Trump pardoned a crypto billionaire who, through some behind-the-scenes maneuvering, helped increase the value of the Trump family's crypto company, World Liberty Financial, by roughly $2bn. After Trump's campaign and affiliated Pacs received a gusher of donations from oil and gas companies, an estimated $75m, Trump gutted environmental regulations that the fossil fuel industry disliked, while also pushing to undermine electric vehicles as well as solar and wind power.
The Trump family's conflicts of interest have escalated during the US war with Iran. Trump's oldest sons, Don Jr and Eric, are investors in a drone manufacturer that has sought to sell drones to Gulf states that have faced attacks from Iran and depend on the Trump administration for military aid. In a move that several Democrats called "corruption in plain sight", the Pentagon awarded a $24m contract last month to a robotics startup " Eric is the company's "chief strategy adviser" " to test an android with the US Marine Corps.
According to the New York Times, even as Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner serves as a top Middle East peace envoy, his investment firm, Affinity Partners, has been seeking to raise $5bn, with Affinity representatives meeting in recent months with Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund. That conflict of interest seems all the more egregious considering that the Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, has repeatedly urged Trump to attack Iran to destroy its hardline regime.
