Trumpworld's presidential gold rush
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Illustration: Brendan Lynch/Axios
Democrats erupted Monday over President Trump's $1.8 billion "anti-weaponization" fund for MAGA allies who claim political persecution, vowing to investigate what they called textbook corruption.
Why it matters: With each passing month, Trump is weaving the financial interests of his family, his allies and his political movement more tightly than ever into the fabric of the American presidency.
Driving the news: The weaponization fund grew out of an extraordinary legal conflict: Trump sued the IRS for $10 billion in January while simultaneously controlling the agencies and lawyers on the other side of the case.
- The taxpayer-backed fund will be overseen by a five-member commission appointed by acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, Trump's former personal attorney.
- Bypassing congressional approval, the fund could extend compensation to Jan. 6 defendants, conservative activists, former Trump aides and other allies who have faced investigation.
What they're saying: "The machinery of government should never be weaponized against any American," Blanche said in a statement, calling the fund an effort "to make right the wrongs that were previously done."
- In a legal filing, 93 House Democrats argued the arrangement "raises the specter of corruption unparalleled in American history." Some have signaled they will impeach Trump if Democrats win the House in November.
Zoom in: The Justice Department's announcement came amid mounting scrutiny of Trump's most recent financial disclosure, which revealed more than 3,700 individual stock trades last quarter.
- The trading activity — involving some companies heavily exposed to federal policy decisions — represented a staggering escalation from the previous quarter, when Trump disclosed just 380 transactions.
- Popular Information's Judd Legum reported that Trump publicly praised or promoted several companies, including Apple, Dell and Thermo Fisher, about the same time he was buying their stock.
Between the lines: The Trump Organization says outside advisers control the president's investments.
- "Neither President Trump, his family, nor the Trump Organization plays any role in selecting, directing, or approving specific investments. They receive no advance notice of trading activity and provide no input regarding investment decisions or portfolio management of any kind," a Trump Organization spokesperson told Axios.
- White House spokesperson Anna Kelly added in a statement: "President Trump only acts in the best interests of the American public — which is why they overwhelmingly re-elected him to this office, despite years of lies and false accusations against him and his businesses from the fake news media. There are no conflicts of interest."
Flashback: Federal conflict-of-interest laws generally do not apply to the president, leaving the office heavily dependent on voluntary norms and political restraint.
- Trump is the first president whose trading triggered the disclosure requirements of the STOCK Act, the 2012 law written for Cabinet officials and members of Congress.
The big picture: Trump's first term generated recurring conflict-of-interest scandals around hotels, golf clubs and foreign patronage. His second has produced a far more sprawling ecosystem for enrichment.
- At the center of the gold rush is crypto: Trump-linked meme coins have minted billions for the family and its inner circle, with top holders unlocking dinners at Mar-a-Lago and private events with the president.
- World Liberty Financial has rapidly become one of the Trump family's most lucrative and controversial ventures, placing the president's political brand and influence at the center of a fast-growing crypto empire.
The intrigue: Crypto billionaire Justin Sun, who helped bankroll World Liberty Financial, is now suing the Trump-linked company over an alleged "illegal scheme" to seize and freeze his tokens.
- World Liberty Financial has denied the allegations and is suing Sun for defamation.
Zoom out: Since Trump took office, his sons have become investors in a range of new industries, including AI, drones and critical minerals. Their overseas real estate portfolio has also expanded dramatically.
- Donald Trump Jr. is a partner at 1789 Capital, which has grown from $200 million to $3.5 billion in assets over the past year while backing AI and defense companies that have won federal contracts.
- Trump Jr. also has gotten involved in the booming prediction-market industry through advisory roles with Kalshi and Polymarket. The Trump administration is currently suing three states to defend the platforms from state-level enforcement.
- Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner has continued to raise billions from Persian Gulf governments while serving as the president's peace envoy for the Middle East.
What to watch: A pattern of well-timed trades around the Iran war — now under federal investigation — have emerged as one of the most politically explosive storylines of Trump's second term.
- There's no evidence that Trump has had personal knowledge of the billions of dollars in oil futures and prediction-market bets placed shortly before his market-moving announcements.
- Still, the phenomenon has reinforced a growing public perception that the people closest to power operate under a different set of rules.
The bottom line: Asked in January why his family is doing deals abroad after refraining in his first term, Trump told the New York Times: "Because I found out that nobody cared. I'm allowed to."
