Follow the Scumbaggery
The United States Federal government is actively being robbed by a group of rich scumbags, while Americans are forced to choose between food or healthcare.
Morbid curiosity got the best of us Sunday night, and we tuned into the first few minutes of the UFC circus that was unfolding on the White House lawn.
While watching American taxpayer dollars go up in gold-encrusted flames, we couldn’t help but think about the heist classic Oceans 11, where Brad Pitt and George Clooney use a championship fight as a distraction to rob the Bellagio, the Mirage, and the MGM Grand.
While all eyes were on the fanfare of Trump’s royal birthday party, he and his billionaire friends are actively taking money from the US Treasury and putting it in their pockets.
How the Scumbags Operate
America has seen corrupt presidents, political scandals, and officials who have abused their power many times before. But we have never seen a president turn public office into such a broad and layered system for personal gain.
Donald Trump is using the presidency to enrich himself and his family, reward loyalists, protect political allies, and punish people or institutions that stand in his way. His administration has blurred the lines between public service and private business, between law enforcement and political revenge, and between government policy and personal profit.
The scumbaggery is so constant that every new story pushes the last one out of sight. Taken together, however, they reveal a clear pattern of profit, protection, and political payback.
The “Anti-Weaponization Fund”
Nothing shows this system of corruption more clearly than the latest deal Trump made for himself using the powers of the presidency. Trump, his two eldest sons, and the Trump Organization sued the IRS and Treasury Department for $10 billion after a former contractor illegally leaked their tax information. They later dropped the lawsuit after reaching a settlement that called for the Justice Department to create a $1.776 billion “Anti-Weaponization Fund” using taxpayer money.
The fund was intended to pay people who claimed they had been “unfairly” prosecuted, including people convicted of crimes connected to January 6. Had it gone forward, it could have rewarded Trump supporter violence with public money and turned political loyalty into a claim on the public treasury.
That was only half the arrangement. The settlement also sought to end pending IRS audits and provide broad protection from tax enforcement for Trump, his family, his businesses, and their affiliates. Representing the government was Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, who had recently served as Trump’s personal defense lawyer.
After judges and lawmakers from both parties objected, the administration abandoned the payout fund but kept the protection from IRS scrutiny and altered their strategy as they continue to fight for our tax dollars. .
Dropping one part after public outrage does not erase what the full deal revealed. Now is a crucial time for Connecticut’s federal officials to act. Congress must permanently block the fund, reject special protection from tax enforcement, and demand the complete record.
Trump tried to turn the Justice Department into his lawyer, the Treasury into his payout fund, and the IRS into his personal shield from accountability.
A Presidential “Influencer”
The IRS deal is only one way Trump has used the presidency for personal gain. Recent financial disclosures list thousands of stock transactions with companies he praised during official presidential appearances.
Trump bought Apple and Thermo Fisher stock on the same days he publicly promoted those companies. He bought at least $1 million in Dell stock, then urged people to buy Dell computers nine days later. He also praised Micron as one of the country’s “hottest companies” just after purchasing its stock.
Trump’s family has made enormous profits through cryptocurrency ventures that offer wealthy investors another route to presidential access. The top investors in Trump’s meme coin were invited to a private reception with him, while a fund tied to the United Arab Emirates invested heavily in a crypto company controlled by the Trump family.
Political events at Trump properties, foreign business deals, presidential projects, and even a $400 million plane from Qatar create still more ways for money and favors to flow toward Trump’s private interests. Connecticut ethics law would prohibit such conflicts, yet Trump placed his assets in a trust managed by his son with no clear barrier separating him from the family business.
Don Jr.’s venture-capital firm took a stake in Vulcan Elements right before the Pentagon approved a $620 million loan for the company. The US Air Force has also agreed to purchase drones from a company linked to Eric Trump.
The presidency is a public trust, but right now it is being run as a family’s private asset.
International Affairs
In Jared Kushner’s case, the line between serving the country and serving the family business has nearly disappeared. He helps lead high-level negotiations with Iran while managing Affinity Partners, a private-equity firm funded largely by foreign governments.
The Trump administration is now considering directing billions in frozen Iranian assets to Gulf allies, including Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Qatar. Those same governments are among Kushner’s largest investors. Americans are left to wonder whose interests he is representing.
Meanwhile, Kushner and Ivanka Trump are planning luxury resort developments that would destroy protected ecosystems in Albania. Political favoritism is clearly at play, and Albania’s anticorruption agency is investigating how the deal even moved forward in the first place. Local residents and environmental activists continue to protest this corrupt deal putting their wetlands, wildlife, and protected land in danger.
Whether at home or abroad, the Trump model is the same. Powerful interests gain access, public protections are weakened, and ordinary people bear the cost.
The Consolidation and Solidification of Oligarchic Power
The corporate side of this bargain is just as clear, and Amazon is one of its biggest winners. As both Amazon’s profits and lobbying efforts rose, their 2025 tax expense fell from $9 billion to $1.2 billion. Trump-backed corporate tax cuts, deductions, and political favoritism helped Amazon, Meta, Alphabet, and Tesla reduce their effective tax rate to just 4.9%—far below the 15% minimum tax rate for large corporations.
The favors don’t stop at taxes. Federal officials had been pursuing a landmark case against Amazon over its tight grip on its delivery drivers, who face unsafe demands, retaliation, and illegal barriers to unionizing. In response, Trump appointed a former Amazon lawyer to head the National Labor Relations Board, and the government moved to end the case on terms favorable to Amazon.
Trump has proudly said he’ll “remember” companies that chose not to seek refunds for tariffs the Supreme Court ruled illegal, turning a lawful claim against the government into a test of MAGA loyalty.
This is not a free market. It is a favor market, where corporations close to power win while workers and taxpayers pay the price. Trump’s corruption has created an untouchables list of allies protected from accountability.
Americans are left to pick up the pieces that they can’t afford
Who’s paying for this corruption? It’s us.
All of this money and wealth - and Americans will never see a dime. In fact, financial instability for the average American is increasing at an alarming rate.
Between inflation, tariffs, the Iran war, and of course - the scumbags robbing the place - families are being forced to choose between things like gasoline, food, housing, and health care.
Workers denied safe conditions and the right to organize, taxpayers funding political favors and corporate giveaways, communities exposed to pollution, and families already struggling with high energy costs. Connecticut is already paying the price. Trump’s administration agreed to spend $795 million to cancel offshore wind leases and push investment toward fossil fuels, even as residents continue to face rising electric bills and an urgent need for clean energy.
Donald Trump shows a clear agenda to replace a government that serves the public with a loyalty economy as oligarchy takes hold of our democracy.
Wealthy corporations, foreign governments, family members, and political allies gain access, tax breaks, contracts, or protection. Those without money or influence are left with higher bills, weaker safeguards, fewer rights, and less power to fight back.
Connecticut’s federal delegation has already helped push back, but it must continue to act with greater force and consistency. Our senators and representatives need to be unrelenting: using every tool in their box from hearings, to subpoenas, and legislation, so we can block self-dealing, expose conflicts, and protect independent enforcement.
Suggested sources to keep up with the scumbaggery and follow MAGA’s receipts: ProPublica, Mother Jones, Popular Information, CREW, and OpenSecrets.
Trump’s presidency is more than a string of scandals. It is a system for weaponizing our government into a tool for personal profit, political protection, and retaliation against anyone who gets in his way.
However, this corruption and lawlessness will not go unchallenged - both inside and outside the courtroom.
Across Connecticut and the United States, residents, organizers, and elected leaders are stepping up to protect those under attack.
We are deeply grateful for all you do through organizing, protests, direct action, mutual aid, and everyday care for your communities.
Together we will resist the MAGA regime’s ICE kidnappings, attacks on due process, political retaliation, and countless other abuses of power—and we will prevail.
