Oh, the billionaire megadonor who keeps notching victories under Trump is the guy on the right. It’s fair to ask: what else is Trump doing to serve his interests?

Trump’s push for Coca-Cola to use cane sugar could be a windfall for one of his billionaire megadonors. Jose “Pepe” Fanjul and his sugar empire, Florida Crystals, have poured millions into Trump’s campaigns — and have been racking up wins since Trump's return to office. 🧵

“It is hard to see how Sinema can credibly argue that luxury hotels, meal expenses, and extensive air travel are connected to her candidacy or officeholder duties, given that she is no longer a candidate or officeholder,” I told @NOTUSreports. A few thoughts: 🧵

The Trump admin’s move to let churches engage in partisan politics is part of a broader strategy to loosen the rules when it benefits MAGA allies, and tighten them when it hurts the opposition. 🧵 1/ www.nytimes.com/2025/07/07/u...

If the Trump family is serious about building these phones in the US, then President Trump now has a personal financial stake in tariff and trade negotiations. It also means that China has a potentially new source of leverage over the president. Both raise major conflict of interests. 1/

One implication of Trump’s plan to sell green cards for $5 million is that it would allow foreign billionaires and oligarchs to start legally pouring money into U.S. elections (including into Trump’s political operation).

The White House now says that Elon Musk’s policy views are shaped by his financial interests. So…where was that concern when they gave Musk sweeping influence over government policies that directly impacted his bottom line?

The Elon Musk-backed, Trump-aligned dark money group Building America’s Future is behind the multi-million dollar “Make America Affordable Again” ad campaign pushing "lawsuit reform," FCC records show.

A few thoughts. 🧵 First, after spending $290M+ getting Trump elected, Musk may not need to spend more, since he got what he wanted: a key role in the administration, top allies in important positions, investigations into his companies dropped, and potentially billions in new federal contracts.

Huh. As Trump pushes Rep. Lawler to "forget SALT" and vote for the GOP bill, Trump's latest fundraising appeals quietly route money to Lawler's campaign. secure.winred.com/trump-nation... secure.winred.com/trump-nation...

I wrote a piece about tomorrow's crucial #Wisconsin Supreme Court election for @newyorker.com. Deepest thanks to all the people who shared their insights with me and to the phenomenal editorial staff at the magazine. www.newyorker.com/news/the-led...

Musk backtracked on this legally-dubious plan, deleting his tweet and changing the terms of eligibility to comply with the law www.nytimes.com/2025/03/28/u...

Elon Musk said he would give $1 million checks to Wisconsin voters. Then he deleted the post.

Conditioning entry to this event and eligibility for the $1 million payout on whether someone has voted may violate Wisconsin law. The law prohibits offering or giving anything of value to induce a person to vote. Wis Stat 12.11.

The deluge of unaccountable big money flooding the Wisconsin Supreme Court election is actually higher than has been reported, with potential implications for impartial justice. 🧵

It is hardly the most consequential provision, but Trump’s new Executive Order directs DOJ to step-up enforcement of the ban on foreign political contributions…just after Trump’s DOJ dropped charges against Eric Adams for allegedly soliciting and accepting foreign political contributions.

Elon Musk spent over $250 million helping elect Trump and his allies, and now stands to receive billions in new taxpayer-funded contracts from Trump's administration. www.nytimes.com/2025/03/23/u...

Elon Musk's super PAC re-upping its cash-for-registration tactic to obtain new voter data to influence the WI Supreme Court race. www.nytimes.com/2025/03/20/u... But its paid canvassers are almost certainly drawing from the data Musk's PAC controversially (and arguably illegally) gathered in 2024.

“Participating in a classified briefing on the China threat with some of the most senior Pentagon and U.S. military officials would be a tremendously valuable opportunity for any defense contractor seeking to sell services to the military.” www.nytimes.com/2025/03/20/u...

The First Amendment protects the right of billionaires like Elon Musk to pour hundreds of millions of dollars into elections to buy influence over government, but apparently does not protect the right of average people to express opinions disfavored by those in power. www.nytimes.com/2025/03/15/n...

The “drain the swamp,” “law and order” president is not only dismantling the federal government’s anti-corruption programs, but also pardoning or dropping corruption cases against his allies. The latest beneficiary is Brian Kelsey. www.nytimes.com/2025/03/12/u...

“Throughout the 2024 cycle, we saw crypto money deployed to take out crypto critics and support crypto backers, and this might be an indication of how crypto not only attacks its enemies, but also also rewards its friends.” - @brendanfischer.bsky.social www.rollingstone.com/politics/pol...

DOJ’s Public Integrity Section leads cases of corruption by government officials, especially in smaller districts that lack resources and specialized expertise. Dismantling it is one more signal of open season for corruption.

Prices remain stubbornly high and the average American’s 401k has plunged in value. Meanwhile, Trump is using the power and prestige of the White House to boost the stock value of the luxury car company owned by a billionaire megadonor who just pledged another $100M to Trump’s political operation.

Musk is not pouring $10M+ into this race because he is committed to judicial independence and the rule of law. www.nytimes.com/2025/03/01/u... Instead, he likely wants a court that will stack the deck for future elections and boost his business interests. contrarian.substack.com/p/elon-musk-...

Elon Musk's political operation has now poured over $10 million into the Wisconsin Supreme Court race. Musk's America PAC has spent $6.1M on canvassing, mailers, texts, and digital ads. Musk's dark money group, Building America's Future, has spent $4M on ads.

Elon Musk's America PAC has now spent over $3.2 million on paid canvassers and ads in support of Wisconsin's right-wing Supreme Court candidate. That's on top of the $2 million that a Musk-backed dark money group has spent on ads and mailers. Has Elon Musk ever set foot inside Wisconsin?

The biggest implication of Trump saving Eric Adams: foreign regimes have realized they now have a green light to bankroll American politicians directly—and American politicians now realize the same thing. My latest for @newrepublic.com: newrepublic.com/article/1916...

DOGE’s accounting of its “savings” is riddled with sloppy mistakes. The five largest cuts that it listed on its website earlier this week were all incorrect — making the savings look far larger than they were in reality.

The April 1 Wisconsin Supreme Court race is attracting major spending from groups backed by Elon Musk and other billionaires. Some examples in this thread:

The group that paid for the Post ad attacking Marc Elias was backed by Elon Musk’s dark money political operation. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025... So the Post will run smarmy ads from Musk-tied right-wing orgs, but won’t run ads from liberal orgs that critique Musk?

“The entire force and power of the United States government is now part of the business support structure for the Trump family.” www.nytimes.com/2025/02/17/u...

The money went 'round and 'round, Elon's bounty hunters schemed and memed, but at the end they came up with no proof of voter fraud.

The "Fund promised that it would “highlight” the election fraud stories it gathered through these payments via “aggressive paid and earned media campaigns”, but it never did so, which suggests that none of the evidence generated was consequential or credible." www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

NEW from @documented.net + @theguardian.com: An Elon Musk-linked nonprofit, Fair Election Fund, offered a $5M reward for proof of voter fraud. It found… nothing. 🧵 www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

It cannot be that public officials get a pass on corruption as long as they advance the president's priorities. That in itself is corrupt, and a defining trait of authoritarianism. This is an incredible resignation letter. static01.nyt.com/newsgraphics...

Imagine any prior moment in the history of the U.S. where a president whose family is in business with LIV GOLF via hosting tournaments four years in a row would convene a White House meeting involving LIV Golf and its potential merger partner PGA. This is a conflict of interest. Plain and simple.

Trump has launched a brand-new assault on the rule of law: Trying to illegally fire the Chair of the Federal Election Commission (#FEC).

Marko Elez, a 25-year old DOGE staffer, has resigned after a WSJ reporter reached out to ask about a now deleted Twitter account, where he advocated for repeal of the Civil Rights Act, a “eugenic immigration policy,” & tweeted, “Normalize Indian hate.” www.wsj.com/tech/doge-st...

This disgusting scheme to target and terrify mid-level civil servants is a companion to Russ Vought’s effort to make federal workers “the villains” and “put them in trauma” — and in fact, these efforts can all traced back to the same billionaire-backed network. www.nytimes.com/2025/02/05/u...

Scoop: Elon's DOGE govt takeover is splintering Trump's inner circle. More in here on the DOGE briefings within the WH, where there are scant details on how regularly they occur beyond daily "as needed," per a senior WH official. My latest in @wired.com: www.wired.com/story/trump-...

New, from me: So much is happening, so quickly. The purpose of shock and awe is to bewilder and overwhelm. It is important not to look away, or get discouraged. Try to discern the what is a big and real threat. Here is my best effort to do so. 🧵 donmoynihan.substack.com/p/meditation...

Some attention has been paid to how Musk can use his unchecked control over key government functions to advance his financial interests, but there’s also a risk that Musk will make decisions that affect millions of Americans based on conspiracy theories or his own quirky ideological bugaboos. (1/3)

A billionaire megadonor and his team are unconstitutionally blocking funds that support low-income preschoolers www.wpr.org/news/half-wi...

Not quite. As an SGE (special government employee), Musk is subject to the federal financial conflict statute, like regular employees. If he were the head of an *actual* Department, he’d have to disclose his finances. But whether he has to disclose depends on the precise position he holds.

The guy overseeing USAID was identified two years ago as a Jan. 6 participant who entered the Capitol through a broken window. www.nbcnews.com/politics/whi...

"DOGE does not have power over established government agencies, and Musk has no role in government. It does not matter that he is an ally of the President. Musk is a private citizen taking control of established government offices. That is not efficiency; that is a coup."

Lot of more-pressing issues, but if any member of the WH press corps is struggling to come up with a good question (it happens!) I'd love of an explanation of what's going on with Karoline Leavitt's FEC filings.