Grifts around 47: A running catelogue for this presidency

White House directly intervened to win $620M deal for company linked to Trump's son​

When the Pentagon announced a $620 million loan last year to a small North Carolina startup linked to Donald Trump Jr., defense officials and the company tried to tamp down suspicions of cronyism.

But interviews and Defense Department records reviewed by ProPublica show that the request to loan hundreds of millions of dollars to the firm linked to Trump Jr. was made by Peter Navarro, a White House adviser to President Donald Trump and a friend of Trump Jr.’s.

Of the dozens of companies the Pentagon was considering funding at the time, Vulcan’s was the only deal initiated by a top aide to the president, said an official at the Pentagon who was not authorized to speak publicly.

After defense officials got the White House request, they asked Pentagon staff to move at an unusually rapid pace, said another person who was involved in the deal at the Pentagon but not authorized to speak about it. The staff worked late nights and with little sleep to get the loan through in a matter of weeks, the source said.

“The call came from the White House: We have to get this done,” the person said.

Companies considered for funding are generally vetted for many months, the person said, but this deal was completed in a matter of weeks because they were told it was a White House priority.

Richard Painter, the chief White House ethics lawyer during the George W. Bush administration, said aides to the president should not be intervening in contracting and lending decisions by agencies, particularly in matters that financially benefit the president’s family.

“This is our money they’re spending,” Painter said. “This is corruption we pay for.”

Company led by Republican fundraiser pardoned by Trump wins $106m federal contract​

There is no evidence Elliott Broidy’s links to Trump helped AI company win contract to monitor prisoners’ phone calls

The day before Donald Trump’s first term ended in 2021, he inked a pardon for Elliott Broidy, a scandal-plagued Republican fundraiser and former Republican National Committee official who had pleaded guilty three months earlier to trying to illegally lobby Trump and his administration.

Last month, a company headed by Broidy won a $106m contract from the Department of Justice, according to federal contracting records.

Under the contract, awarded by the Bureau of Prisons to LEO Technologies, the company will use artificial intelligence to translate, transcribe and monitor prison phone calls. Broidy lists himself as the founder and CEO of LEO.

RileyG said:

Very odd, but hardly surprising.

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Cabinet meetings shouldn't be free commercials for your personal merch.

"Government ethics watchdogs are sounding the alarm after the Pentagon announced that the U.S. tech company Dell has been granted a $9.7 billion government contract, pointing to stock transactions that suggest President Donald Trump potentially stands to gain financially from the deal.

Trump has repeatedly praised the company at public events, and government disclosure forms show that on Feb. 10 Trump’s portfolio acquired stock in Dell Technologies valued between $1 million and $5 million. Nine days later, at a rally in Georgia, the president encouraged supporters to “go out and buy a Dell computer.” Three additional purchases of Dell stock, all valued at or below $50,000, followed in March."

Dell inks $9.7 billion Pentagon contract after Trump acquires stock

I pity him.

Deuteronomy 32:35
Vengeance is Mine, and recompense;
Their foot shall slip in due time;
For the day of their calamity is at hand,
And the things to come hasten upon them.’​

Democrats launch effort to ‘root out corruption’ in Trump team​

House Democrats are getting ready to fight the Trump administration’s corruption, with the launch of an “End Corruption Caucus” on Wednesday.

In a press release, the caucus—which is chaired by Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, Jason Crow of Colorado, and Mike Levin of California—said it will “work to advance legislation, bring together like-minded partners, and aim to root out corruption in government, to restore the American people’s trust in their leaders.”

It's a really bigly job, but somebody ought to do it.

MAGA Fan Ticked Off By $640 "TRUMP" Watch Missing the ‘T’​

“We expected that it would have the integrity of the president of the United States,” said a disappointed Pettit.

[He almost gets it!]

Back in October, Newsmax began airing ads for the time pieces with Trump himself as spokesperson.

“Hello, everyone, it’s President Donald J. Trump, and it’s Trump time,” the president began on one of the clips. “Check out this ‘Red Beauty,’ it’s one of my new watches. Wear it proudly on your wrist and everyone will know exactly what it’s for, who it’s for, who it represents. It’s really going to be something special, it’s for your favorite president. Get your watch today at GetTrumpWatches.com. These make a great gift. It’s Trump time.”

essentialsaltes said:

“We expected that it would have the integrity of the president of the United States,” said a disappointed Pettit.

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It did