This page is part of a resource collection on far right extremism.
Image: from Qatari PM denies Trump plane gift is bribery.
Resources
Ruth Ben-Ghiat: Corruption and Authoritarianism: From the Nazis onward, corruption has been key to sustaining authoritarian regimes.
Ruth Ben-Ghiat & Anand Giridharadas: A discussion on how corruption facilitates authoritarianism, and how authoritarianism facilitates corruption.
Elizabeth Warren: Warren Reads 100 Acts of Trump Corruption Into Congressional Record To Mark 100 Days of the Trump Administration.
Selected Articles: 2025
February 6. Andrew Goudsward: Trump administration disbands task force targeting Russian oligarchs.
February 6. Ken Dilanian: Pam Bondi ends FBI effort to combat foreign influence in U.S. politics: The order also curbs prosecutions of Americans who improperly lobby for foreign nations. President Donald Trump says Republicans were unfairly targeted in the past.
February 6. Jonah Owen Lamb: Tesla discrimination probe killed as Trump axes watchdog agency: The Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs investigated companies for unfair practices — including Elon Musk’s automaker.
February 10. Myah Ward: Trump removes Government Ethics Office director: It’s the latest in Trump’s efforts to remove people charged with oversight of his administration.
February 11. Isabella Kwai: Trump Pauses Enforcement of Law Banning Foreign Bribery: The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act makes it illegal for companies that operate in the United States to pay foreign government officials to secure or keep business deals.
February 11. Ruth Ben-Ghiat: Out of Chaos and Corruption, a Revelation and a Reckoning.
February 14. Kenneth P. Vogel: Moves by Trump and Bondi Raise Hopes of Those Accused of Foreign Corruption: Lawyers for defendants in foreign lobbying and bribery cases are rushing to take advantage of new guidance restricting enforcement of those laws.
February 28. Allison Morrow: A crypto mogul who invested millions into Trump coins is getting a reprieve on civil fraud charges.
March 4. Wired: People Are Paying Millions to Dine With Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago:Business leaders are paying as much as $5 million to meet one-on-one with the president at his Florida compound, sources tell WIRED, while others are paying $1 million apiece to dine with him in a group setting.
March 6. The New York Times: President Trump has sworn to root out corruption within the government, yet one of his first acts as president was to fire over a dozen independent watchdogs who did exactly that. We spoke to seven of them about the abuses they uncovered.
March 23. Eric Lipton: Musk Is Positioned to Profit Off Billions in New Government Contracts.
March 25. David Yaffe-Bellany: Trump’s Crypto Venture Introduces New Digital Currency: World Liberty Financial, the crypto business created by President Trump and his sons, unveiled a cryptocurrency called a stablecoin, furthering his ties to an industry his administration regulates.
April 7. Kate Conger: How X Is Benefiting as Musk Advises Trump: The social media platform has experienced a return in advertisers and new exposure as an official source of government news.
April 11. The Wall Street Journal: Binance Seeks to Curb U.S. Oversight While in Deal Talks With Trump’s Crypto Company: Executives for the cryptocurrency exchange met with Treasury officials last month after the company entered into talks with a Trump family venture.
April 30. Steven Rattner: Trump’s Biggest Beneficiary: Himself
May 7. Anne Applebaum & David Frum: The Most Corrupt Presidency in American History.
May 7. Jeff Stein & Hannah Natanson: U.S. pushes nations facing tariffs to approve Musk’s Starlink, cables show.
May 9. Michael Tomasky: You Won’t Believe How Much Richer the Trumps Have Gotten This Year.
May 11. Michael Birnbaum & Matt Viser: In Mideast, Trump plans to focus on business deals, not geopolitics: The trip is expected to focus primarily on cementing trade ties. On the heels of Trump Organization business deals in the region, it also showcases the blurring of Trump’s private business ventures with foreign policy.
May 12. The Washington Post: Trump’s gifted Qatari 747 would be a security problem, officials say: The luxury jet was moved five weeks ago to San Antonio International Airport, suggesting that preparations for improvements to the plane might already be underway.
May 13. The Washington Post: Trump’s Middle East trip marked by potential private business conflicts: The Trump Organization has entered into real estate deals in all three countries the president plans to visit this week.
May 15. ProPublica: The Trump Administration Leaned on African Countries. The Goal: Get Business for Elon Musk.
May 18. Matt Laslo: ‘Second biggest scandal’: Trump accused of new grift that puts Qatari plane in shade.
May 27. Ben Shpigel: Trump Pardons Reality-Show Couple Convicted of $36 Million Fraud.
May 27. Kenneth P. Vogel: Trump Pardoned Tax Cheat After Mother Attended $1 Million Dinner.
2024
October 24. United States Senate Committee on Finance: Wyden, Raskin Call for Department of Justice to Appoint a Special Counsel to Investigate Jared Kushner for Acting as an Unregistered Foreign Agent. Kushner Acted as a “Shadow Diplomat” and Political Adviser to Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman Who Directed Billions in Saudi Funds to Kushner-Owned Affinity Partners.