Reining in Trump’s Corruption
By James O’Brien - 25 September 2026
I am glad to see Lonnie Crockett is back and in fighting form. As he has staked out his position in contrast to mine on whether Trump has delivered for Ordinary Americans, I leave it to OVN’s readers to decide which of us is correct. Now onto today’s topic of Corruption, a subject with which both Lonnie and I are familiar.
The Trump Administration is the most corrupt in U.S. history. Corruption is rooted in Trump’s “quid pro quo” approach to business and government. If an individual, business or foreign government wants something valuable from the Federal government, the president expects to receive something valuable in return. This pay-to-play system promotes emoluments and grifting.
The first Trump Administration engaged in one-off corrupt transactions. Two deserve mention. First, Trump demanded that the Ukraine announce a phony criminal investigation into Joe Biden as a precondition for Trump’s releasing Congressionally-approved military aid to the Ukraine. This transaction resulted in Trump’s first impeachment. Second, despite contrary findings by U.S. Intelligence, Trump absolved the Saudi crown prince of responsibility for the murder/dismemberment of a Saudi-American journalist. Despite a contrary recommendation by Saudi investment managers, the crown prince invested $2.0B in Jared Kushner’s start-up company. This transaction was morally reprehensible.
In the second term, Trump’s corruption has become more premeditated, systematically carried out and widespread as exemplified below:
Voters now regard corruption as one of the most important campaign issues in the 2026 elections.
Trump has ceased to govern like a President seeking the best for America, but like a Mafia Don seeking to loot America! He removed the Executive branch’s experienced inspector generals and ethics officers. Trump perverted the mission of the Department of Justice from being the guardian of justice to being Trump’s avenging angel. Trump insults and threatens judges who dare rule against him.
The Republican-controlled Congress has been unwilling to hold Trump accountable for his corruption. The 2026 elections hopefully will produce a Democrat-controlled Congress that will investigate allegedly corrupt transactions and pass legislation to strengthen the applicable criminal laws. Trump’s corruption will not be stamped out, however, until he is removed from office or the Democrats win the Presidency in 2028.
If you think your vote doesn’t matter, think again.
James O’Brien,
Eden
By James O’Brien - 25 September 2026
I am glad to see Lonnie Crockett is back and in fighting form. As he has staked out his position in contrast to mine on whether Trump has delivered for Ordinary Americans, I leave it to OVN’s readers to decide which of us is correct. Now onto today’s topic of Corruption, a subject with which both Lonnie and I are familiar.
The Trump Administration is the most corrupt in U.S. history. Corruption is rooted in Trump’s “quid pro quo” approach to business and government. If an individual, business or foreign government wants something valuable from the Federal government, the president expects to receive something valuable in return. This pay-to-play system promotes emoluments and grifting.
The first Trump Administration engaged in one-off corrupt transactions. Two deserve mention. First, Trump demanded that the Ukraine announce a phony criminal investigation into Joe Biden as a precondition for Trump’s releasing Congressionally-approved military aid to the Ukraine. This transaction resulted in Trump’s first impeachment. Second, despite contrary findings by U.S. Intelligence, Trump absolved the Saudi crown prince of responsibility for the murder/dismemberment of a Saudi-American journalist. Despite a contrary recommendation by Saudi investment managers, the crown prince invested $2.0B in Jared Kushner’s start-up company. This transaction was morally reprehensible.
In the second term, Trump’s corruption has become more premeditated, systematically carried out and widespread as exemplified below:
- During the 2024 campaign, Trump met with oil & gas executives, committing his Administration to promote fossil fuels over electric, wind and solar, provided the industry contributed $1.0B to Trump’s campaign.
- Prior to the election, the Trump family acquired equity in several crypto-currency companies. Once in office, Trump strongly promoted this industry. In 2025, Trump’s crypto investments contributed $1.4B to Trump’s net worth.
- Trump solicited from the Uber Rich hundreds of millions of dollars for Trump’s vanity projects ($300M+) and super PAC ($400M+). Donors received multi-billion government contracts, pardons and other favorable treatment.
- Because his public comments can cause market swings, Trump began selling early-access subscriptions to his Truth Social postings for $100,000 per month, providing the user advance information to facilitate insider trading and predictive betting.
Voters now regard corruption as one of the most important campaign issues in the 2026 elections.
Trump has ceased to govern like a President seeking the best for America, but like a Mafia Don seeking to loot America! He removed the Executive branch’s experienced inspector generals and ethics officers. Trump perverted the mission of the Department of Justice from being the guardian of justice to being Trump’s avenging angel. Trump insults and threatens judges who dare rule against him.
The Republican-controlled Congress has been unwilling to hold Trump accountable for his corruption. The 2026 elections hopefully will produce a Democrat-controlled Congress that will investigate allegedly corrupt transactions and pass legislation to strengthen the applicable criminal laws. Trump’s corruption will not be stamped out, however, until he is removed from office or the Democrats win the Presidency in 2028.
If you think your vote doesn’t matter, think again.
James O’Brien,
Eden