While families continue feeling the squeeze of rising costs, Trump closed out the nation’s 250th birthday week by partially opening the books. His financial disclosure revealed that he made $2.2 billion in the first year of his second term, largely on crypto. But days later, when asked about the conflict of interest, Trump told CNBC’s Joe Kernen that “almost anything my kids do” means “they have inside information.” Meanwhile, gifts, pardons, and stock donations kept flowing to the people positioned to benefit him. President Trump’s former personal attorney and current Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche continues to turn a blind eye to all of it, and next week Trump is asking Senators to give their formal stamp of approval to all of it during Blanche’s hearings to be permanent AG. This week’s roundup shows the machinery running at full speed, right through the fireworks.
This Week in Corruption: The $2.2 Billion Disclosure, Freedom 250 Fraud, and a $320 Million SpaceX Gift
- Trump’s Financial Disclosure Shows $2.2 Billion in Earnings: Trump’s newly released 927-page financial disclosure showed he earned more than $2.2 billion in 2025, with crypto ventures now his single largest income source. His meme-coin business brought in over $635 million in royalties, while token sales and equity tied to World Liberty Financial added hundreds of millions more.
- Report Outlines Freedom 250 Defrauding Donors and Funneling Millions to Trump Allies: A 55-page report from House Natural Resources Committee Democrats outlines how Freedom 250, the White House-created group that displaced the congressionally chartered America250 commission, routed donations meant for the nonpartisan commission into its own accounts by giving donors Freedom 250’s banking information instead. The group has also sold sponsorship packages topping out at a “historic photo opportunity” with Trump and solicited foreign funds at Davos. Meanwhile, reporting on the group’s finances has traced tens of millions in no-bid federal contracts tied to the celebrations to Event Strategies Inc., the firm that produced Trump’s January 6th rally at the Ellipse.
- Trump Pardons Clean Air Act Violators and a Fraudster Who Bundled Him $270,000: Trump pardoned 11 people, nine of them convicted of tampering with vehicle emissions controls. Tucked into the same batch was a pardon for Adam Kidan, a former business partner of disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff who pleaded guilty to fraud in 2005 and was ordered to pay $21.7 million in restitution. Since then, he’s donated more than $270,000 to Trump and Republican committees.
- Belgian Diamond Industry Gifts Trump a Jewel-Encrusted Ring Months After Winning Tariff Relief: The Antwerp World Diamond Center presented Trump with a ring encrusted with 321 diamonds, 56 sapphires, 13 emeralds, and six rubies, valued by independent jewelers at $25,000 to $35,000, months after Belgium’s diamond industry secured a zero-percent U.S. tariff on more than $2 billion in annual polished-diamond exports. Ethics experts told the AP that Trump broke with decades of presidential custom by accepting the gift, which joins a growing list of high-value presents disclosed in this year’s filing.
- SpaceX’s No. 2 Executive Donates $320 Million in Stock to Trump’s New Children’s Accounts: Gwynne Shotwell, SpaceX’s president and COO, pledged $320 million of her SpaceX stock to the Trump Accounts program the administration launched July 4th, just days after SpaceX was fast-tracked onto the Nasdaq 100. The gift comes from a company whose CEO, Elon Musk, depends on billions in federal contracts and regulatory approvals, and follows White House talks with SpaceX specifically about donating stock to the president’s signature program.
The pattern couldn’t be clearer: week after week, Trump and his allies treat the federal government as a tool for self-enrichment – burying accountability, rewarding friends with taxpayer money, and cutting deals that prioritize personal profit over national security. Want to follow and share these stories in real time? Follow Trump Affordability Campaign on X or Bluesky