allegedly received from Conor McGregor which violated the FBI ethics codes.
https://www.democracydocket.com/news-alerts/trump-justice-department-purge-top-ethics-adviser/
https://abcnews.go.com/US/attorney-general-pam-bondi-fires-top-justice-department/story?id=123746598
2025-07-16 Several senators proposed the Presidential Library Anti-Corruption Act to prevent presidents from using their presidential library as a tool for corruption and bribery.
2025 August
2025-08-06 Florida official Carolina Amesty was charged with fraudulently obtaining more than $100,000 in COVID-19 relief funds. After hiring Brad Bondi, Pam Bondi’s brother, the DOJ dropped the charges later that month.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9200it2zr9s&list=WL&index=5
https://www.justice.gov/usao-mdfl/pr/windermere-woman-charged-covid-relief-fraud
2025-08-19 Trump promoted Eric Schmitt’s book on Truth Social “The Last Line of Defense - How to Beat the Left in Court”.
https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/115057235181892448
2025-08-28 Real-estate developer Sid Chakraverty was charged with improperly claiming millions in tax incentives. After retaining Brad Bondi, the DOJ dismissed the charges later that month.
https://abcnews.com/US/doj-drops-charges-client-ag-pam-bondis-brother/story?id=125073335
2025-08-28 Trump withdrew the U.S. from the UN Review of Human Rights Record, stating it would not participate in the upcoming Universal Periodic Review. The ACLU issued a press release calling this an attempt to evade accountability.
2025 September
2025-09-18 During an interview, the Israeli Minister said Gaza would be a “real-estate bonanza” after the war. An article quoted Smotrich saying he started negotiations with the US on how to divide Gaza, claiming there was a business plan sitting on Trump’s desk, and declaring the “demolition phase” was complete.
https://www.cnn.com/2025/09/18/middleeast/israel-smotrich-gaza-land-intl
2025-09-20 Footage from 2024 showed Tom Homan accepting a $50K bribe from FBI agents in exchange for securing government contracts. The Trump administration shut down the investigation. As MAGA loyalist Megyn Kelly put it on a Truth Social post, MAGA does not care if Tom Homan took a bribe or not.
https://x.com/megynkelly/status/1969520771115385206
2025 October
2025-10-12 Asked about allegations that Tom Homan accepted a $50,000 bribe, JD Vance denied the claim in an ABC interview, “George, you’ve covered the story ad nauseum. Tom Homan did not take a bribe. It’s a ridiculous smear…”.
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/10/12/jd-vance-george-stephanopoulos-00605032
2025-10-23 Trump pardoned Binance founder Changpeng Zhao, who had been convicted of money laundering. Later that month, Trump told 60 Minutes he did not know Zhao even though Binance facilitated a $2 billion purchase of a World Liberty Financial stablecoin founded by Trump’s family.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-binance-cryptocurrency-tycoon-he-pardoned-dont-know-who-he-is/
https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/crypto/binance-pardon-trump-changpeng-zhao-crypto-rcna239371
https://x.com/cz_binance/status/1981404850832494666
2025-10-24 Open AI announced plans to sell erotica to boost sales. For context, AI has a massive environmental impact. It is also unregulated at the demands of the Trump administration.
https://apnews.com/article/ai-erotica-chatgpt-openai-sam-altman-d52e00cedf34a8120af7af66981da295
https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2025/10/15/openai-chatgpt-erotica-sam-altman/86716163007/
https://www.cnbc.com/2025/10/15/erotica-coming-to-chatgpt-this-year-says-openai-ceo-sam-altman.html
https://news.mit.edu/2025/explained-generative-ai-environmental-impact-0117
https://hbr.org/2024/07/the-uneven-distribution-of-ais-environmental-impacts
2025 November
2025-11-03 Despite court orders, Trump continued delaying SNAP funding, at times proposing partial or no release of funds
https://www.commondreams.org/news/trump-defies-court-snap-ruling
https://www.npr.org/2025/11/03/g-s1-96296/trump-deadline-contingency-funds-snap
https://www.npr.org/2025/11/03/nx-s1-5596121/snap-food-benefits-trump-government-shutdown
https://abcnews.go.com/US/trump-administration-partially-fund-snap-months/story?id=127138175
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/11/04/trump-snap-funding-shutdown-food-aid-00635141
https://www.cnn.com/2025/11/07/politics/trump-administration-supreme-court-snap-benefits
2025-11-03 Kash Patel used a government jet to visit his girlfriend. After the story surfaced, Patel fired FBI veteran Steven Palmer, whose unit oversaw the agency’s aircraft fleet.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/nov/02/fbi-fires-top-official-kash-patel-jet-use
2025-11-14 Kristi Noem allegedly funneled $143M of the $220M in taxpayer money to a Virginia media company for her ad campaign.
https://www.propublica.org/article/kristi-noem-dhs-ad-campaign-strategy-group
2025-11-18 In litigation over Hawaii’s cruise-ship tourism tax, the DOJ intervened on behalf of cruise lines represented by attorney Brad Bondi (Pam Bondi’s brother).
https://www.travelweekly.com/Cruise-Travel/DOJ-seeks-intervene-CLIA-lawsuit-against-Hawaii
https://www.travelweekly.com/Cruise-Travel/DOJ-seeks-intervene-CLIA-lawsuit-against-Hawaii
https://abcnews.com/Politics/dems-call-probe-troubling-pattern-legal-wins-pam/story?id=130945630
2025-11-18 The White House hosted Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman for talks involving Trump family investments, AI chips, nuclear energy, and the Abraham Accords. The crown prince had previously faced scrutiny over the brutal dismemberment and killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Jared Kushner has business ties with Saudi Arabia, has helped broker the Abraham Accords, and is a close friend with Salman.
https://thehill.com/homenews/5610821-trump-white-house-red-carpet-saudi-crown-prince-photos/
https://www.npr.org/2025/11/18/nx-s1-5608100/saudi-prince-white-house-visit
https://apnews.com/article/trump-saudi-crown-prince-mbs-505b32527e58d4bd49d5bc917efb4936
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-45812399
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assassination_of_Jamal_Khashoggi
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/11/18/world/middleeast/trump-family-business-saudi-arabia.html
BUSINESS INTEREST: https://www.npr.org/2025/10/23/nx-s1-5582806/jared-kushner-mideast-business-ceasefire
2026 February
2026-02-01 Trump family’s World Liberty Financial sold a 49% stake in its cryptocurrency business to members of the Emirati royal family.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/feb/02/trump-uae-crypto-deal
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2026/02/01/trump-uae-crypto-world-liberty-financial/
https://www.cnbc.com/2026/02/01/spy-sheikh-stake-trump-crypto.html
2026-02-03 French prosecutors raided X offices over allegations Grok generated CSAM material.
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ce3ex92557jo
2026-02-24 Kash Patel used the FBI jet and taxpayer money to fly to Italy for the Olympics.
https://www.cnn.com/2026/02/24/politics/kash-patel-fbi-jet-use-explained
2026-02-26 Lauren Boebert leaked a Hillary Clinton deposition photo to a podcaster.
https://thehill.com/homenews/house/5760484-boebert-bill-clinton-deposition-epstein-files/
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/hillary-clinton-deposition-paused-over-leaked-photo
2026 March
2026-03-05 Pam Bondi sought to limit ethics investigations involving DOJ attorneys by proposing a regulation which would allow the DOJ to head off state bar investigations.
2026-03-14 After brokering TikTok’s sale to Larry Ellison, the Trump administration reportedly received a $10 billion transaction payment, representing roughly 70% of the company’s $14B worth.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/13/business/trump-tiktok-10-billion-fee.html
https://thehill.com/opinion/white-house/5787721-trump-equity-stakes-companies/
https://www.npr.org/2025/12/18/nx-s1-5648844/tiktok-deal-oracle-trump
2026-03-25 House Republican leaders blocked an effort to subpoena Donald Trump Jr. regarding investments his venture capital firm made to a rare earth minerals company and a Pentagon-backed $620 million loan.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TGFkuH7GRX8&list=WL&index=1&t=388s
https://www.cnbc.com/2026/03/25/donald-trump-jr-subpoena.html
https://www.newsweek.com/donald-trump-jr-subpoena-blocked-by-republicans-11738454
2026-03-26 Democratic Senator Chris Murphy wrote that $1.5B in S&P 500 futures were sold minutes before Trump announced a 5-day pause on attacking Iran. On X, Senator Murphy wrote, “…let me say it again – a $1.5B bet, bigger than any futures purchases made at the time, 5 minutes before Trump’s post. Who was it? Trump? A family member? A White House staffer? This is corruption. Mind blowing corruption”.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TGFkuH7GRX8&list=WL&index=1&t=388s
https://www.commondreams.org/news/traders-bet-trump-iran
https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/5798756-murphy-trump-oil-iran-insider-trading/
https://x.com/ChrisMurphyCT/status/2036277990489764135
https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/commodities/articles/senator-chris-murphy-calls-1-103700373.html
2026 April
2026-04-06 Reports stated Gulf investors, including Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund L’imad, backed Paramount’s proposed $81 billion acquisition of Warner
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/may/07/uae-ruling-royal-family-eu-farming-subsidies
https://deadline.com/2026/04/paramount-wbd-merger-foreign-backing-gulf-funds-deal-1236780058/
2026-04-14 Two members of Congress resigned, and two others faced expulsion proceedings in an unprecedented series of ethics scandals. Eric Swalwell resigned amid sexual-assault allegations, while Tony Gonzales resigned after acknowledging an affair with an aide who later died by suicide.
https://www.cnn.com/2026/04/13/politics/eric-swalwell-congress-resignation
https://thehill.com/homenews/house/5830215-swalwell-resigns-sexual-misconduct/
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c0700pd0xx1o
https://www.axios.com/2026/04/13/swalwell-gonzales-cherfilus-mccormick-mills-expel
2026-04-20 Labor Secretary Lori Chavez Dreamer resigned amid allegations of abusing public funds, drinking on duty, and misconduct involving staff and her husband.
https://time.com/article/2026/04/20/labor-secretary-lori-chavez-deremer-out-trump-administration/
https://www.politico.com/news/2026/04/20/labor-secretary-chavez-deremer-resign-00737749
https://www.npr.org/2026/04/20/nx-s1-5739251/labor-secretary-trump-chavez-deremer
2026-04-23 Eric Trump’s startup company Foundation Futures Industries - of which he is the Chief Strategy Adviser - landed a $24M contract with the Pentagon.
2026-04-27 Lindsey Graham pushed for taxpayers to fund Trump’s ballroom despite earlier promises of private financing.
https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/5853917-trump-ballroom-funding-controversy/
2026 May
2026-05-05 Howard Lutnick was forced to testify for his involvement with Epstein.
https://www.cnbc.com/2026/04/06/jeffrey-epstein-howard-lutnick-house-oversight-interview.html
SUB WALL https://www.politico.com/news/2026/05/06/howard-lutnick-commerce-epstein-00908865
2026-05-12 Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy filmed a reality show, funded by firms he regulates. He was a reality TV star in the late 90’s for MTV’s The Real World and Road Rules.
https://www.npr.org/2026/05/12/nx-s1-5818190/sean-duffy-road-trip-reality-show-sponsors
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1wTxdxRGpAc
2026-05-14 Border Patrol Chief Michael Banks resigned following reports that he had boasted about paying for sex while traveling abroad. The investigation ended abruptly once Kristi Noem served as DHS head.
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c0k2zl6evk5o
2026-05-18 Financial disclosures showed Trump earned an estimated $220–750 million from trading activity during the first three months of 2026.
https://www.cnbc.com/2026/05/15/trump-stock-trade-tech-oge.html
2026-05-19 As part of the IRS settlement, the Justice Department agreed to drop pending tax claims involving Trump and his family.
https://www.npr.org/2026/05/19/g-s1-122938/irs-trump-settlement-tax-returns-audit
https://www.cnn.com/2026/05/19/politics/irs-barred-investigating-trump-new-settlement-term
2026-05-21 Applications opened for a $1.8 billion compensation fund benefiting January 6 defendants and other Trump allies, including Enrique Tarrio, Mike Lindell, George Santos, Rod Blagojevich, and Adam Johnson.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cZiPuCeWa6A&list=WL&index=3
2026-05-27 The White House targeted E. Jean Carroll who Trump was found liable in courts for sexually abusing in 1996.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8fsr2pgsCEg&list=WL&index=6
2026-05-28 The White House intervened to get a $620M business deal for a company tied to Donald Trump Jr.
https://www.propublica.org/article/donald-trump-jr-vulcan-deal-white-house
TIMESTAMP 5:20 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LtBQIGtlEXQ&list=WL&index=3
FROM DEC 2025: https://finance.yahoo.com/news/company-backed-donald-trump-jr-195700353.html
FROM JAN 2026: https://www.cnn.com/2026/01/23/business/donald-trump-jr-conflicts-of-interest-defense-1789
2026-05-29 Reports alleged Trump purchased significant amounts of TKO stock while promoting a White House UFC event.
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7319008/2026/05/29/trump-white-house-ufc-fight-stock/
https://www.yahoo.com/news/politics/articles/trump-bought-stock-ufcs-parent-021909968.html
2026-05-31 On Fox, Ken Paxton responded to being called ‘scandal plagued’, “The reality is they could say the same thing about Donald Trump…”
SUB WALL https://www.huffpost.com/entry/ken-paxton-trump-scandal-plagued_n_6a1c8f67e4b0dade60327c0b
2026 June
2026-06-13 Protesters in Albania tore down fences surrounding Jared Kushner’s luxury development site.
https://www.vanityfair.com/story/albania-protest-luxury-resort-jared-kushner
2026-06-16 An investigation was launched into allegations that Kash Patel created a $1M personal slush fund of taxpayer money to pay off MAGA loyalists.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M5Ap6Ai3ZUg&list=WL&index=3&t=23s