Tracking corruption and abuse of power in the nation’s capital
The autocrats’ playbook — “Flood the zone” with daily outrages to overwhelm and disorient the public, instill fear, silence opposition, amass power, and line their own pockets.
SwampWatch is a critical antidote: It tracks corruption and abuses of power by Washington’s power elite and offers a menu of meaningful actions to erect guardrails and establish accountability. But that’s just a start: Success will require governing majorities truly dedicated to small “d” democracy, buttressed by sustained public mobilization and vigilance.
DJT Jr. and Eric’s Defense Portfolio Pumped Up by Trump Admin Spending
-
NEWS & RESEARCH
Since Donald Trump’s reelection, his sons, Don Jr. and Eric, have amassed a portfolio of over a dozen defense technology startups through investment firms like 1789 Capital and American Ventures. The Trump sons are profiting off defense company investments affected by their father’s policies in office. A Washington Post analysis reveals that these companies—ranging from major players like SpaceX and Anduril to smaller drone and robotics startups—have collectively secured at least $3.2 billion in direct government business and an additional $3.1 billion in future options.
-
ANALYSIS & OPINION
The White House maintains there are no conflicts of interest, but ethics watchdogs warn that these investments undermine public confidence in the federal contracting process, noting instances where backed companies received fast-tracked Pentagon loans or benefited directly from administration policies like banning Chinese drone imports. Furthermore, the Trump brothers appear to have leveraged their close access to the administration to influence Department of Defense personnel and messaging, raising significant concerns among experts regarding transparency, oversight, and potential financial profiting from the country's highest office.
-
HOW TO FIX IT
Federal action:
Pass comprehensive conflict-of-interest legislation that closes existing gaps to: (1) Require the president, vice president, and their immediate families to disclose and divest conflicting financial interests, as the Presidential Conflicts of Interest Accountability Actproposes—closing the loophole that exempts the president from the federal conflict-of-interest statute (18 U.S.C. § 208)that binds nearly all other executive branch employees; (2) Define "relatives" broadly to include adult children, siblings, and in-laws, as the bipartisan Presidential Ethics Reform Act of 2024 did; and (3) Extend these rules to Cabinet secretaries and agency heads and enforce them with civil and criminal penalties—not just disclosure requirements.
Support the the Ranking Member …
Trump Family Crypto Wealth Mushroomed Through Use of Presidency
-
NEWS & RESEARCH
Since his January 2025 inauguration, Donald Trump’s wealth has grown by 165%, around $1.4 billion through his family’s crypto businesses and by $2.2 billion overall. Much of Trump’s haul came when the United Arab Emirates bought nearly a 50% stake in the Trump family’s World Liberty Financial (WLF). Trump also raked in hundreds of millions through the sale of his $Trump memecoin and WLF’s sale of its own digital tokens and pressuring startups who wanted to be seen doing business with the Trumps to cough up millions more. (Nearly two-thirds of the $Trump memecoin purchasers have lost money.) This massive growth in fortune followed the administration’s crypto regulatory rollbacks, its suspension of investigations into WLF investors, and Trump’s pardon of Binance founder and crypto king, Changpeng Zhao, a Trump business partner.
-
ANALYSIS & OPINION
Experts describe these deals as unprecedented in modern government corruption. The Free Press calls it “the biggest grift in American history.” The New York Times notes that “Mr. Trump is a major crypto industry operator and its top policymaker.” A Brennan Center report warns that WLF’s capital flow likely violates the Constitution’s Emoluments Clauses, creating a limitless channel for foreign governments to influence the President. But Trump dismissed the criticisms, asserting that everybody is profiting from his presidency.
-
HOW TO FIX IT
To address these conflicts, advocates and lawmakers suggest:
Legislation: Passing the the Modern Emoluments and Malfeasance Act, or MEME Act, End Crypto Corruption Act, Stop TRUMP in Crypto Act, and the Presidential Conflicts of Interest Act and other conflict of interest reforms
Structural Oversight: Mandating a blind trust for presidential investments and ensuring strict compliance with the Ethics in Government Act.
Regulatory Scrutiny: Oversee SEC transparency in its crypto regulation and delay approvalof WLF’s bank charter application via the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.
SOURCES: Public Citizen | Senator Merkley | The Guardian | NCRC | Yahoo Finance | New York Times | Democracy Defenders
Legislation: H.R.1712 - MEME Act | S.1668 - End Crypto Corruption Act | H.R.3573 - Stop TRUMP in Crypto Act | S.1486 - Presidential Conflicts of Interest Act
SwampCreatureS
of the Month
Jared Isaacman & Todd Blanche
Jared “Rook” Isaacman, NASA Administrator, thought it would be a helluva good time to join the airshow in Washington, DC on the 4th of July. So NASA asked the FAA, which regulates civilian air traffic, to allow Isaacman and NASA to pilot four vintage Northrop F-5 Tiger IIs (three owned by Isaacman’s company) over the national mall. Wouldn’t you know it, though, the killjoy FAA nixed Isaacman’s joy ride as “very high-risk” to people and property. But billionaire Isaacman had another play; he promised Acting AG Todd Blanche could fly shotgun. The president’s best boy for orchestrating the “deal” to permanently bar an IRS audit of the Trumps, Blanche appealed to his one and only client. Trump reportedly winked and nodded and, the FAA be damned, Isaacman and Blanche had a helluva good time. Happy birthday, America.
Swamp Rot
Stinkiest Story of the Week
What happens when a notoriously compromised sports organization caters to a transactional presidency? The glorious World Cup vibe instantly turns toxic. President Trump phoned his buddy, FIFA President Gianni Infantino, to complain that a red card issued against America’s leading goal-scorer, Folarin Balogun, was "unfair." Sure enough, FIFA backtracked, lifting the one-game suspension just in time for Balogun to play in Belgium’s 4–1 thrashing of the US. The hypocrisy of the intervention was lost on no one: Balogun was born in Brooklyn in 2001 because his Nigerian mother was too far along in her pregnancy to safely board a flight. After two months, the family moved to London, where he grew up. In other words, the star player Trump bent the rules to save was only eligible to play for Team USA in the first place because he is a birthright citizen—the exact constitutional right the administration fought so hard to quash.