| President Trump posted on social media “IT’S A GREAT TIME TO BUY!!! DJT” hours before announcing a 90-day pause on his retaliatory tariffs. In response to the pause, the stock market jumped up. |
President Trump’s company, Trump Media and Technology Group which uses “DJT” as a stock symbol, saw its stock price rise 22% after the tariff pause. There is no evidence that this meets the legal definition of insider trading or market manipulation, but questions remain about who had knowledge of the tariff pause before it was public and their investment activities. |
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| President Trump has asserted pressure on Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell to lower interest rates by threatening to fire him. |
The Federal Reserve is designed to be shielded from political pressure and has two mandates: keep inflation low and unemployment low. The president is not authorized to fire the Fed Chair because of a disagreement in policy and threatening his removal is designed to intimidate. |
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| Solicited corporate sponsors for his inauguration, garnering $239 million in donations. The previous record was set at $107 million for the first Trump Inauguration. Presidential inaugurations have never cost nearly that much and it is unknown what the remaining funds are being used for. |
This represents an unprecedented financial relationship between the Executive Branch and large corporations, raising ethical concerns about government corruption. For example, many tech giants that donated to his inauguration will benefit from the tariff exemptions for electronics. |
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| Solicited corporate sponsors for the annual White House Easter Egg Roll. Top sponsors included Silicon Valley tech giants like Meta, YouTube, and Amazon. Executives at these companies likewise donated to President Trump’s inauguration fund and were gifted front-row seats. |
The increased financial contributions from tech giants is notable given the favorable regulatory environment President Trump has promised. |
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| The acting U.S. attorney in DC sent a letter to a respected, peer-reviewed medical journal for an investigation on how its editors handle “competing viewpoints” in the scientific community. |
Members of the medical community viewed this as a legal threat to align the magazine’s content with the political aims of the Trump Administration. |
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| The president attended an exclusive gala dinner at his golf course for 220 investors of his $TRUMP memecoin, a cryptocurrency that directly benefits Trump’s pocketbook. The top 25 buyers will get a VIP tour of the White House. |
This move not only abuses his position as president to promote an investment for self-interest, it also signals that financial tributes are a legitimate way to get face-time with the president. |
It has been estimated that the president’s crypto ventures have increased his wealth by $2.9 billion, or 40 percent of his net worth, in the 6 months surrounding the beginning of his presidency. |
| The Department of Labor told its staff that they could face termination or criminal charges for speaking to journalists or former employees about agency business. |
Criminal prosecution for agency leaks is rare, and the move is seen as an attempt to silence dissent and create an atmosphere of fear for whistleblowers. |
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| A Milwaulkee judge was arrested for allegedly attempting to aid a man in evading arrest by immigration agents. |
The arrest symbolizes an attempt from the Executive Branch to assert its authority over the co-equal judiciary, especially given that a similar case during Trump’s first term allowed a Massachusetts judge to voluntarily appear before the court and was instead subject to an ethics investigation. |
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| The Trump family business has conducted a range of foreign deals that directly benefit the president’s pocketbook. |
During his first term, Trump pledged not to make any foreign deals as president, but his second term pledge only mentioned foreign governments. These deals violate both pledges. |
Click here for examples |
| The president’s budget calls for the largest reduction in NASA’s budget in American history though includes an additional $1 billion for investments in Mars exploration. |
This funding aligns well with Trump ally Elon Musk’s goals to send an unmanned vehicle to Mars in 2026 through his company SpaceX which often receives grants from NASA. |
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| The president has not divested from his business dealings nor placed them in a blind trust, as most modern presidents have. |
Wealthy individuals, including foreign billionaires, and companies have made sizable investments in his company Trump Media and Technology Group, despite it reporting a $400 million loss in 2024. Given the poor performance of the company, it is likely that these investments are being used as a way to curry favor with the president. |
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| Elon Musk, former advisor to President Trump and former head of DOGE, acted in his official capacity while maintaining billions of dollars in conflicts of interest. Musk’s companies receive billions in federal contracts and were subject to the oversight of the government offices that he helped cut. |
This is not only a substantial abuse of power, but it represents laws against federal employees influencing policy in which they have a financial interest and the use of government for private financial gain. |
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| Threatened to revoke citizenship and deport Zohran Mamdani the Democratic nominee for New York City mayor, a U.S. citizen, over political disagreements. |
This represents an attempt to intimidate his opponents and their supporters. |
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| Threatened to deport Elon Musk, his former aide and a U.S. citizen, and revoke federal subsidies to his companies over political disagreements. |
This represents an attempt to intimidate his opponents and their supporters. |
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