The Corruption Chronicles: April 2026 Edition

President Donald Trump has reshaped the presidency to drastically blur the lines between government and business, abetting unprecedented levels of pay-to-play political corruption and blatantly exploiting our nation’s highest office to enrich himself and his family.

The index below — which builds on Issue One’s previous installments in this series — highlights many of the ways that Trump has sidestepped long-standing anti-corruption guardrails, defied both the intent and the letter of Article I of the Constitution, sold access and influence to domestic and foreign interests alike, and transformed public office into a vehicle for private gain through business enterprises, including multiple cryptocurrency ventures.

“The integrity of our governmental institutions depends on political leaders who respect ethical boundaries, not test or ignore them,” said Issue One Founder and CEO Nick Penniman. “Safeguarding democracy cannot be a partisan issue at a time like this. The whole system starts to break down when long-standing guardrails are ignored. All Americans must stand firm in demanding accountability, stronger oversight, and reforms that ensure elected officials serve the public, not private, interest.”

Key

$17.5 billion

Amount of money that Amazon received in federal tax breaks in 2025, much of that from Trump’s major “One Big Beautiful Bill” Act, paying an effective tax rate of 1.4%.

$35 million

Amount of money that Amazon spent marketing a documentary about First Lady Melania Trump’s life, which Amazon bought the rights to for $40 million. These expenditures have been widely criticized as attempts to curry favor with the Trump White House.

$1 billion

Size of a purchasing agreement the Department of Homeland Security struck with Palantir. The deal comes as Palantir has avoided paying any federal income tax for three consecutive years. The company is also among the donors to Trump’s White House ballroom project, and Palantir CEO Alex Karp has donated $2 million to Trump-aligned political groups.

$2 million

Amount of money that Facebook-investors-turned-crypto-moguls Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss donated to political committees that supported Trump’s reelection in 2024. After Trump took office, federal regulators dropped a long-running lawsuit against the Winklevosses’ cryptocurrency firm Gemini Trust.

$4.8 million

Amount of money that nursing home executives donated to Trump’s super PAC a month before the Trump administration stopped defending a rule requiring increased staffing levels at nursing homes to reduce concerns about neglect of nursing home residents.

$2.5 million

Amount of money that Vantive Health, a medical technology company that has been lobbying the Trump administration for Medicare reimbursements for their services, donated to Trump’s White House ballroom project.

$1 million

Amount of money that billionaire businessman Matthew Moroun, owner of the Ambassador Bridge between Michigan and Canada, gave Trump’s super PAC in January, only weeks before Trump publicly threatened to block the planned opening of a rival bridge project opposed by Moroun.

$1 million

Amount that one can donate to Freedom 250, an organization raising money for events celebrating the 250th birthday of the United States, to secure an invitation to a “private Freedom 250 thank you reception” hosted by Trump.

$200

Price to purchase a “Trump 250” blanket being sold by the Trump Organization as part of its line of merchandise being marketed to make profit from America’s 250th anniversary.

$6.75 million

Minimum combined amount of money that individuals convicted of crimes or their relatives gave to Trump-associated political groups before receiving presidential pardons.

$1.8 million

Amount of money that lobbyist Josh Nass — who last year helped convicted fraudster and former nursing home mogul Joseph Schwartz receive a pardon from Trump — reportedly paid, in cash, in 2021, for an apartment in the Trump Tower in Manhattan.

145

Minimum number of times that government leaders and officials have visited Trump’s properties since his second inauguration, from foreign government officials from more than 20 countries to Cabinet secretaries and state government officials.

$1.3 million

Minimum amount of money that U.S. political campaigns and committees have spent at Trump’s properties since his second inauguration.

Feb. 13, 2026

Date on which the Trump Organization filed a trademark for the term “President Donald J. Trump International Airport,” coinciding with a push from Florida Republicans to name the Palm Beach airport after Trump, opening the possibility for Trump to profit from the name change.

Feb. 18, 2026

Date of the World Liberty Forum, a gathering of finance and tech CEOs hosted at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida. The guests included crypto exchange Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao — his first appearance in the United States after Trump pardoned him for a money laundering conviction in October.

$75 million

Amount of money that Chinese-born crypto billionaire Justin Sun — who avoided travel to the United States for years due to fears of arrest — invested in Trump’s World Liberty Financial crypto company ahead of the SEC agreeing to settle its lawsuit against Sun for $10 million and dismissing all claims without requiring any admission of wrongdoing.

1

Current rank of Chinese-born crypto billionaire Justin Sun on the leaderboard of holders of Trump’s memecoin, who will reportedly get special access to the president at a luncheon later this month, with holdings of about $5 million.

58%

Portion of wallets with investments of $1 million or more in Trump’s memecoin that appear to be controlled by foreign nationals. Roughly 60 wallets — each of which holds $1 million or more — control nearly 90% of the publicly available Trump memecoin.

$10 million

Amount of money that Indian conglomerate Reliance Industries paid the Trump Organization in 2024 in “development fees” for a non-existent project. The company is now being allowed to open a $300 billion oil refinery in Brownsville, Texas.

$187 million

Amount of money the Trump family earned from a January 2025 investment by the brother of the president of the United Arab Emirates when he purchased a 49% stake in Trump’s World Liberty Financial cryptocurrency venture. The deal made a foreign government official the company’s largest shareholder. Within months, the Trump administration pledged to give the United Arab Emirates 500,000 advanced AI chips.