The Dictatorship
The average American is paying the price for Trump’s corruption
A federal judge this week rightly rebuked President Donald Trump’soutrageous $10 billion lawsuit against his own countrywhich originally ended in a bogus settlement that would have created a $1.8 billion taxpayer-funded slush fund for his allies and would have granted him and his family sweeping immunity from IRS audits. In ruling that Trump manipulated the judicial process for his own benefit, the judge reinforced what many Americans had concluded long ago: Trump has transformed the presidency into one giant grift.
Trump’s shameless attempts to cash in on the U.S. presidency are why I have introduced legislation to establish basic safeguards that should apply to every president, regardless of party. My proposals would require presidents to place their assets in blind trusts and prohibit sitting presidents from owning or trading individual stocks. I have fought to prevent presidents from receiving blanket immunity from federal tax law, and I have introduced a constitutional amendment that would let Congress review the most egregious abuses of the presidential pardon power.
Trump has transformed the presidency into one giant grift.
Most of these proposals have been flatly rejected by the Republican-controlled Rules Committee along party lines. My constitutional amendment has gained the support of one lone Republican, Rep. Don Bacon of Nebraska, who’s retiring.
But these aren’t partisan ideas. Nor are they radical. They’re commonsense protections rooted in a simple principle: Public office exists to serve the public — not enrich the officeholder.
Because corruption isn’t just unethical. It’s also expensive.
Americans know what it feels like paying more for groceries, gas, housing, healthcare and energy. Families are stretching every paycheck and making impossible decisions about what they can afford. At the same time, Trump and his family are becoming wealthier — obscenely so.
According to newly released financial disclosuresTrump’s personal fortune grew by roughly $2 billion last year. From cryptocurrency ventures and foreign business deals to stock trades involving companies affected by government policy, the Trump family is amassing wealth because he’s president.
Take cryptocurrency.
Trump’s own financial disclosures showhe and members of his family made $1.2 billion through a network of cryptocurrency ventures last year. At the same time, his administration aggressively rolled back regulations and championed a crypto-friendly agenda that directly benefits those investments.
Those ventures have also attracted foreign investors seeking influence with the administration — including Binance founder Changpeng Zhaowhom Trump later pardoned for a federal money-laundering conviction.
In fact, an entire pardon-shopping industry has sprouted up around the president, with lobbyists reportedly charging as much as $1 million to seek clemency from the White House.
Those pardons have erased more than $1 billion in fines and restitution owed by duly convicted defendants. That money was intended to compensate victims and repay taxpayers. Instead, it disappeared with the stroke of Trump’s pen.
Those pardons have erased more than $1 billion in fines and restitution owed by duly convicted defendants.
Then there is the president’s personal stock trading.
Trump’s financial disclosures show him making an average of 80 stock trades a dayoften involving companies with business before the federal government.
He purchased substantial holdings in Palantir, a major federal software contractor, and then publicly promoted the company on social media. He bought shares of Nvidia a week before his administration approved the sale of advanced microchips to China, a market the company’s CEO has said could ultimately generate $50 billion annually.
Trump made more than 300 previously undisclosed stock purchases just one day before unexpectedly announcing that he would pause many of his import tariffs.
When the president can trade stocks and simultaneously move markets through official government actions, Americans have every reason to question whether public policy is serving the country or his personal investment portfolio.
When Trump isn’t enriching himself, he appears to be ensuring that family members and political allies benefit too.
One of his Mar-a-Lago neighbors — and a major political donor — received a no-bid contract to remediate algae in the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool. Donald Trump Jr. holds a multimillion-dollar stake in a drone manufacturer that recently secured a major Pentagon contract.
Different schemes. Same basic story.
Every taxpayer dollar diverted through favoritism, every contract awarded based on political connections and every market distorted by self-dealing carries a cost to the taxpayers.
It means fewer resources to lower housing costs, strengthen public schools, improve infrastructure, expand healthcare and help working families make ends meet.
Different schemes. Same basic story.
The government should work for the American people, not for whichever politician occupies the Oval Office.
That’s why the reforms I have introduced matter.
Reforms that are not about one individual, but instead about restoring public trust in our democracy and ensuring that no future president — Republican or Democrat — can use public office as a personal profit center.
Corruption isn’t just immoral. It isn’t just illegal.
It’s expensive.
And American families are paying the price.
Rep. Johnny “Johnny O” Olszewski Jr. represents Maryland’s 2nd congressional district, which includes major portions of Baltimore County, Carroll County and parts of Baltimore City.