Donald Trump was corrupt in his first term, using his various properties as cut-outs to collect money from foreign governments and businesses seeking favor. The properties also created opportunities to funnel money from the federal government and the GOP coffers into his bank account, forcing both to rent rooms and hold events at Mar-a-Lago and various Trump hotels. But all that is is a pittance compared to what Trump has set up in his second term. His crypto "firm" allows various actors to bribe Trump outside the normal banking system, making it hard to trace payments and hold people accountable.
Earlier this week, the New York Times published a mammoth report on World Liberty Financial, Trump's relatively new cryptocurrency firm, which greases the wheels for a level of corruption beyond anything ever seen in American politics. Crypto hucksters talk about their industry in deliberately confusing terms, so ordinary people tune it out, but it's not complicated. Trump sells digital "coins" online. Buying these coins is a way to write a check to Trump without going through the normal banking system, where federal regulators might interfere. The Times reporters carefully documented who is buying coins to "curry favor" with Trump: foreign governments, business owners who want federal investigations and/or criminal charges to go away and other crypto firms purchasing Trump's endorsement. The latter is no different than Elon Musk writing fat campaign checks to Trump in exchange for a line of Tesla vehicles trotted out on the White House lawn, except with the crypto grift, the money goes straight into Trump's wallet.
