Subject: Re: Three Corruption Scandals in Four Days...
(yeah, that one got some media coverage, but not the corruption behind the hidden bribes).

For the corruption story you have to go to independent media.

https://prospect.org/2025/10/2...

The White House has said it would allow ballroom donors to remain anonymous, but they’re the ones who put out all the names of the donors. The double game of bribery and disciplining only works if the names are public, and it certainly wouldn’t do for Trump to pay for his own ballroom out of a $230 million extortion from the Justice Department; that wouldn’t leave any room to demand tribute from the corporate sector.

More from David Dayen

The result is among the most corrupt displays in American history, with a president agreeing to do corporations’ bidding in exchange for financing a personal shrine and staying aligned for the duration of his presidency. We’ve seen other instances of personal self-aggrandizement and favor-trading, from pardoning convicted felons who partner with his crypto company to handing out contracts to businesses linked to his family to letting personal friends and patrons fund the Defense Department. (That’s all just in the last week!) But the ballroom is literally being built on a foundation of corruption, as a monument to it, on the very grounds of the White House.

Which raises the question: What do all these companies in on the ground floor, so to speak, really want? Most of the companies that officially donated to the Trump ballroom have been in the Prospect’s crosshairs for some time, and in going back through our archives we can divine why they’re debasing themselves to play this corrupt game. Here’s a rundown: