[ExI] why do we still need mainstream news media?
John Clark
johnkclark at gmail.com
Wed Dec 31 19:49:31 UTC 2025
On Wed, Dec 31, 2025 at 11:57 AM <spike at rainier66.com> wrote:
* > The mainstream media had been reporting that story for years, but I
> never heard of it until last week.*
*That's because you only get your news from TwitterX. *
*> if we have people who will do this free, *
*Do what for free? Certainly not investigative reporting because that is
hard and most of the time it is boring and leads nowhere. But reposting
what somebody else had already discovered is easy. *
*> All corruption is bad. *
>
*Is even the corruption committed by Mr. I Lowered Drug Prices By 1600
Percent bad, such as:*
* 34-Count Felony Fraud Conviction of Donald J. Trump*
<https://manhattanda.org/d-a-bragg-announces-34-count-felony-trial-conviction-of-donald-j-trump/>
*Trump's Taj Mahal Casino Fined $10 Million For Fraud and Money Laundering
<https://manhattanda.org/d-a-bragg-announces-34-count-felony-trial-conviction-of-donald-j-trump/>*
*Trump foundation shut down and Trump forced to pay $2 million for
illegally using charitable funds for political purposes:*
<https://apnews.com/article/635b828ded6813ea66783869f32876c5>
*I was just about to post this when I found the following online list
of You Know Who's corruption and realized I had only scratched the surface
of his perfidy: *
1. Turned the White House into a Tesla dealership.
2. Fired
<https://apnews.com/article/trump-ftc-firings-bedoya-slaughter-488bfe5419e48d5acbd95d3f9401404b>independent
commissioners at the FTC.
3. Punished
<https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/09/us/politics/trump-executive-orders-law-firm-krebs.html>
former
officials who opposed his 2020 election lies.
4. Paid for the White House Easter Egg roll by soliciting
<https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trumps-host-white-house-easter-egg-roll-corporate-sponorships/>corporate
sponsors who have business pending with the government.
5. Helped Trump’s son set up
<https://www.politico.com/news/2025/04/26/donald-trump-washington-club-00311720>
a
club — pay $500,000 for access to Trump’s cabinet.
6. Declared that there would be NO tariff exceptions. Then permitted
Apple’s CEO “behind the scenes” access — and poof, iPhone tariffs were cut.
7. Created an opening for insider trading by reportedly giving Wall
Street exclusive information about trade talks.
8. Hosted
<https://www.warren.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/warren-wyden-sanders-press-rfk-jr-on-big-pharma-influence-following-mar-a-lago-dinners>
million-dollar
dinners between Big Pharma CEOs and their regulator RFK Jr.
9. Launched crypto memecoin right before inauguration to make millions
of dollars, then increased the value of those coins by signing executive
orders making crypto a priority.
10. Launched
<https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/jan/20/donald-trump-meme-coin-price-melania-token>a
meme coin for Melania, too.
11. Promised his "rich-as-hell" donors a giant tax handout, and is
working to deliver.
12. Weakened
<https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/25/us/politics/trump-hatch-act.html> rules
insulating government workers from politics.
13. Limited
<https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/02/pausing-foreign-corrupt-practices-act-enforcement-to-further-american-economic-and-national-security/>corporate
foreign bribery investigations.
14. Halted <https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/sb0038>
enforcement
of the Corporate Transparency Act.
15. Offered a private dinner with Trump himself—and a special tour of
the White House—for the top 220 holders
<https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/23/technology/trump-private-dinner-crypto-memecoin.html>of
his memecoin, permitting Trump and his family to profit both from the run
up in the value of the coin AND the increase in trading on the Trump
platform.
16. Accepted $40 million for First Lady Melania's documentary from Jeff
Bezos <https://x.com/nick_field90/status/1911782724022436225> – way
above the market rate.
17. Pointed to Bezos’s multi-million-dollar documentary payment as a
model, when Warner Bros. asked
<https://nymag.com/intelligencer/article/warner-bros-ceo-david-zaslav-hollywood-mogul.html?_gl=1*er5mrg*FPAU*MTg4MTU2MTM0MS4xNzQ0MDM3Mzgx*_ga*MTc0NDg4NzEwLjE3NDM3MDQ1ODc.*_ga_DNE38RK1HX*MTc0NDYzODM4MC42LjAuMTc0NDYzODM4MC4wLjAuMTMyMjYwMjEwNg..*_fplc*JTJGUFJlYUJGMVBZZXlVdE51Mk1aNXlRazFueEQ3UDRaQmlGRXJGNWNmbkxZZXpsYWtmc2RRaGNoN1Q2bVBMNEN0dFE2V0dRSWpmRmdBaEpod01KUXM3MGxWeDNqQWEycHNoVnl6RCUyQm1CUkljQVYwc3dvSDRJSjFXZEQlMkJvR3JRJTNEJTNE>
Trump's
team how to improve its own relationship with the White House.
18. Struck a deal with Amazon to stream
<https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/amazon-keeps-finding-ways-donald-184800330.html>
Trump’s
old show The Apprentice, which will mean more money for Trump as Amazon
seeks tax breaks and other federal benefits.
19. Coercing law firms to offer almost $1 billion
<https://www.axios.com/2025/04/12/big-law-pro-bono-legal-work-trump> in
free legal work in an arrangement that experts say
<https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/67cf71f1f27ef68a8f5c5c70/67fd9c8587c8625cd34ce97f_Legal%20Ethics%20Professor%20Amicus%20Brief.pdf>
could
run afoul of anti-bribery laws.
20. Started undermining Medicare’s ability to negotiate drug prices
after Big Pharma companies gave millions to Trump’s inauguration.
21. Filed a meritless lawsuit against 60 Minutes and launched a baseless
FCC investigation.
22. Tried
<https://apnews.com/article/trump-ap-media-court-white-house-events-access-f346a0efe87c1dec4d6f90e6041abd09>
to
get the AP to bend the knee and kicked them out of the White House briefing
room when they refused.
23. Hired Defense Secretary
<https://apnews.com/article/hegseth-brother-signal-dhs-hired-68678a8a653c79a4c6ae31a8bee64836>Hegseth’s
younger brother to serve in a key role.
24. Hired
<https://www.npr.org/2024/12/11/nx-s1-5225390/trump-kimberly-guilfoyle-ambassador-greece>a
longtime former partner of Don Jr. to serve as Ambassador to Greece.
25. Nominated
<https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/nov/30/charles-kushner-nominated-france-ambassador>Jared
Kushner’s father to serve as Ambassador to France.
26. Selected
<https://www.nytimes.com/article/massad-boulos-trump-middle-east.html>Tiffany
Trump’s father-in-law to serve as an adviser.
27. Appointed
<https://apnews.com/article/trump-2024-election-energy-secretary-d546f5f81d7b2347b49905be924dfcd7>an
oil and gas executive to lead the Department of Energy.
28. Selected
<https://www.citizen.org/article/meet-susie-wiles-controversial-corporate-lobbying-clients/>
a
Chief of Staff who was a big-time lobbyist for clients like tobacco and
mining companies.
29. Named officials
<https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/feb/05/trump-epa-lobbyists-attorneys>
who
had recently lobbied for oil and chemical giants to help write E-P-A rules.
30. Appointed Mehmet Oz
<https://www.warren.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/letter_to_droz.pdf>, who
has close ties to Medicare Advantage insurers, to lead CMS to set payment
rates and otherwise help out Medicare Advantage insurers.
31. Appointed
<https://www.military.com/daily-news/2025/02/27/navy-secretary-nominee-trump-donor-no-military-experience-glides-through-confirmation-hearing.html>John
Phelan, a major donor with no military or government experience, to lead
the Navy and hand out Navy construction contracts.
32. Appointed
<https://www.citizen.org/news/pam-bondis-corporate-lobbying-history-makes-her-unsuitable-to-be-u-s-attorney-general/>Pam
Bondi, a former lobbyist for a federal detention contractor, to lead the
DOJ.
33. Announced the DOJ
<https://www.skadden.com/insights/publications/2025/02/attorney-general-announces-shift-in-foreign-agents>
would
stop prioritizing enforcement of restrictions on foreign lobbyists, under
the leadership of Bondi, who herself is a former foreign lobbyist for
Qatar
<https://www.judiciary.senate.gov/press/dem/releases/pam-bondis-extensive-lobbying-for-wealthy-special-interests-and-foreign-government-poses-serious-conflict-of-interest>
.
34. Appointed
<https://www.npr.org/2024/11/19/nx-s1-5189643/commerce-treasury-secretary-howard-lutnick-trump-cantor-fitzgerald>Howard
Lutnick, who has billions invested
<https://www.warren.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/warren-probes-lutnick-for-ties-to-crypto-firm-with-long-record-of-financing-terrorists-illicit-activity>in
companies accused of illegally facilitating crypto money laundering, to
lead the Commerce Department.
35. Appointed Marty Makary
<https://www.warren.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/final_warren_letter_to_drmartymakaryonethicscommitments.pdf>,
the former executive of a company selling weight-loss drugs, to lead the
FDA, which would regulate his company.
36. Appointed Sean Duffy
<https://accountable.us/trump-transportation-secretary-pick-sean-duffy-brings-conflicts-of-interest/>,
who lobbied for the airline industry, to Transportation Secretary.
37. Tapped Pete Hegseth, whose wife owns stock
<https://thehill.com/policy/defense/5092229-warren-pushes-for-hegseths-wife-to-divest-from-defense-company-stocks/>
in
large defense contractors, to lead the Defense Department.
38. Tapped Doug Burgum — who made money
<https://accountable.us/accountable-us-statement-on-doug-burgums-nomination-to-lead-the-interior-department/>
from
leasing land to Big Oil — to lead the Interior Department.
39. Nominated a Big Oil lobbyist to run the Bureau of Ocean Energy
Management.
40. Nominated
<https://www.facebook.com/senatorelizabethwarren/posts/trump-tapped-billy-long-to-head-up-the-irs-but-longs-only-tax-experience-seems-t/1152007802947749/>
as
IRS head Billy Long, an aggressive salesman for a fraud-riddled tax credit,
who received
<https://www.politico.com/news/2025/04/16/billy-long-irs-campaign-donations-00293051>donations
after being nominated to clear old campaign debts.
41. Tapped Paul Atkins
<https://www.cfodive.com/news/trump-taps-business-consultant-crypto-lobbyist-lead-sec/734648/>,
a former crypto lobbyist, to lead the SEC.
42. Appointed
<https://www.politico.com/live-updates/2025/01/03/congress/trumps-inside-the-box-pick-to-run-tax-at-treasury-00196438>
a
former tax lobbyist, to lead tax policy.
43. Appointed RFK Jr., who planned
<https://www.vox.com/health-care/397452/rfk-jr-confirmation-hearing-elizabeth-warren>to
get paid for anti-vax lawsuits while heading up HHS.
44. Appointed a top Pentagon official who led a firm invest
<https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/dec/03/trump-stephen-feinberg-deputy-defence-secretary>ing
in defense contractors and has directed D-O-D to outsource as much as it
can.
45. Appointed someone who lobbied
<https://www.commondreams.org/news/trump-medicare-advantage> to
privatize Medicare to lead OMB’s healthcare budget.
46. Installed Steve Davis
<https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/20/technology/elon-musk-steve-davis-doge.html>
to
effectively lead DOGE while also leading a Musk company.
47. Installed another DOGE
<https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/06/us/politics/trump-musk-usaid.html>
leader
to control Treasury’s payment system while still holding down his day job
as a software CEO.
48. Handed power over crypto policy to a White House crypto czar who
leads a venture capital firm that heavily invest
<https://www.cnbc.com/2025/03/14/david-sacks-sold-200-million-in-crypto-holdings-before-taking-wh-job.html>s
in crypto.
49. Selected a border czar
<https://accountable.us/more-conflicts-trump-border-czar-runs-firm-helping-secure-federal-contracts-for-homeland-security-clients/>
who
led a firm that got tens of millions of dollars of federal contracts for
homeland security companies.
50. Appointed Treasury Secretary Bessent who is gutting the IRS so that
it can’t audit rich tax cheats — he’s a tax-dodging mega-millionaire.
51. Pardoned
<https://www.newsweek.com/donald-trump-pardon-rod-blagojevich-2029014> Rod
Blagojevich, former Illinois governor convicted for corruption, after his
vocal support for Trump.
52. Pardoned
<https://www.cnn.com/2025/01/21/politics/what-to-know-pardons-january-6-trump/index.html>
January
6 insurrectionists who tried to overturn an election he lost.
53. Pardoned
<https://apnews.com/article/trump-pardon-michele-fiore-nevada-fraud-cf56ef8b302b8111e47cf52d5a606d19>
a
Trump loyalist found guilty of wire fraud.
54. Pardoned
<https://www.palmbeachpost.com/story/news/trump/2025/04/28/trump-pardons-wealthy-tax-cheat-paul-walczak-with-ties-to-ashley-biden-diary-scandal-betsy-fago/83323718007/>
the
son of a longtime Republican donor.
55. Pardoned
<https://theintercept.com/2025/04/02/trump-pardons-corporation-bitmex-crypto/>
a
corporation that had been fined $100 million for money laundering.
56. Launched
<https://apnews.com/article/trump-crypto-world-liberty-truth-social-etf-f11c47a99ea618aa06df4dd47b150800>his
own stablecoin while preparing to sign legislation that will help the
stablecoin and let him oversee it.
57. Sold merch with presidential branding
<https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2025/01/17/us/politics/trump-conflicts-of-interest.html>
.
58. Disbanded
<https://www.wsj.com/finance/regulation/binance-world-liberty-financial-crypto-deals-70c817c3>
DOJ’s
crypto unit after business talks between Binance and a Trump-backed crypto
company ramped up.
59. Halted
<https://www.cnn.com/2025/02/28/business/crypto-mogul-trump-coins-civil-fraud-charges/index.html>
SEC
enforcement actions against crypto companies that enriched Trump.
60. Met with crypto executives who are asking
<https://www.wsj.com/finance/regulation/binance-world-liberty-financial-crypto-deals-70c817c3>
Treasury
to back off of oversight of their companies — all while exploring a deal to
list a Trump-linked crypto company’s new stablecoin.
61. Maintained financial ties between Trump officials and Trump’s media
company. That includes: FBI Director Kash Patel who was gifted
<https://www.businessinsider.com/donald-trump-fbi-pick-share-award-trump-media-group-2025-2>
a
huge award of Trump media company stock.
62. Nominated Attorney General Bondi who owned
<https://accountable.us/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/03-26-25-Trump-Nominees-DJT-TMTG-Divestment-Ethics-Pledge.pdf>$2
million in DJT shares.
63. Paid the Education Secretary almost
<https://accountable.us/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/03-26-25-Trump-Nominees-DJT-TMTG-Divestment-Ethics-Pledge.pdf>$1
million in Trump Media company shares.
64. Intelligence Board nominees who have millions
<https://accountable.us/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/03-26-25-Trump-Nominees-DJT-TMTG-Divestment-Ethics-Pledge.pdf>
in
Trump Media company shares.
65. Selected a Special Envoy to the Middle East who wants to develop
real estate in Gaza while running
<https://www.wsj.com/politics/policy/trump-administration-special-government-employees-75b2b6e5?mod=latest_headlines>
his
own real estate firm.
66. Appointed an FBI Director who consulted
<https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/5124971-kash-patel-qatar-work-fbi-nomination/>for
the Qatari government.
67. Picked that FBI Director even though he also received
<https://www.wired.com/story/kash-patel-elite-depot-shein/>millions from
a Cayman Island holding company with ties to China.
68. Decided to cancel the Direct File program, which will help the
bottom line of Intuit, which gave
<https://x.com/dlippman/status/1870500667934261612?s=46>$1 million to
Trump’s inauguration.
69. Took its largest
<https://www.meatpoultry.com/articles/31799-pilgrims-pride-donated-5-million-to-trump-inauguration>
inauguration
donation from a poultry company under DOJ scrutiny. After the donation, the
SEC approved its parent company for the New York Stock Exchange.
70. Dropped a probe
<https://www.cnn.com/2025/02/14/media/federal-prosecutors-drop-criminal-probe-vince-mcmahon/index.html#:~:text=Federal%20prosecutors%20have%20ended%20their,employees%2C%20his%20lawyer%20said%20Tuesday.>
into
sexual misconduct allegations against Trump’s Education Secretary’s husband.
71. Hosted dozens
<https://www.citizensforethics.org/reports-investigations/crew-reports/tracking-trumps-visits-to-his-properties-and-other-conflicts-of-interest/>
of
foreign, federal, and state officials at Mar-a-Lago, helping enrich Trump.
72. Hosted a GOP retreat
<https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2025/01/28/house-republican-retreat-trump-national-doral/>
at
another one of Trump’s resorts.
73. Circumvented the normal contracting process to pick a company
<https://www.latimes.com/politics/story/2025-03-10/dhs-expedites-process-to-award-two-republican-linked-firms-part-of-its-200-million-ad-campaign>with
close ties to Trump’s former campaign manager.
74. Awarded a $30 million ICE contract
<https://www.wired.com/story/ice-palantir-immigrationos/> to Trump
insider Peter Thiel.
75. Continued developing
<https://www.citizensforethics.org/reports-investigations/crew-reports/trump-foreign-development-tracker/>
new
Trump properties overseas, including in Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
76. Hatched a plan for the State Department to pay Tesla $400 million
<https://www.npr.org/2025/02/24/nx-s1-5305269/tesla-state-department-elon-musk-trump>
dollars.
77. Accepted
<https://www.cnbc.com/2025/04/21/major-corporate-interests-and-megadonors-gave-239-million-to-fund-trumps-inauguration.html>
a
$4 million inauguration donation from a GOP megadonor and nominated him as
UK ambassador the same day.
And Donald Trump took actions that could advance the personal interests
of his co-president Elon Musk:
78. Fired
<https://www.latimes.com/business/story/2025-03-27/elon-musk-trump-doge-conflicts-of-interest>
EEOC
leaders investigating and suing Tesla.
79. Illegally fired
<https://democrats-judiciary.house.gov/uploadedfiles/2025.02.13_fact_sheet_re_musk_investigations.pdf>the
NLRB Chair, which filed a complaint against SpaceX.
80. Gutted
<https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/27/business/cfpb-layoffs-trump-musk-doge.html>
CFPB
staff and fired
<https://democrats-judiciary.house.gov/uploadedfiles/2025.02.13_fact_sheet_re_musk_investigations.pdf>the
Director after they investigated complaints against Musk’s companies.
81. Gutted
<https://news.bloomberglaw.com/daily-labor-report/dol-halts-action-on-federal-contractor-discrimination-cases>
the
Department of Labor office investigating Tesla and Space X.
82. Fired the USAID Inspector General, who launched
<https://www.newsweek.com/usaid-elon-musk-starlink-probe-ukraine-2027054>a
probe into satellite terminals made by Musk’s Starlink.
83. Targeted
<https://www.ft.com/content/ede5b41d-4b97-494f-b8ce-4f13b11f9ad1> the
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration staff who were reportedly,
quote, a “thorn in Tesla's side.”
84. Said Musk would self-police his conflicts of interest. Yeah right…
85. Pressured the Administrator of the FAA, which fined Musk’s SpaceX, to
resign
<https://www.warren.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/warren-presses-musk-for-answers-on-his-role-in-resignation-of-faa-administrator>
.
86. Permitted Musk to keep
<https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/11/us/politics/elon-musk-finances.html>his
financial disclosure hidden. I’ve got a new bill to fix that!
87. Allowed Musk’s Starlink to start working with the FAA after Musk
criticized
<https://www.cnn.com/2025/02/27/business/elon-musk-faa-air-traffic-control-failing-spacex/index.html#:~:text=Musk%20appeared%20to%20confirm%20the,oversees%20the%20operations%20of%20SpaceX.>
the
FAA’s air traffic telecom system.
88. Made Musk’s SpaceX the frontrunner
<https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/musks-spacex-is-frontrunner-build-trumps-golden-dome-missile-shield-2025-04-17/>for
a new lucrative Golden Dome contract.
89. Stood by Musk when his X executives told
<https://www.warren.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/warren-booker-senators-raise-alarm-about-reports-of-x-officials-leveraging-musks-government-position-to-drive-ad-revenue>
an
advertising firm to increase ad revenue — threatening that Musk could
interfere with a pending merger.
90. Permitted Musk to join Trump's interview with the Air Force
secretary nominee while SpaceX held billions of dollars in contracts with
the Air Force.
91. Permitted the National Transportation Safety Board to share news
related to the airplane crashes in Washington and Philadelphia only on
Musk-owned X.
92. Permitted
<https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/5245029-social-security-administration-social-platform-x-releases/>
the
Social Security Administration to only share important public communication
on X.
93. Dropped
<https://www.axios.com/2025/02/21/doj-spacex-lawsuit-elon-musk-refugees-trump>DOJ’s
anti-discrimination complaint against Musk’s SpaceX.
94. Fired FDA staffers reviewing
<https://www.cnbc.com/2025/02/18/fda-staff-reviewing-musks-neuralink-were-included-in-doge-employee-firings-reuters-reports.html>Elon
Musk’s Neuralink clinical trial applications.
And for our closing six moves that make every bit of this corruption
even harder to root out, Trump got rid of cops on the beat:
95. Fired 18 Inspectors General who make sure the federal agencies
follow the law.
96. Fired the head of the Office of Special Counsel
<https://www.politico.com/news/2025/03/06/federal-workforce-watchdog-who-was-fired-by-trump-drops-legal-fight-to-get-his-job-back-00215891>
who
protects whistleblowers and makes sure that civil service laws are fired.
97. Fired
<https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-office-of-government-ethics-director/>
the
head of the Office of Government Ethics who watches to see that the
President and his Administration follow the laws on conflicts of interest,
bribery and other ethics issues.
98. Fired
<https://www.politico.com/news/2025/01/31/doj-purges-prosecutors-january-6-cases-00201904>DOJ
prosecutors who worked on January 6th investigations.
99. Sidelined
<https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/04/us/politics/trump-office-of-legal-counsel-doj.html>
DOJ’s
office that reviews the legality of executive orders.
100. Gutted
<https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/justice-department/justice-department-office-prosecutes-public-corruption-slashed-size-so-rcna195928>
DOJ’s
office that prosecutes misconduct by public officials.
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