Spotlight on Corruption
Where there is power, there is always the risk of corruption, but this year our state and country are breaking records. The fact that corruption is nonstop and epic doesn't change the facts: what is happening is unacceptable.
On this page, we periodically track the almost endless examples of corruption.
A private citizen whose companies have received $18 billion dollars in US government contracts donated 260 million dollars to Donald Trump's campaign--that alone is an example of corruption, but what Trump has given him in return is even more alarming:
*that private citizen (known for having security red-flags) has been given unfettered access to every American's social security numbers, addresses, telephone numbers, emails, earning histories, financial aid records, and more.
*that citizen's companies were, prior to January 20, 2025, being investigated for
- safety violations,
- unfair labor practices,
- work discrimination,
- predatory lending practices,
- international security concerns,
- Tesla crash data,
- violation of the clean air act and hazardous waste laws,
- direct harm to fish and wildlife habitats,
- discriminatory hiring practices,
- misleading consumers about his products,
- misleading shareholders about value of his companies' stocks. All of these agencies have been the target of the firings by DOGE. Efficiency in government is not the goal: giving this private citizen and Trump donor a free ride is.
*that citizen and his family traveled by Air Force One, a privilege until this time limited solely to the President of the United States, and an excessively expensive way to travel (see note above that efficiency is NOT the goal).
*The President held a press conference to use his power as President to advertise this donor's product for him. This same donor is poised to gain billions in government funding.
*Howard Lutnick, the US Secretary of Commerce, encouraged Americans to purchase stock in the donor's company.
*Attorney General Pam Bondi is far more concerned about protecting the property of this one donor's company, not anyone else, not any other company. It is as if she is this donor's personal attorney, rather than the advocate for justice for all Americans.
*The Commerce department is considering switching BEAD funding from fiber internet to this donor's Starlink company, which will harm rural communities access to the internet. Source
Meanwhile, here in North Carolina, a judge named Jefferson Griffin is so corrupt that he wants his friend on the Court of Appeals who is helping to pay for his court cases to be able to rule in his favor, part of the larger corruption in which a losing candidate wants to say that not every voter's vote should count, just votes from people he thinks voted for him. His pursuit of victory through partisan court rulings is so corrupt that "42 former county election directors from across the state--from red, blue, urban, and rural areas--...signed the amicus brief opposing Griffin's efforts. The group included registered Republicans, Democrats, and unaffiliated." (Source: WUNC radio).
People are paying $5 million dollars to meet with our President one-on-one, and paying $1 million dollars a ticket to hang out with him and his top donor. In a time when everything is unprecedented, this breaks all records. This is why they are ignoring the concerns of most Americans--because we can't afford to pay them, which is NOT how democracy works. (And if you want to know more about how we got here, find out more about the Supreme Court ruling on Citizens United vs. FEC.) Source and Source
The White House is seeking corporate sponsors for the annual Easter Egg Roll. The People's House is apparently for sale now? https://edition.cnn.com/2025/03/23/politics/white-house-easter-egg-roll-corporate-sponsorships/index.html
Our US Representative Virginia Foxx is using our tax dollars to encourage people to buy Teslas now. This is a glaring example of fraud and a waste of her time.
The Republican President went onto the social media company he founded and promoted his own crypto currency on March 23, 2025, which led to a 12% rise in its value. He spends his time as President building his personal wealth. Meanwhile, Americans continue to struggle with rising bills, layoffs, and the risk of a recession caused by his reckless actions.
Forbes reports on further examples of widespread corruption in a May 14 2025 article: "The Republican National Committee spent more than $300,000 at businesses tied to Donald Trump and Donald Trump Jr. in March—including nearly $200,000 at Mar-a-Lago—showing that even as Trump promotes new revenue streams like crypto and Truth Social, his old assets continue generating political cash."
Having faced no accountability for his part in using private devices and apps to share the details of a military strike via a group chat, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth brings his wife Jennifer to meetings with defense officials where she hears sensitive information. And now his brother Phil serves as a senior advisor and liaison officer to the Defense Department (based on his brother's vast experience as... a podcaster?). This is corruption.
The reckless and massive firings of federal workers is not only done in a way that is cruel and disrespectful to our fellow Americans, but it is also all about corruption, not about efficiency. Recruiting, hiring, and training employees is very expensive--firing people without any insight into what they contribute to the workings of our government is essentially throwing away all the time and money invested in putting that employee into place. Further, many firings are targeted, with the goal of removing oversight of corporations and billionaires in ways that make all of us vulnerable to fraud and deceit, such as the firing of members the Federal Trade Commission, as discussed in this NPR article.