1. The Epstein Files Cover-Up The signature corruption scandal of the Trump
administration remains Trump’s association with one of the most notorious
child sex traffickers in history – and his administration’s refusal to turn
over all of the files about the case so we can be certain we have all
Trump-Epstein documents. The administration admitted it’s
refusing to disclose about 3 million files, despite a law requiring their
disclosure. The Department of Justice wants us to trust that it has good
reasons for all that, but the place is run by two of his former defense
lawyers, the FBI is helmed by an even bigger Trump loyalist, and they have
acted like it too often for us to give them any credence. This scandal is not
going away. Current Status: Democracy Defenders Fund filed a complaint this week with the Office of the
Inspector General about the missing documents, and we are litigating and
investigating on multiple fronts. We will continue to pursue all legal
avenues to ensure the complete release of all eligible files relating to the
Epstein investigation, as required by the Epstein Files Transparency Act. 2. Selling American Residency to the Super-Rich In September, Trump debuted the so-called “Gold Card,” a program that lets wealthy foreigners effectively buy permanent U.S. residency for a $1 million payment to the federal government. That’s bad enough, but consider this: Rather than asking Congress to create a new visa category, Trump simply ordered federal agencies to treat these massive cash “gifts” to the Department of Commerce as proof of eligibility for elite EB-1 and EB-2 visas. Those are categories Congress reserved
for Nobel laureates, pioneering scientists, and individuals whose work serves
the national interest. But these employment-based visas are strictly capped – so every Gold Card handed to a
millionaire donor necessarily displaces a qualified scientist, engineer,
physician, or researcher already waiting in line. (It is worth noting that
all available EB-1 visas were granted September 8, 2025, with the cap
resetting every year on October 1.) That means that Trump has effectively
transformed lawful permanent residency into a luxury commodity, letting
oligarchs buy into our country like they buy Ferraris and Picassos. We’re not letting Trump auction off our immigration
system without a fight. This week, we brought suit on behalf of a group of highly
accomplished professionals – people who followed the rules, only to find
themselves subject to being pushed aside by wealthy applicants who could jump
the line with a seven-figure check. And remember: Congress — not the
president — has the exclusive authority to set immigration eligibility and
raise federal funds. The Gold Card program overrides Congress’s choices —
both as to who qualifies for employment-based immigration and how and under
what conditions agencies may collect revenue. Current Status: We will see Trump and Commerce Secretary
Howard Lutnick in court (and in the Epstein files). 3. World Liberty Financial Trump’s crypto company, World Liberty Financial (WLFI), was near the top of our list when we debuted it in December – and things have only gotten worse. New reporting last week revealed that the “Spy Sheikh,” Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed al Nahyan — the United Arab Emirates’ national security adviser and one of the most powerful men in the Gulf – had quietly amassed a secret stake in Trump’s crypto venture through a web of investment vehicles designed to obscure his involvement. His hidden investment in Trump’s crypto
business created an extraordinary conflict of interest: a foreign national
security advisor with direct financial ties to the sitting U.S. president’s
private enterprise. And it may already be paying off, as, months later, the
UAE secured a deal for millions of the most advanced computer chips from
American company NVidia, a “coup” for the tiny nation. The White House has denied any impropriety here. Current Status: WLFI is flush with Gulf cash – but these
revelations may make Trump’s crypto conflicts so unpalatable that there are
consequences. Perhaps even the crypto industry PAC’s $193 million midterms war chest won’t be enough to
get uneasy Democrats to vote for legislation creating a market structure for
cryptocurrency without any checks on Trump’s ability to influence the market
to his benefit. 4. The Meme Coin Grift Trump’s meme coin represents perhaps his most brash self-enrichment scheme, one unlike anything we have ever seen from an American president. According to the website, the token is “intended to function as an expression of support for, and engagement with, the ideals and beliefs embodied by the symbol “$TRUMP“ — and not as an investment or security. But of course this slice of code was listed on various crypto exchanges and immediately surged in price. Since its
launch, the coin’s value closely followed Trump’s announcements, with wild
fluctuations. The president even hosted an exclusive dinner for meme coin
“investors” who spent tens of thousands to buy the digital token. This access
auction was a scheme so brazen — even for Trump — that it left ethics experts
like us stunned. The White House denies any conflicts of interest. Current Status: The Trump-dominated Securities and Exchange
Commission has shown zero interest in examining Trump’s meme coin activities.
This makes defeating the new crypto market bill even more important. We have
been sounding the alarm, and our fight continues. 5. Tom Homan’s $50,000 With Trump’s Border Czar Tom Homan back in the news as he took center stage in Minnesota’s ICE invasion, Democracy Defenders Fund this week expanded our investigation of his conduct. We launched additional FOIA requests about his alleged acceptance of a $50,000 payment from undercover federal agents posing as business executives. Homan has denied wrongdoing. But if Trump is going to thrust him into the country’s civil rights flashpoint, then we have to have transparency. A tape of the alleged payoff reportedly exists. Let’s see it.
The secrecy surrounding these meetings raises the same fundamental question
that follows so many Trump officials: Is government power being secretly
shaped by those with money and access? The American people deserve to know
what kind of person has taken control of immigration actions in Minnesota and
whether he can be trusted to wield that power. Current Status: If we don’t promptly get the materials we are
asking for, we are prepared to pursue all legal remedies. If Trump and Co.
don’t believe us, they should take a look at our 252 cases and matters. 6. The USD1 Binance-UAE Deal Less than two months after Trump’s WLFI launched
USD1, its stablecoin, a UAE state-backed investment firm announced that it
would use USD1 to finance a $2 billion investment in crypto exchange Binance,
which was then under SEC investigation. In May, Binance decided to list USD1 – and, days after the
announcement, Trump’s SEC dropped its securities case against the exchange.
And then there’s Trump’s treatment of Binance’s head Changpeng “CZ” Zhao. He
pleaded guilty to money laundering in 2023 and got a Trump pardon this past
October. The White House defended Zhao, criticized his prosecution, and
blamed the Biden administration for creating a “war on cryptocurrency.“ Current Status: With last week’s latest revelations of the UAE’s
crypto influence campaign with the “Spy Sheikh’s” role in WLFI (#3 above),
it’s worth keeping an eye on this while we wait for the next shoe to fall. 7. Trump’s Qatari Boeing In May, Qatar presented Trump and his administration with a $400 million Boeing 747, ostensibly to use as Air Force One — a present reportedly worth more than all foreign gifts bestowed on all former American presidents combined. As my colleagues and I noted in a legal complaint, the Trump administration is apparently illegally transferring nearly $1 billion from a nuclear weapons program at the Defense Department to retrofit the jet, a gross mismanagement of key federal funds. And it will barely have time in the air before Trump’s term ends and it gets “donated” to Trump’s presidential library for his continued use. Meanwhile, after the transfer, Qatar got a guarantee that the
United States will defend Qatar through “diplomatic, economic, and, if
necessary, military” measures and a new “military facility” for Qatar’s Air Force at the Mountain
Home Air Force Base in Idaho. Trump has defended the transfer of the plane as a legitimate
“gift,” and the White House said that “any gift given by a foreign government is
always accepted in full compliance with all applicable laws. President
Trump’s administration is committed to full transparency.” Current Status: We’re waiting for the Government Accountability
Office to act on our complaint — but it’s hard to imagine a clearer conflict
of interest. 8. Melania’s Amazin’ Flop Amazon’s Melania film had its lavish Washington, D.C., premiere last week, and it went about as expected: a high-profile commercial event designed to elevate — and monetize — the Trump brand. Black carpets, media spectacle, and exclusive distribution through Amazon’s Prime Video platform were deployed to attempt to transform Melania Trump’s story into something in line with the $40 million Amazon paid for the rights. That was about $26 million above the nearest bidder, which raises
questions about what Amazon was really paying for here.
Unfortunately for Amazon’s Jeff Bezos, Melania Trump, and director Brett
Ratner (who was already having a bad day after surfacing in the Epstein files), the movie scored
a putrid 6% on Rotten Tomatoes, with reviewers describing it as, “primarily a film about a woman
walking into and out of rooms,” and an “unbelievable abomination of filmmaking.” Current Status: Melania’s 6% rating leaves it in the rarified air
of films like 1997’s Mortal Kombat Annihilation (4%), and
2010’s The Last Airbender (5%). 9. Trump’s Foreign Real Estate Boom Trump is set to more than triple his foreign properties during this term, as real estate developers are working on at least 23 Trump-branded projects. These projects are a global feeding frenzy for foreign governments looking to curry favor with the president. To take only a few examples, Trump is building a hotel, golf course, and residences in Oman on property owned by the government. A Saudi real estate firm (with close ties to the Saudi government) is the Trump Organization’s partner in various real estate deals, including a new Trump Hotel in Dubai and a residential tower in Jeddah. In November, the
Trump Organization announced a project in the Maldives with the same Saudi firm.
The very next day, Trump met with Saudi Crown Prince and Jared Kushner buddy
Mohammed bin Salman and announced an “Economic and Defense Partnership” with the kingdom. Hard
to come up with better reasons why the Constitution prohibits the president
from accepting foreign emoluments. When asked about possible conflicts of
interest in the context of Trump’s then-upcoming trip to the Middle
East, Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt claimed that it was
“ridiculous that anyone in this room would even suggest that President Trump
is doing anything for his own benefit.” Current Status: Each individual property may
constitute an emoluments clause violation. We at Democracy Defenders Fund
include leaders of the team that won multiple emoluments cases against Trump
in his first term, and we ain’t playing. Watch this space! 10. Trump’s D.C. Renovation Racket In the middle of the longest government shutdown ever, as federal workers were going without pay and standing in bread lines, Trump ordered the destruction of the historic East Wing to build a massive, $300 million-plus ballroom. And that’s only one of his Washington, D.C., personal vanity projects, which also include renaming the Kennedy Center after himself. When that caused artists and audiences to hemorrhage, Trump
suddenly announced he planned to close the center for supposed renovations.
We can’t help but wonder if it’s to avoid the additional embarrassment of no
one showing up. Trump says he’s raised private money for both these
renovations, but the ballroom donors include corporations that have received
billions in federal contracts – and about a dozen facing federal enforcement
actions. Current Status: We and partners are litigating the Kennedy Center renaming on behalf of Rep. Joyce Beatty (D-OH), with the government’s filing due on March 1. nd we are considering all legal steps to address the closing if it moves forward. Others are litigating the ballroom case, and initial signs point to a tough ruling for the White House. -Norman Eisen and Gabriel Lezra, The Contrarian |
Guess who made that lawsuit possible? You did, Contrarians! All profits from your paid subscriptions go to help support that and our other 251 cases and matters–like our huge win at the Supreme Court this week defending California’s Prop. 50 and counteracting Trump’s attempt to steal congressional seats. If you’re not a paid subscriber, please consider becoming one and joining the fight. I cover the Gold Card case and nine other outrages in my updated top 10 list of Trump and his cronies’ worst corruption scandals – and of the pushback in the courts of law and of public opinion. There is nothing the American people hate more than corruption, and it has contributed to Trump’s historic unpopularity. Since we published our first list in December, new schemes have emerged, and old ones have metastasized or featured shocking additional revelations of abusing power for personal or financial gain, corrupting the rule of law, and more. What follows is an updated list, reflecting both brand-new scandals and new developments in cases we flagged before. After you give the list a look, please keep on reading for our usual roundup of all our great Contrarian coverage this week. |
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