Insider trading has become the go-to form of corruption for the Trump admin. Even easier than collecting a bribe with more plausible deniability, everyone seems to have made a buck trading on non-public info. Now the president wants to sell an insider trading franchise to Wall Street:

The Insider Trading Administration

Insider trading is no longer limited to Trump allies. A franchise of your own is now available – for a price

revolvingdoorproject.substack.com

"The groups argue that Gillibrand's son's involvement in the crypto industry leaves Democrats vulnerable to the very charge they are trying to level against President Trump."

Scoop: Progressives scorch Gillibrand over crypto

The blistering — and deeply personal — attack from three groups complicates already delicate negotiations over the CLARITY Act.

axios.com

Politico's parent company, Axel Springer, is awarding Peter Thiel with their "2026 Axel Springer Award." The announcement claims that Thiel has been "attacked and vilified" and that Palantir, the surveillance firm he co-founded "is crucial to the resilience of democracies"

Kalshi CEO Tarek Mansour sees gambling on his app as the cure to Instagram addiction. Seems kind of like trying to treat a caffeine addiction by taking up cocaine but I guess I shouldn't be surprised when a coke dealer sees some merit in that idea

Stephen Miller lets it slip: "they all have a life they want after the Senate... corporate boards they want to be a part of" Withholding lucrative jobs is how Trump and the oligarchs keep their grip on power. This would be called corruption anywhere else Video credit @acyn.bsky.social on X

Centrists are so excited to punch left that they're missing that this is clearly a grift. It's run by a college sophomore whose only experience is seemingly driving his car a lot and sinecure at WelcomePAC, a job his dad (WelcomePAC's Director of Electoral Programs & Finance Chair) secured for him

The Washington Post@washingtonpost.com · last mo.

Thirteen Democratic House members and candidates announced their support for a centrist initiative aimed at pushing back against the party’s tilt toward democratic socialism.

Perfect example of how revolvers legitimize a scam industry: Kalshi's head of enforcement and CPM are touting Prelogar's work for the Kalshi as proof the Democratic Party supports prediction markets. Maybe it's time we rethink the appointment of people willing to sell out the party like this

Henry Burke@henryburke.bsky.social · last mo.

The Coalition for Prediction Markets has added a new revolver to their roster: Biden's Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar. She's not the only former SG on Kalshi's payroll. One-time defender of child slavery, Neal Katyal is also working to defend the industry from bipartisan attempts to rein it in

The Coalition for Prediction Markets has added a new revolver to their roster: Biden's Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar. She's not the only former SG on Kalshi's payroll. One-time defender of child slavery, Neal Katyal is also working to defend the industry from bipartisan attempts to rein it in

Yglesias has a bizarre piece today that is extremely credulous about tax abatements for data centers because they are *intended* to generate revenue. That's also the intention behind public subsidies of stadiums, but the intention doesn't matter. It doesn't work.

Telling excerpt from Wired's fantastic reporting on Peter Thiel's secret society: the staff overruled their AI tool to label Tyler Cowen a VIP Cowen is neither famous or rich (the normal criteria for VIPs) but his libertarian ideas have tons of cachet in Silicon Valley and in the abundance movement

In the late 2010s, nicotine use among teens spiked as companies like Juul targeted young people in advertising, hooking a new generation on their product. If you think this sounds similar to prediction markets, you aren't wrong. Juul's PR guy is even helping prediction markets run the same playbook

The New Republic@newrepublic.com · 2mo ago

Ads targeting young people encourage risky behavior, like Kalshi’s March Madness promotion, in which its CEO said, “You owe it to your grandchildren” to make “generational wealth.” Another promoted risky bets by telling consumers, “I would put everything I own on this.” trib.al/msBr0xH

Want to know what an industry really thinks? Look at who they hire. Prediction markets are preparing for a political backlash by staffing up with powerful ex-congressmen and executives from the gambling industry and Juul. Who knows more about dodging backlash for an addictive product? My new piece:

Revolving Door Project@revolvingdoordc.bsky.social · 2mo ago

Prediction markets are finally receiving some real scrutiny. Even a Republican-controlled Congress seems to be wary of some of the industry's more outlandish behavior. So they're turning to people who know how to deal with this pressure: gambling and vape executives. New in @newrepublic.com

Billionaire Mark Cuban appeared at centrism conference WelcomeFest yesterday offering advice on how Democrats to win back the center. His advice? Democrats need to ask businesses to make things more affordable, and they need to emulate Trump's approach of listening to the oligarchs

Sean McElwee, SBF's gambling buddy, is attempting a comeback, hosting a discussion at WelcomeFest's "Reducing polarization and governing well room" tomorrow

Underrated thing seemingly driving right wing psychosis in tech is that so many of the "founders" spent years committing innumerable workplace abuses at their small startups. When they grew enough to have HR and legal departments they heard "no" for the first time and flipped out

New from me @notus.com: The Trump admin gave Phil Alito, Sam Alito's son, a political appointee job as a Treasury Dept lawyer in 2025. The judge never disclosed it during the tariff case. Now the fight over the Treasury's J6 slush fund could reach the high court too. www.notus.org/us-news/samu...

Samuel Alito’s Son Has Been Quietly Working for Trump’s Treasury Department

Philip Alito has been working as an attorney with the Treasury’s office of the general counsel for months even as the Supreme Court takes up cases involving the department.

notus.org

New Patreon BONUS: "Sean Duffy's Great American Road Grift." The Secretary of Transportation's new online series is a giant conflict of interest packaged as a reality TV show. @henryburke.bsky.social joins us to break it all down. Become a supporter to listen! www.patreon.com/posts/bonus-...

Pro-moderation group WelcomePAC also appears to have embraced the autopsy that was so egregiously incomplete and incompetently-produced that the DNC tried to bury it.

Henry Burke@henryburke.bsky.social · 3mo ago

In a baffling choice, Third Way seems to believe the DNC autopsy — the document that is riddled with basic factual errors, misspellings and potentially AI-hallucinated claims— proves their worldview correct

In a baffling choice, Third Way seems to believe the DNC autopsy — the document that is riddled with basic factual errors, misspellings and potentially AI-hallucinated claims— proves their worldview correct

none of these people actually want to be doing the job. they want to be celebrities

The American Prospect@prospect.org · 3mo ago

Despite the responsibility to oversee the nation’s transportation infrastructure, Sean Duffy has found time over the last seven months to film a five-part series about his family of 11 traveling across the country on what he calls The Great American Road Trip. buff.ly/RnUOUTV

What is Boeing getting in return for their $1 million donation to the Duffy family slush fund? The lifting of caps the FAA set on 737-MAX production to ensure corners weren't cut, and allowing Boeing to self-certify the safety of both their 787 and 737-MAX after years of being banned from doing so

Following the Money on Sean Duffy’s Road Trip - The American Prospect

Nearly a dozen companies that sponsored Duffy’s personal travel have significant business before his agency.

prospect.org

Scott Horton@robertscotthorton.bsky.social · 3mo ago

Sean Duffy's corruption is palpable. Boeing and Toyota donated $1 million each to help fund a new reality-television inspired show starring Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy with his family on a road trip. Others contributed services and goods. All are regulated by Duffy.

The ex-girlfriend of Donald Trump Jr. (and ex-wife of Gavin Newsom) Kimberly Guilfoyle is doing critical diplomatic work in her position as US ambassador to Greece today, cutting the ribbon on a new McDonalds. And yet they still say the Trump admin. has no diplomatic accomplishments

Here's just some of the DOT decisions that could have been biased by the donations made to Duffy's vacation: Ending cash compensation for flight delays Allowing Boeing to self-certify the safety of their jets Ending an investigation into the devaluing of airline rewards programs There's much more:

Following the Money on Sean Duffy’s Road Trip - The American Prospect

Nearly a dozen companies that sponsored Duffy’s personal travel have significant business before his agency.

prospect.org

When I reached out to Sean Duffy's spokesperson he assured me that "no taxpayer dollars were spent on Secretary Duffy's family." That's technically true. But money is fungible, and federal funds collected by fees imposed on incoming tourists appear to have been spent on Duffy's family.

Henry Burke@henryburke.bsky.social · 3mo ago

I tried to compile all the possible conflicts of interest arising from Sean Duffy's road trip for @theamericanproject.bsky.social While I'm sure there's something I'm missing, I think this might be the most comprehensive piece on the vast corruption filling the coffers of his vacation slush fund

I tried to compile all the possible conflicts of interest arising from Sean Duffy's road trip for @theamericanproject.bsky.social While I'm sure there's something I'm missing, I think this might be the most comprehensive piece on the vast corruption filling the coffers of his vacation slush fund

Following the Money on Sean Duffy’s Road Trip - The American Prospect

Nearly a dozen companies that sponsored Duffy’s personal travel have significant business before his agency.

prospect.org

Assume AI training for K-12 is a good idea. Schiff's bill, the LIFT AI Act, is a grant program for the National Science Foundation. The NSF has no director. The nominee is a Thiel acolyte with no science degrees. Trump just fired the entire Board that oversees NSF. No. Absolutely not.

Sen. Adam Schiff@schiff.senate.gov · 3mo ago

AI is reshaping industries and our economy, and it’s crucial that young people and our workforce are equipped to succeed in this landscape. Proud to introduce a bipartisan bill with Sen. Rounds to ensure students and educators have the resources they need to harness the power of AI.

Yesterday, Matt Yglesias attacked my org, The Revolving Door Project for supposedly not calling out the "Warren Wing mafia" (spooky) Early this month I wrote a piece for the Lever that called out this person by name, something he'd know if he read our work (he proudly proclaims he'd never do that)

I'm just confused by the staff work on this, frankly. Imagine being the guy explaining to your boss, a US Congressman, that he is listed in the program after a bitcoin DJ with 54 monthly listeners on Spotify. Not 54k. 54 individuals

Revolving Door Project@revolvingdoordc.bsky.social · 3mo ago

Rep. Nick Begich, R-AK Rare Scrillaa a “multidisciplinary artist, DJ, and producer” with songs like “Turn My Memes Up” And finally, Rep. Zach Nunn, R-IA.

This is not the main issue with the "Bitcoin Conference" (that would be the obvious corruption,) but it's frankly humiliating that we now live in a time where a US Senator is not only willing to speak at a conference with guys like this, but he accepts lower billing than them. It's degrading

Revolving Door Project@revolvingdoordc.bsky.social · 3mo ago

A former executive of Silvergate Bank (you know, the bank that famously failed because of its connections to the crypto industry?) The Director of the “Bitcoin Museum and Art Gallery” (we’ll let you judge the art yourself) The “Bitcoin Astrologer” Senator Jim Justice (R-WV)

It's outrageous how all the top law enforcement officials in the country are going to Las Vegas to pledge their allegiance to the cryptocurrency industry. Democrats can and should make an issue out of this, but many will not, because they're cowed by crypto's campaign expenditures

Revolving Door Project@revolvingdoordc.bsky.social · 3mo ago

Todd Blanche, the acting Attorney General of the US is up next. Also a late addition Blanche is a big get for an industry rife with lawbreaking. What’s better proof that you’re above the law than having the top law enforcement official in the country speak at your industry event?