Trump boys set to profit from Dad's war
News on the return of Donald Trump's for-profit presidency
Don Jr.-backed drone parts manufacturer inks $5M Deal With Don Jr.-backed drone manufacturer, citing Don Sr.’s Iran war
From a piece I wrote for Public Citizen’s Substack last week:
A drone components company in which Donald Trump Jr. holds a stake and an advisory board seat just inked a multimillion-dollar deal with a drone manufacturer the Trump brothers are backing—and the company is openly citing the war Donald Trump launched in Iran to explain the demand. The Trump family stands to profit from a foreign conflict the president himself initiated.
Related: “Trump Family-Backed Drone Firm Signs Weapons Deal With US” by Annie Massa for Bloomberg
Crypto: The Trump family business
Two former CIA officers wanted to understand how foreign money can reach the Trump family without leaving fingerprints.
The answer: crypto.
I returned to the Mission Implausible podcast to discuss my recent report on Trump World Liberty Financial, Binance, and Iran with John Sipher and Jerry O’Shea. Thanks so much to executive producer Jonathan Stern for the invite.
Stay informed about Trump’s presidential profiteering
There’s no lack of great reporting out there on Trump’s conflicts of interest. But it often gets buried—understandably much of the time—behind Iran, ICE, tariffs, Ukraine, Jeffrey Epstein, and the war on vaccines. Subscribe to 1100 Pennsylvania, and we’ll make sure you stay informed. It’s free.
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‘Eric Trump’s bitcoin business is a disaster’
From “How Eric Trump Got Rich From Bitcoin While Losing Investors A Fortune” by Dan Alexander for Forbes:
Over the last eight months, American Bitcoin has taken advantage of that astronomical valuation, dumping shares to buy more bitcoin. The much-diluted stock is now down 92% from its peak. Given that Eric Trump seems to have invested little to get involved with the venture in the first place, he’s still doing fine, having boosted his personal fortune from an estimated $190 million to $280 million through a stroke of financial alchemy. Other insiders have done well, too. The everyday investors who bought into the sales pitch, by contrast, are down an estimated $500 million.
Public Citizen launches Substack
You should absolutely subscribe to Public Citizen’s Substack. My colleagues have been doing some amazing work trying to block Trump’s destruction of the East Wing, digging into Big Tech CEOs cozying up to Trump, keeping tabs on RFK Jr.’s misleading congressional testimony, and in countless other areas.
Trump boys invest in Kazakh miner already backed by US government
From “Trump’s sons to take stake in Kazakh miner that won $1.6bn US backing,” by George Steer and Camilla Hodgson for the Financial Times:
A shell company backed by Donald Trump Jr and Eric Trump has agreed to merge with a critical minerals group that last year secured up to $1.6bn in US government support to mine tungsten in Kazakhstan.
The deal would expand the Trump family’s sprawling business empire, granting the US president’s sons a stake in a company that insiders hope will help sever America’s reliance on China for metals used in munitions and other defence products.
The brothers bought into construction group Skyline Builders in August, taking stakes through a special purpose vehicle run by a subsidiary of Dominari Securities, according to three people familiar with the deal. The size of their investment was not disclosed.
If there’s one thing you remember from this newsletter…
Since Trump was re-elected, Forbes estimates—
💰 His net worth is up $1.9 billion, to $6.2 billion
💰 Eric’s is up 10x, to $400 million
💰 Don Jr.’s is up 6x, to $300 million
💰 20-year-old Barron is worth $150 million
And Jared became a billionaire last year.
Other Trump Organization news
“Eric Trump Disappears From Troubled Fintech’s Public Leadership” by Annie Massa and Nicola M. White for Bloomberg
“Trump’s World Liberty Financial Sues Billionaire Justin Sun For Defamation” by Alison Durkee for Forbes
Trump Media appointed Boris Epshteyn chairman of the board on April 30, per an SEC filing
“President Trump’s $TRUMP memecoin is preparing to launch a “Coin Club” membership scheme” by Molly White for Citation Needed
“Why Trump’s Crypto Empire Is in Chaos” by Russ Choma for Mother Jones
“A Boring Party for Trump’s Collapsing Meme Coin” by Russ Choma for Mother Jones
“Amazon Discusses ‘Apprentice’ Reboot—With Don Jr. as a Potential Host” by Jessica Toonkel and Dana Mattioli for the Wall Street Journal
“Trump-tied public crypto company buys startup from one-time ‘cannabis king’ who serves as current advisor in deal worth up to $43 million” by Ben Weiss for Fortune
“How Don Jr. and Eric Trump are linked to a small deal with Singapore-based Genius Group Ltd. to invest in Jewel Bancorp, a digital bank in Bermuda” by Wendy Siegelman for NewsTRACS
“We just got a new reason to believe the Trump phone is real(ish)” by Dominic Preston for The Verge
“President Donald Trump’s Niece May Look Into His Asset Valuations, NY Appellate Court Says” by Emily Saul for Law.com
Donald Trump—whose company promised not to profit off his presidency—is now selling hats ($45) and t-shirts ($38) that simply say “The United States of America.”
“Go-ahead for major expansion of Donald Trump’s golf resort” by Donald Erskine for The Herald
New health inspection for Trump National Golf Club Hudson Valley:
“Item 1H- Critical Violation [RED] Food from unapproved source, spoiled, adulterated on premises” per ny.gov
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Have a tip? Need a source? z_everson@protonmail.com or call/text/Signal 202.804.2744.