Tag

#conflict of interest

Situations where government officials' private financial interests conflict with their public duties, leading to self-dealing, preferential treatment, or corruption. Covers violations of federal ethics laws and the Emoluments Clause.

4 incidents

Grade 2 of 5: Major Abuse of Power

Trump's Bank Regulator Grants Conditional National Bank Charter to Trump Family's Crypto Venture (August 2026)

A federal bank regulator run by a Trump appointee conditionally approved a national bank charter for the Trump family's crypto company, World Liberty Trust, to issue the USD1 stablecoin and custody digital assets. The president's family holds a reported 38% stake. Watchdogs said the OCC cannot impartially supervise a bank partly owned by the president who appoints and can remove its head. The approval is conditional, and the bank cannot open until it meets further requirements.

Grade 2 of 5: Major Abuse of Power

Pay-to-Play: Trump's Dell Stock Precedes $9.7B Pentagon Deal, White House Ballroom Donors Win $50B in Contracts

Trump bought Dell stock, then the Pentagon gave Dell a $9.7 billion contract two weeks later. Separately, 14 of 27 corporate donors to Trump's White House ballroom project won a combined $50 billion in new federal contracts within six months of giving. Ethics watchdogs call both pay-to-play; no formal violation has been charged.

Grade 2 of 5: Major Abuse of Power

CFPB Dismantlement While Musk Launches Competing XMoney Payment Service

Musk used his government role leading DOGE to dismantle the CFPB, the agency positioned to regulate his XMoney digital payments platform, while gaining access to competitors' confidential financial data — a conflict of interest that ethics watchdogs and senators have flagged as potentially criminal under 18 U.S.C. 208. No charge or official finding has been made.