Trump accused of ‘disgusting’ greed after earning over $2 billion since return to office
Donald Trump has again been accused of “brazen crypto corruption” after financial disclosures revealed his family’s cryptocurrency ventures generated more than $1bn in his first year back in the White House.
A 927-page disclosure, released on Tuesday by the US Office of Government Ethics, showed that the US president had earned more than $2.2bn last year in total, from real estate, golf resorts, branded merchandise, licensing deals and court settlements.
But a set of extraordinary crypto takings stood out: World Liberty Financial, a joint venture between the Trump family and that of Trump’s Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, brought in more than $500m from sales of “governance tokens”, while another firm, CIC Digital LLC, generated more than $600m from Trump-branded meme coins, launched days before his second inauguration.
Elizabeth Warren, the top Democrat on the Senate banking committee, said the figures showed why US Congress needed to act.
“The crypto legislation heading to the Senate floor must prevent the President, Vice President, senior administration officials, members of Congress, and their families from profiting off the crypto industry,” said Warren. “If it does not, it will only turbocharge Donald Trump’s brazen crypto corruption.”
Juliana Stratton, the Illinois lieutenant governor and a Democratic Senate candidate, wrote on social media that Trump’s “infinite greed is disgusting”, adding: “Donald Trump uses the office of the president to make billions while American families struggle to afford their basic needs.”
Gavin Newsom, California’s governor, said the disclosures “showed exactly” how Trump played his crypto cards, noting that many investors had lost out. “He got richer,” said Newsom. “His crypto supporters got rug-pulled.” [Continue reading…]
Donald Trump secured a massive loan from Charles Schwab Bank last year, leaving his debt profile murkier than it has been in ages.
The principal on the new loan amounts to more than $50 million and its interest rate is 3.9%, according to a newly released ethics filing, which does not specify the exact size of the liability, when it is due or against which assets it is pledged.
That lack of detail makes it an anomaly on the president’s balance sheet. Trump owes more than $50 million via two other loans, but those liabilities are standard mortgages, which create public records that explain the nature of the president’s debt. There’s a $125 million loan against Trump’s golf resort in Miami and a $100 million one against Trump Tower in New York City. Both mature in 2032.
The new loan is something different. In the place on the filing where Trump typically lists properties against which his loans are pledged, the liability merely says “pledged asset line.” In the spot where Trump usually identifies when his loans mature, the filing says “N/A.” The amount of the loan is listed as, simply, “over $50,000,000,” in keeping with disclosure requirements that allow officials to list the size of their liabilities in vague amounts. But because this loan doesn’t appear to be connected to a property, there are no easily identifiable mortgages to track down.
The result of all this: No one really knows how much money the president owes today. [Continue reading…]