PopInfo Weekly: Grift, gambling, and the GOP
A Popular Information investigation revealed that Lead Left, a new political action committee that spent millions boosting Democratic primary candidates with big political liabilities, is linked to the Congressional Leadership Fund, the super PAC of the House Republicans.
In a follow-up investigation, Popular Information linked two other purportedly progressive super PACs spending millions in primary races to House Republicans and Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA).
Rents across the United States have skyrocketed in recent years. One contributing factor is the concentration in ownership. According to a new report by the Private Equity Stakeholder Project, private equity firms now own “at least 11,800 apartment buildings with almost 3 million units,” or around 13% of apartments in the U.S. This can lead to higher rent costs, aggressive evictions, and lower quality of life for renters.
President Trump has repeatedly promoted Stake, an unregulated online casino that state gambling regulators say is operating illegally, on Truth Social. Trump promoted the company alongside the UFC match being held in June at the White House in posts on April 9, May 8, and twice on May 20. According to new Federal Election Commission filings, the co-owner and co-founder of Stake, Bijan Tehrani, donated $1 million to MAGA Inc., the primary super PAC supporting Trump, on April 27.
Updated information
On May 18, Popular Information reported that Trump purchased between $1 million and $5 million worth of Dell Technologies stock on February 10. During an economic speech in Georgia nine days later, Trump told the audience to “go out and buy a Dell computer,” saying the company made “phenomenal products.” Trump continued to pitch Dell products on February 27, March 9, April 16, and May 8.
Then, on May 27, the Pentagon “announced a five-year, roughly $9.7 billion deal with Dell to provide a suite of software to the U.S. military.” The deal has helped propel Dell stock to an all-time high.
The best of the rest
White House intervened in deal for company tied to Trump Jr. Last year, the Pentagon announced a $620 million loan to Vulcan Elements, which has ties to Donald Trump Jr. A ProPublica investigation found that “the request to loan hundreds of millions of dollars to the firm… was made by Peter Navarro, a White House adviser to [Trump] and a friend of Trump Jr.’s.” (ProPublica)
Unprecedented number of ICE detainees are dying by suicide. The Associated Press found that at least 10 Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detainees have died by suicide during the second Trump administration. Public health officials and jail experts said it “is an indication that authorities are failing to properly oversee” Trump’s mass deportation agenda. (Associated Press)
Crypto and prediction market watchdog transformed under Trump. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission is supposed to regulate these two sectors, to which the Trump family has significant financial ties. Instead, the agency has cut a significant portion of its workforce and installed leaders sympathetic to crypto and prediction market companies, becoming an ally to the industries it is supposed to keep in check. (The New York Times)
A win for voters in Connecticut. Connecticut caught up to almost every other blue state and several red ones when Governor Ned Lamont signed a bill allowing access to mail-in voting to any voter without justification. Previously, Connecticut required voters to provide a specific reason, like military service, for getting a mail-in ballot. (Bolts)
Numerical information
$250: The office responsible for printing money has been pushed by Trump administration officials to design a $250 bill featuring Trump’s portrait, the Washington Post reported.
3.8%: How much the Personal Consumption Expenditures price index, which the Federal Reserve uses to measure inflation, rose in April. That’s the highest rate since May 2023.
107: The number of times, according to Reuters, that Trump has falsely claimed that the 2020 election was stolen in the last six months — roughly four times per week.
Quote of the week
“Fearless, independent reporting has always been the defining standard at 60 Minutes. Today, CBS management is abandoning that mission, choosing access journalism over accountability and protecting power rather than scrutinizing it. The wall between editorial independence and corporate interest at CBS is being methodically torn down.” — 60 Minutes correspondent Sharyn Alfonsi, who departed the show this week after her contract was not renewed
Photo of the week
Dear Judd, I keep seeing (on social media) clips showing senators confronting Stephen Miller about these billion dollars and/or multi million dollar transfer from the U.S. treasury to slush funds and as payment of dubious invoices into corporations that were born yesterday and disappear the day after. Is anyone looking into Stephen Miller?
Your post put a fine point on something that I wonder about. DJT takes from the US treasury as if it were his unlimited personal bank account. Are there no checks? Oh, I suppose it's Congress, where those in power will not check him. Is that the answer? Again the phrase comes to mind: Monsters will be monsters; they do what monsters do. The others are choosing--for whatever venal, cowardly reasons they have. Right now a UFC cage fight in front of our WH is at the top of the list of what makes me sick. Go watch your spectacles if you must; but to have that kind of display--reminiscent of the days of the Roman Colosseum--is for me a symbol of all that's wrong. At least that's my symbol for the moment. Others crowd in, vying for the top spot!