Friends, donors & officials

The envoy's sons: crypto partners and Gulf fundraising

$31M+ from the UAE-backed deal; $4B fund pitched

Steve Witkoff's son Zach co-founded World Liberty Financial with the Trumps; Witkoff-family entities received at least $31M from the UAE-backed stake sale. The New York Times reported that his son Alex pitched Gulf sovereign funds on a $4B real-estate fund while his father negotiated with the same governments. Qatar's fund confirmed the pitch and declined.

Their response: The Witkoff Group says it is “not moving forward” and calls conflict claims “categorically false.” White House: “another bogus smear.”

Sources: Times of Israel (on the NYT report) · CNBC

An AI and crypto czar with hundreds of tech investments

Hundreds of tech investments (NYT)

The White House counsel gave adviser David Sacks ethics waivers to work on policies affecting his own holdings. The New York Times reported he kept stakes in hundreds of technology companies that could benefit from policies he shapes; he had sold more than $200M in crypto before joining.

Their response: Sacks called the Times report a “hoax” and a “nothing burger.”

Sources: NPR · NBC News

$220 million in no-bid ad contracts at Homeland Security

$220M in no-bid contracts

The department awarded $220M in advertising contracts without competition, citing an emergency. ProPublica found that a firm tied to then-Secretary Kristi Noem and her aides was an undisclosed subcontractor. NBC News reported that Noem also handpicked the contractors, without competitive bidding, for a separate $100M ICE recruitment campaign. Trump said he “didn't know anything about” the ad campaign. Noem was removed in March 2026.

Their response: DHS said it “has no involvement with the selection of subcontractors.”

Sources: ProPublica · NBC News (recruitment campaign) · NBC News (Trump's comment)

The commerce secretary's firm, handed to his sons

Howard Lutnick pledged to sell his interests in Cantor Fitzgerald; control passed to his sons, who run the firm. Cantor holds a convertible bond in the stablecoin giant Tether, and Wired reported a Cantor salesman pitched trades on tariff refunds, a product the firm says it never executed.

Their response: Cantor: it “has never executed any transactions or taken risk on the legality of tariffs.”

Sources: Semafor · House Judiciary Democrats (partisan)

The Reflecting Pool: no-bid contracts to firms found by the manager of his golf club

$16M+ in no-bid contracts (AP)

At Trump’s direction the Interior Department resurfaced the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool in spring 2026 under no-bid contracts: $14.7 million to Atlantic Industrial Coatings to coat the floor and $1.7 million to Greenwater Services for an algae system. Trump said on April 23 that he would call “three of these people that have worked for me in the past doing swimming pools.” The Independent, summarizing a New York Times investigation, reported that the firms were found by David Schutzenhofer, the manager of Trump’s Bedminster golf club, who “played an off-the-books role in government decisions” with no engineering training, and that Interior granted Atlantic’s request for a 20 percent profit margin. The coating peeled and algae returned within weeks; Trump blamed vandals, but the Justice Department later told a court the damage came from a “botched installation and not vandalism” and dropped its case against a man it had charged.

Their response: Trump, on May 12: “I didn’t give out the contract, ‘Interior’ did, to a contractor I did not know, and have never used before.” The White House did not answer the Independent’s questions about the golf club manager’s role.

Sources: AP fact check (Aug. 2026) · The Independent (Aug. 7, 2026) · FactCheck.org: Trump’s unsupported claims about Reflecting Pool vandalism · CNN: DOJ admits renovation was flawed, drops case (July 31, 2026)

Contractors told White House aides they were asked to pay Noem adviser Corey Lewandowski

No payment documented; accounts from unnamed sources

NBC News reported on March 19, 2026, citing industry and administration sources, that Corey Lewandowski, an unpaid “special government employee” who acted as Kristi Noem’s de facto chief of staff at Homeland Security, asked the founder of prison contractor GEO Group during the transition to pay him for protecting and growing its DHS contracts and later sought what one source called a “success fee”; GEO declined. Sources also said a marketing firm was told it had to hire a Lewandowski-linked consultant to get DHS work, and that Noem’s rule requiring her sign-off on every contract over $100,000 was largely delegated to him. Separately, the Guardian found DHS gave a $250,000 public-affairs contract, posted with a requirement to show “an established track record of promoting Trump administration policies in the media”, to a firm run by former Trump campaign officials who had worked alongside him. NBC said it is not clear he received any money; after Trump removed Noem in March 2026, House Oversight Democrats opened an inquiry and a senator said he would pursue whether Noem lied to Congress about Lewandowski’s contract role.

Their response: Lewandowski told NBC News he has received “zero, not one penny” from contracts he signed off on; his spokesperson called the marketing-firm account “patently false” and said Noem “has delegated no authorities to Mr. Lewandowski.” A lawyer for Salus Worldwide Solutions, the firm named in that account, called it “entirely false”. The White House declined to comment to NBC. On the $250,000 contract, DHS said its procurements “are overseen by the office of the chief procurement officer and are subject to applicable federal procurement laws and oversight”.

Sources: NBC News (Mar. 19, 2026) · NBC News (Mar. 23, 2026) · The Guardian (Feb. 26, 2026) · The Guardian (Mar. 6, 2026)

DHS gave a $915 million self-deportation flight deal to a two-year-old firm after two days of bidding

Up to $915M over three years (Mother Jones)

In May 2025 Homeland Security awarded Salus Worldwide Solutions, founded in 2023 by former State Department official William Walters and described in a rival’s lawsuit as having “no track record” as a federal contractor, a three-year contract worth up to $915 million to fly migrants who agree to “self-deport”. Mother Jones reported in October 2025 that DHS first planned to award it without competition, then opened bidding for two business days to a preset list of vendors; DHS records showed the official then running the responsible office, Christopher Pratt, was a former State Department colleague of Walters and held offsite meetings at Salus’s office before the award. Walters received a “Patriot Award” from the pro-Trump America First Policy Institute at Mar-a-Lago in November 2024. Rival CSI Aviation protested in the Court of Federal Claims in August 2025, calling the award “unlawful, rushed, and noncompetitive”; no ruling in that case has been reported.

Their response: A DHS spokesperson told Mother Jones: “DHS will not comment on pre-decisional procurement matters, nor will the Department speculate on contractor motivations or individual political views. All DHS acquisitions are subject to applicable federal procurement laws and oversight, which ensure transparency, competition, and the prudent use of taxpayer funds.” Neither Pratt nor Walters responded to Mother Jones.

Sources: Mother Jones (Oct. 10, 2025) · NBC News (Mar. 19, 2026)

$1.3 billion detention camp contract went to a tiny firm with no detention experience; GAO found waste

$1.3B contract (GAO)

In July 2025 the Army, acting for ICE, awarded Acquisition Logistics LLC a contract to build and run a 5,000-bed tent camp at Fort Bliss, Texas. The Associated Press found the firm had never won a federal contract over $16 million, had no listed corrections experience and gave a suburban Virginia home as its address; bidding was limited to small businesses and the Pentagon would not explain its choice among more than a dozen bidders. ProPublica reported that a subcontractor, Disaster Management Group, is owned by Nathan Albers, a major Republican donor who has spent time at Mar-a-Lago. The Government Accountability Office reported in June 2026 that leaders ordered an expedited award through a contracting vehicle never before used for detention, and that the government paid full price for 5,000 people’s meals and services even when the camp was empty or far below capacity; ICE replaced the contractor in spring 2026.

Their response: The Departments of Homeland Security and Defense agreed with GAO’s recommendations. The Army declined to discuss the award with AP, citing litigation; Acquisition Logistics did not respond to AP. A Disaster Management Group spokesperson told ProPublica the company “is proud to support projects of national importance for nearly 20 years” and that Albers had been “exonerated” in an earlier immigration case involving a company he co-owned.

Sources: GAO-26-108886 (June 9, 2026) · AP via PBS News (Aug. 28, 2025) · ProPublica (July 25, 2025) · AP (Mar. 13, 2026)

FEMA awarded Florida $608 million for “Alligator Alcatraz” with no contract or negotiated price, GAO found

$608.4M FEMA award (GAO)

The Government Accountability Office reported on September 24, 2026 that FEMA awarded Florida $608.4 million on September 30, 2025 for the Everglades detention camp under a grant program created with Florida as the only eligible recipient. GAO said ICE normally negotiates costs before opening a facility but “senior leadership directed implementation of this initiative”, so ICE signed no contract or agreement and did not negotiate costs; the authorized rate of $249 per detainee per day was about 171 percent above ICE’s median of $92. The camp closed in June 2026; Florida had hired its vendors under a state emergency order that suspended normal bidding, and the Miami Herald found some had donated to the governor, Ron DeSantis, or the state Republican Party, ties that run to Florida officials, not to Trump.

Their response: Homeland Security agreed with GAO’s recommendation to write a detention-expansion strategy and gave an estimated completion date of August 31, 2027. Gov. DeSantis’s office and the Florida Division of Emergency Management did not answer the Miami Herald’s detailed questions about vetting of the contractors.

Sources: GAO-26-108663 (Sept. 24, 2026) · Government Executive (Sept. 24, 2026) · Miami Herald (Aug. 22, 2025)

ICE spent $1.07 billion on 11 warehouses, then moved to sell seven; watchdog is auditing $9 billion in awards

$1.07B for 11 warehouses (GAO)

The Government Accountability Office reported in September 2026 that ICE, under an initiative Homeland Security leadership ordered in December 2025 while Kristi Noem was secretary, bought 11 warehouses for about $1.07 billion between January and April 2026 to convert into detention centers. In June 2026 the secretary said the department had not done proper due diligence and planning, and ICE began working to sell seven of them, bought for $707 million, after spending $7.7 million on unrecoverable purchase costs and about $12.8 million on upkeep. New Secretary Markwayne Mullin had paused further purchases in April 2026 while reviewing all contracts signed under Noem, and the Daily Beast, citing Axios, reported in June 2026 that the DHS inspector general had opened audits of $9 billion in business awarded through less-than-fully-competitive bidding and of the $38 billion warehouse plan. No finding of favoritism has been published.

Their response: Homeland Security, on the April 2026 pause: “as with any transition, we are reviewing agency policies and proposals.” DHS agreed with GAO’s recommendation to develop a strategy for its detention expansion.

Sources: GAO-26-108663 (Sept. 24, 2026) · AP via PBS News (Apr. 1, 2026) · The Daily Beast via Yahoo News (June 3, 2026)

Homeland Security sought a $70 million luxury 737 and bought two Gulfstreams during Noem’s tenure

$300M+ on three jets (Axios, via Newsweek)

NBC News reported in February 2026 that Homeland Security was leasing a Boeing 737 Max 8 fitted with a bedroom, showers, a kitchen and a bar, and that ICE asked the White House budget office for approval to buy it for $70 million for deportations and Cabinet travel; the jet seats at most 18, deportation flights usually carry 50 to 100 detainees, and one official involved called the deportation use “far-fetched”. Newsweek, citing Axios, reported the department spent more than $300 million on three luxury jets including two Gulfstream G700s bought in October 2025, and a Democratic senator asked the Government Accountability Office to review whether DHS had authority and funds to buy six 737s for ICE. Senators pressed Kristi Noem on the jet days before Trump removed her in March 2026.

Their response: A DHS spokesperson said: “This plane flies at 40% cheaper than what the military aircraft flies for ICE deportation flights” and that “at least one of the bedrooms is currently being converted for seating”. Noem told senators “the department has found that in purchasing our aircraft we will save the taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars” and said she had used the plane once.

Sources: NBC News (Feb. 19, 2026) · Newsweek (Mar. 4, 2026) · The Guardian (Mar. 5, 2026)

Two prison firms that each gave $500,000 to the inauguration drew $2.75 billion from ICE in 2025

$2.75B from ICE to the two firms in 2025 (OpenSecrets figures, summed)

GEO Group and CoreCivic each gave $500,000 to Trump’s 2025 inaugural committee, a GEO entity gave $1 million to the pro-Trump super PAC MAGA Inc. in 2024, and OpenSecrets, using federal contracting data, counted $2.1 billion in ICE obligations to GEO and $653.5 million to CoreCivic in 2025. In June 2025 the EPA dropped, without explanation, a pesticide-misuse case against GEO that carried a maximum penalty of more than $4 million; Pam Bondi, then attorney general, had lobbied for GEO in 2019, and the acting ICE director as of September 2026, David Venturella, is a former GEO vice president. Both firms were large federal contractors under earlier administrations, OpenSecrets noted that firms with no visible Trump ties also won big awards, and NBC News reported GEO believed it lost business after refusing to pay a Noem adviser. No evidence that the donations caused any award has been made public.

Their response: A White House spokesperson told ProPublica that GEO Group has “provided services to the Federal Bureau of Prisons for several decades”. A Justice Department spokesperson said the attorney general “is in full compliance with all ethical guidance”. CoreCivic’s Ryan Gustin told NOTUS the company “does not, under longstanding policy, lobby for or against policies or legislation that would determine the basis for or duration of an individual’s incarceration or detention.” GEO did not respond to NOTUS or ProPublica.

Sources: OpenSecrets (Mar. 25, 2026) · ProPublica (June 10, 2025) · NOTUS (Jan. 26, 2026) · Government Executive (Sept. 24, 2026)

Firms seeking detention contracts hired a consultant who had paid border czar Tom Homan

Fees of up to $20,000 a month (ProPublica)

ProPublica reported in October 2025 that Charles Sowell, whose consulting firm SE&M Solutions paid Tom Homan through the end of 2024, led companies to believe his ties to Homan could help their bids; several industry executives said at least half a dozen firms chasing part of the $45 billion Congress set aside for detention hired him, in some cases for $20,000 a month. Homan pledged to recuse himself from contracting, but meeting records showed him discussing contracting plans with industry executives in summer 2025, and his senior adviser Mark Hall, also paid by Sowell’s firm as recently as February 2025, joined Sowell on a visit to a client in August. ProPublica did not report that any contract was awarded because of these ties.

Their response: White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson said Homan has “no involvement in the actual awarding of a government contract” and “occasionally meets with a variety of people to learn about new developments and capabilities to serve the needs of the American people.” Sowell said he and Homan no longer have a financial relationship and called him “an exceptionally ethical person”. Homan and Hall did not respond to ProPublica.

Sources: ProPublica (Oct. 1, 2025)

Commerce backed USA Rare Earth with up to $1.6 billion; Lutnick’s sons’ firm was paid to raise its money

Up to $1.6B Commerce package (debt and equity)

In January 2026 the Commerce Department announced a deal worth up to $1.6 billion with USA Rare Earth, taking about a 10% stake. The same day the company said it had raised $1.5 billion privately with Cantor Fitzgerald as lead placement agent; Cantor is the firm Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick ran for decades and transferred to his adult sons, and his son Brandon is chairman. Four Democratic lawmakers said the company’s chief executive credited Lutnick’s personal involvement in the deal, and in July 2026 they widened their inquiry to Cantor and the company after, they said, Lutnick refused to answer. Cantor’s fee has not been disclosed and no authority has found wrongdoing.

Their response: USA Rare Earth’s chief executive, on choosing Cantor: “[o]ur best move was to go with the team who knew us.” In July 2025 a Commerce spokesperson, Kristen Eichamer, said of Lutnick: “He has fully complied with the terms of his ethics agreement with respect to divesture and recusals and will continue to do so.” The White House did not immediately respond to Reuters when the deal was first reported.

Sources: Sen. Warren press release on letters to Cantor and USA Rare Earth (July 7, 2026) · Sen. Warren press release on letter to Lutnick (Feb. 26, 2026) · CNBC / Reuters (Jan. 24, 2026)

Treasury secretary held up to $25 million in soybean farmland for months past his ethics deadline

Up to $25M in farmland on his disclosure

Scott Bessent agreed before confirmation to divest certain assets by April 28, 2025, but in August 2025 the Office of Government Ethics told the Senate Finance Committee he had not finished and would comply by December 15; most of what remained was North Dakota soybean and corn farmland his disclosure valued at up to $25 million, with up to $1 million a year in rent. During those months he led the administration’s trade talks with China, which had been the largest buyer of U.S. soybeans. He said on December 7, 2025 that he had divested that week, a day before he was due to help announce a $12 billion farm aid package. Treasury ethics officials had called the land illiquid, and Bessent said the ethics office had confirmed it posed no conflict.

Their response: Bessent on CBS’s “Face the Nation”: “I actually just divested it this week as part of my ethics agreement, so I’m out of that business.” Treasury ethics officials told the ethics office the assets were “illiquid and ... not readily marketable” and that he “has been working to divest them since his confirmation in January 2025.”

Sources: AP (Dec. 8, 2025) · Banking Dive (Aug. 14, 2025)

FBI director flew a bureau jet to see his girlfriend perform; the official over the fleet was then fired

Flight costs not disclosed

Flight records showed the FBI jet used by Director Kash Patel landing near Penn State on October 25, 2025, the night his girlfriend, singer Alexis Wilkins, performed at a wrestling event, then flying on to Nashville. Bloomberg Law reported that after news stories about the trip, Steven Palmer, a 27-year veteran who led the unit that oversees the bureau’s aircraft, was told to resign or be fired. In February 2026 Patel flew to Milan on a Justice Department plane during the Olympic men’s hockey games; his spokesperson said it was official business. Under government rules the director must reimburse part of the cost of personal travel on the jet; Patel had attacked his predecessor in 2023 for personal use of government planes.

Their response: Spokesperson Ben Williamson said Patel had “significantly limited” personal trips compared with his predecessors and that “He’s allowed to take personal time on occasion to see family, friends or his longtime girlfriend”. On Milan he said it was “not a personal trip. Director Patel is on a trip that was planned months ago.” Patel called the criticism “baseless rumors”.

Sources: The Guardian (Nov. 2, 2025) · The Guardian (Feb. 23, 2026)

Interior ended a nonprofit’s lease on a public D.C. golf course and brought in Trump’s own course designer

Up to $49M construction contract forecast (House Democrats)

At the end of December 2025 the Interior Department terminated the National Links Trust’s 50-year lease, granted in 2020, on Washington’s three public golf courses, alleging unpaid rent and too little improvement, which the nonprofit disputed. On May 9, 2026 the administration announced a deal under which Fazio Design would rebuild East Potomac; Tom Fazio, who has designed four courses in Trump’s portfolio including the first at Bedminster, told Golf.com that Trump personally asked him to take the job. House Natural Resources Democrats said the Park Service awarded a $389,355 compliance contract on September 10, 2026 and forecast a construction contract of up to $49 million. Who is paying Fazio, and how much, has not been disclosed, and a federal judge has barred an overhaul without proper notice and approvals.

Their response: An Interior Department spokesperson told NBC News: “The Trump administration prides itself on getting the job done for the American people and partnering with others who share that same goal.” Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said the new course would deliver “championship-quality golf at affordable, highly discounted rates.”

Sources: House Natural Resources Democrats letter (Sept. 16, 2026) · Golf.com (May 21, 2026) · NBC News (Jan. 1, 2026) · Golf Digest (May 11, 2026) · The Independent (Sept. 5, 2026)

Donor who gave $11 million to Trump’s super PAC was named to chair a $201 million “Trump Route” fund

$201M in public money in the fund (State Department)

The Guardian reported on July 14, 2026 that Konstantin Sokolov, a Russian-born Chicago private equity investor and a donor to Trump’s White House ballroom, was appointed chairman of the State Department’s Tripp+ enterprise fund, named for the “Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity” corridor between Armenia and Azerbaijan. The fund holds $201 million in public money for loans, equity and grants across the South Caucasus and Central Asia. Campaign records cited by the Guardian show he gave more than $12 million to Republican groups in Trump’s second term, including $11 million to MAGA Inc. He is a major shareholder in Armenia’s largest telecom company, and it is not known whether he is paid for the role.

Their response: A State Department spokesperson said the fund would follow “applicable statutory requirements, including annual reporting and independent audits” and conflict-of-interest rules. Sokolov declined an interview and did not answer the Guardian’s questions; the White House referred questions to the State Department.

Sources: The Guardian (July 14, 2026)

Envoy Witkoff sold a $120 million stake in his firm to an unnamed buyer; his fortune rose 15% in office

$120M stake sold to an undisclosed buyer (his filing)

Steve Witkoff’s first financial disclosure, published in September 2025, showed he had sold a stake in the Witkoff Group for $120 million without naming the buyer, the date or the share sold, Forbes reported; his April 2026 filing said he was still “in the process of resigning” as its managing member, 15 months into the job. Forbes put his fortune at $2.3 billion in April 2026, up 15% from when he joined the government. The gain came mainly from the Trump-linked crypto firm World Liberty Financial and a stake in Elon Musk’s SpaceX, not from holdings tied to the Gaza or Iran wars.

Their response: No response from Witkoff or the White House appears in the Forbes article.

Sources: Forbes (Apr. 4, 2026)

FBI director kept up to $5 million of Shein’s parent and reported a six-figure stock buy six months late

$1M to $5M in stock of Shein’s parent (his disclosure, per AP)

Kash Patel’s pre-confirmation disclosure showed $1 million to $5 million in unvested stock in Elite Depot Ltd., the Cayman Islands parent of the China-founded retailer Shein, for which he had consulted; he said he would not divest because there was only a “remote” chance the FBI job would involve the company, the Associated Press reported in February 2025. NOTUS reported on July 1, 2026 that Patel bought $100,001 to $250,000 of MicroStrategy stock on Nov. 21, 2025 and did not report it until May 26, 2026, past the 45-day legal deadline; the company has done millions of dollars of business with the Justice Department. NOTUS also noted he bought up to $50,000 of Krispy Kreme stock in May 2025, a month before the FBI said it was investigating the ransomware group that breached the chain.

Their response: Deputy Assistant Attorney General William Taylor, to the Office of Government Ethics: “I continue to believe that Director Patel is in compliance with applicable laws and regulations governing conflicts of interest.” Patel told the ethics office he had “inadvertently omitted” the trade; an FBI official told NOTUS the Justice Department had not fined him.

Sources: NOTUS (July 1, 2026) · Associated Press, via Fortune (Feb. 7, 2025)