“Has there ever been an episode of presidential corruption so blatant and threatening to constitutional order? Certainly not in modern times,” the New York Times editorial board writes. “President Trump’s Justice Department is using taxpayer money to create a $1.8 billion political slush fund. Ostensibly set up to compensate those who the department claims have ‘suffered weaponization and lawfare,’ it will in fact reward loyalists willing to defy the law and commit violence on behalf of the president.”
The editorial board continues:
>The fund manages to combine three of Mr. Trump’s most alarming behaviors. One, it is an obvious form of corruption, coming from a president who has used his office to enrich himself, his family and his allies. Two, the fund continues his pattern of using the Justice Department as an enforcer to punish his perceived opponents and protect his friends and allies. Three, the fund is his latest attempt to rewrite history about the 2020 election and the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on Congress.
>It is worth pausing to put the fund into the larger context of Mr. Trump’s political project: He is destroying pillars of American democracy to empower himself. He claims elections are legitimate only if he wins. He uses federal law enforcement to investigate and prosecute his perceived enemies. He purges his party of officials who defy him. He describes members of the other party and civil society as traitors and enemies. He incentivizes his supporters to break the law on his behalf and rewards them when they do. He directs his allies to change election rules to keep his party in power.
>Mr. Trump’s project has not yet succeeded, at least not fully. Many Americans — in the judicial system, in Congress, in state governments and elsewhere — continue to stand up for democracy and oppose his autocratic ambitions. By now, though, nobody should have illusions about what he is attempting to do.
This is proving even that this shitgoblin called Donald (TACO) Trump is corrupt and guilty and he already knows that if the IRS successfully investigates him then he’s f**ked.
Exact_Platypus5179 on
Elect a conman and you will get…wait for… Conned!!! His fucking name is Don the Con. “Holy shit I jumped in the pool of urine and now I’m all wet and stink like urine!!?” Yes. Yes you do smell like urine.
Lopsided-Key-5830 on
There has been another example… the 45th President of the US.
Alwaystired254 on
It’s a huge win for the Trump family
HappyFatLabs on
There has never been an example of presidential corruption like this…so far.
SwarlsBarkley on
Kudos to NYTimes for not sanewashing as typical for them.
PDXGuy33333 on
Appears to be a shared article with no paywall.
jimmydog65 on
And yet Americans keep voting for this… go figure
biscuitarse on
I don’t know, man. Presidents like Ferdinand Marcos, Mohamed Suharto, Mobutu Sese Seko and Sani Abacha aren’t getting the credit they deserve.
kingsumo_1 on
Ok. But, like, if Trump is this bad, can you just imagine how bad it would have been to let Harris win?
(I don’t like using /s, but you just *know* some chucklefuck cultist wholeheartedly believes that. So, here we are.)
onceinawhile222 on
And it isn’t even half over. Guess the sky’s the limit. Probably going for biggest greatest corruption ever seen.
Omiyaru on
You mean since the last week
Acting_Blue on
Incoming Megan McCardle article: And actually that’s a good thing!
pinkfartlek on
Truly a test case for the presidency and the country
Majik-Hands on
I knew when 14 million voters sat on their hands and allowed trump back in for his 2nd time. His well earned handle Don the Con… I knew our Treasury would be under assault.
RonaldMcDaugherty on
“Dijongate” – It was the talk of the dinner table all Summer ’09.
DN-BBY on
I’m not understanding why this is the headline. If corruption is that bad, the crazier part is, why isn’t anything being done about it or so many in charge ok with it. The second part is what should be covered as well as covering any anti corruption movements/legislation.
soxperry on
If you are black, the GOP feels that reparations are antithetical to personal responsibility, will divide the electorate into groups of debtors and creditors, and it’s impossible to establish fair criteria for compensation.
If you are white, here is the application.
willyb4321 on
And I bet he is only going to get worse if Republicans are triumphant in the coming elections. Congress won’t stop him. SCOTUS are his lapdogs.
Signal_Minimum8509 on
I understand the desire to say, “the biggest corruption since last week” and to wrap yourself in a blanket of cynicism since everything he does is corrupt and he gets away with all of it and it all feels so hopeless.
But yeah this is super fucked up. He’s created the precedent that he can sue his own government for anything and the attorney general he appointed will settle for any amount of money, no matter how preposterous and rob money from tax payers.
It is beyond the pale that anyone who pays taxes thinks this is ok, they wouldn’t accept this from any other President ever. Just like Epstein and the Iran War and the ICE murders and January 6th we have to remember and remind and point out with this one.
Feral-Reindeer-696 on
He can’t do all this on his own. There’s an entire government allowing him.
jarena009 on
Remember when Republicans tried to nail Biden to the wall based on three $3,500 payments from Hunter to pay back a car loan? Setting aside the fact that this wasn’t even any corruption, even though they pretended it was.
Instead we get corruption in the literal BILLIONS with Trump and Co, and nobody bats an eye. They got their tax cuts for Wall Street and Corporations, plus gerrymandering, so they don’t care.
pjflyr13 on
If only there was a method by which a corrupt politician could be removed! /S
InspectionIcy2452 on
You ain’t seen nothin’ yet. As the midterms get closer you’ll see lots of things for which there is no precedent in American history.
ifuckinglovekoalas on
No shit? Any sane person knows this and anyone that supports Trump isn’t sane nor will they care about this.
daveashaw on
No.
This makes Teapot Dome look like fixing a parking ticket.
LaStigmata on
Jail them all
ChicagoArizonaIowa on
How can any of this be legal? Sue your country for $10 Billion in which you are president and then settle for a $1.776 Billion slush fund paid for by all US taxpayers, and also get the IRS to never audit your family or businesses. He is NOT above the law and yet, they are giving him all these ‘get out of jail free’ cards. This is UNJUST. Contact your senators and representatives and demand justice.
29 Comments
“Has there ever been an episode of presidential corruption so blatant and threatening to constitutional order? Certainly not in modern times,” the New York Times editorial board writes. “President Trump’s Justice Department is using taxpayer money to create a $1.8 billion political slush fund. Ostensibly set up to compensate those who the department claims have ‘suffered weaponization and lawfare,’ it will in fact reward loyalists willing to defy the law and commit violence on behalf of the president.”
The editorial board continues:
>The fund manages to combine three of Mr. Trump’s most alarming behaviors. One, it is an obvious form of corruption, coming from a president who has used his office to enrich himself, his family and his allies. Two, the fund continues his pattern of using the Justice Department as an enforcer to punish his perceived opponents and protect his friends and allies. Three, the fund is his latest attempt to rewrite history about the 2020 election and the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on Congress.
>It is worth pausing to put the fund into the larger context of Mr. Trump’s political project: He is destroying pillars of American democracy to empower himself. He claims elections are legitimate only if he wins. He uses federal law enforcement to investigate and prosecute his perceived enemies. He purges his party of officials who defy him. He describes members of the other party and civil society as traitors and enemies. He incentivizes his supporters to break the law on his behalf and rewards them when they do. He directs his allies to change election rules to keep his party in power.
>Mr. Trump’s project has not yet succeeded, at least not fully. Many Americans — in the judicial system, in Congress, in state governments and elsewhere — continue to stand up for democracy and oppose his autocratic ambitions. By now, though, nobody should have illusions about what he is attempting to do.
Read the full piece [here, for free](https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/20/opinion/trump-doj-slush-fund-criminals-corruption.html?unlocked_article_code=1.j1A.EZeE.uNfa3Ioq1cKD&smid=re-nytopinion), even without a Times subscription.
This is proving even that this shitgoblin called Donald (TACO) Trump is corrupt and guilty and he already knows that if the IRS successfully investigates him then he’s f**ked.
Elect a conman and you will get…wait for… Conned!!! His fucking name is Don the Con. “Holy shit I jumped in the pool of urine and now I’m all wet and stink like urine!!?” Yes. Yes you do smell like urine.
There has been another example… the 45th President of the US.
It’s a huge win for the Trump family
There has never been an example of presidential corruption like this…so far.
Kudos to NYTimes for not sanewashing as typical for them.
Appears to be a shared article with no paywall.
And yet Americans keep voting for this… go figure
I don’t know, man. Presidents like Ferdinand Marcos, Mohamed Suharto, Mobutu Sese Seko and Sani Abacha aren’t getting the credit they deserve.
Ok. But, like, if Trump is this bad, can you just imagine how bad it would have been to let Harris win?
(I don’t like using /s, but you just *know* some chucklefuck cultist wholeheartedly believes that. So, here we are.)
And it isn’t even half over. Guess the sky’s the limit. Probably going for biggest greatest corruption ever seen.
You mean since the last week
Incoming Megan McCardle article: And actually that’s a good thing!
Truly a test case for the presidency and the country
I knew when 14 million voters sat on their hands and allowed trump back in for his 2nd time. His well earned handle Don the Con… I knew our Treasury would be under assault.
“Dijongate” – It was the talk of the dinner table all Summer ’09.
I’m not understanding why this is the headline. If corruption is that bad, the crazier part is, why isn’t anything being done about it or so many in charge ok with it. The second part is what should be covered as well as covering any anti corruption movements/legislation.
If you are black, the GOP feels that reparations are antithetical to personal responsibility, will divide the electorate into groups of debtors and creditors, and it’s impossible to establish fair criteria for compensation.
If you are white, here is the application.
And I bet he is only going to get worse if Republicans are triumphant in the coming elections. Congress won’t stop him. SCOTUS are his lapdogs.
I understand the desire to say, “the biggest corruption since last week” and to wrap yourself in a blanket of cynicism since everything he does is corrupt and he gets away with all of it and it all feels so hopeless.
But yeah this is super fucked up. He’s created the precedent that he can sue his own government for anything and the attorney general he appointed will settle for any amount of money, no matter how preposterous and rob money from tax payers.
It is beyond the pale that anyone who pays taxes thinks this is ok, they wouldn’t accept this from any other President ever. Just like Epstein and the Iran War and the ICE murders and January 6th we have to remember and remind and point out with this one.
He can’t do all this on his own. There’s an entire government allowing him.
Remember when Republicans tried to nail Biden to the wall based on three $3,500 payments from Hunter to pay back a car loan? Setting aside the fact that this wasn’t even any corruption, even though they pretended it was.
Instead we get corruption in the literal BILLIONS with Trump and Co, and nobody bats an eye. They got their tax cuts for Wall Street and Corporations, plus gerrymandering, so they don’t care.
If only there was a method by which a corrupt politician could be removed! /S
You ain’t seen nothin’ yet. As the midterms get closer you’ll see lots of things for which there is no precedent in American history.
No shit? Any sane person knows this and anyone that supports Trump isn’t sane nor will they care about this.
No.
This makes Teapot Dome look like fixing a parking ticket.
Jail them all
How can any of this be legal? Sue your country for $10 Billion in which you are president and then settle for a $1.776 Billion slush fund paid for by all US taxpayers, and also get the IRS to never audit your family or businesses. He is NOT above the law and yet, they are giving him all these ‘get out of jail free’ cards. This is UNJUST. Contact your senators and representatives and demand justice.