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Donor List Suggests Scale of Trump's Pay-for-Access Operation (gift link)
A new disclosure shows how corporations and individuals, including many in the crypto business, wrote big checks while seeking favor from the president.
Donor List Suggests Scale of Trump’s Pay-for-Access Operation
— Lauren Ashley Davis (@laurenmeidasa.bsky.social) 2025-08-03T15:13:23.397Z
A new disclosure shows how corporations and individuals, including many in the crypto business, wrote big checks while seeking favor from the president.
FREE NYT GIFT ARTICLE ðŸŽ
www.nytimes.com/2025/08/02/u...
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https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/02/us/politics/donor-list-suggests-scale-of-trumps-pay-for-access-operation.html?unlocked_article_code=1.bE8.SU51.pauTc92vqbUz&smid=url-share
It also reveals how lobbyists, political consultants and others in the influence industry have capitalized on Mr. Trump’s aggressive fund-raising while in office to deliver for clients and earn chits with a president who keeps close tabs on who is delivering cash and listens to their appeals. It is a cycle that has helped Mr. Trump fill the coffers of his political groups, defying the gravity that sometimes drags down the fund-raising of term-limited presidents.
The degree to which this dynamic has benefited Mr. Trump, his donors and their lobbyists — while shutting out regular people seeking assistance from their government — was laid bare in MAGA Inc.’s financial report. The group, which can accept unlimited donations, raised an astounding $177 million in the first half of the year. That was nearly twice as much as the amount raised during the same period by the Republican National Committee, which is subject to contribution limits.....
Among the largest donors to MAGA Inc. were the pipeline company Energy Transfer and its co-founder and executive chairman, Kelcy Warren. They combined to donate $25 million, after Mr. Warren spent heavily to support the Trump campaign. His company, which has seen its profits increase this year, has praised the Trump administration’s industry-friendly approach to oil and gas permitting as good for business......
Industry executives who gave to MAGA Inc. were invited to a White House crypto summit in March that included a broad cross-section of the most influential figures in the industry. Among the attendees was an executive from Mr. Andreessen’s and Mr. Horowitz’s company. Also on the list were Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss, who run the crypto exchange Gemini and contributed a combined total of nearly $4 million to MAGA Inc. through the company and personal donations, and Kyle Samani, a venture investor who donated $200,000 after having donated $250,000 to the inauguration.
On May 5, MAGA Inc. organized a “crypto and A.I. innovators dinner” featuring Mr. Trump at his golf club in Virginia. Among the attendees, according to two people who requested anonymity to discuss a private event, was JP Richardson, the chief executive of the crypto company Exodus, which donated $1 million to MAGA Inc. in January......
People seeking appointments from Mr. Trump also donated to MAGA Inc.
In February, Anjani Sinha, an orthopedic surgeon and businessman who has been described as a friend of Mr. Trump’s, donated $1 million. The next month, he was nominated to be U.S. ambassador to Singapore.
The degree to which this dynamic has benefited Mr. Trump, his donors and their lobbyists — while shutting out regular people seeking assistance from their government — was laid bare in MAGA Inc.’s financial report. The group, which can accept unlimited donations, raised an astounding $177 million in the first half of the year. That was nearly twice as much as the amount raised during the same period by the Republican National Committee, which is subject to contribution limits.....
Among the largest donors to MAGA Inc. were the pipeline company Energy Transfer and its co-founder and executive chairman, Kelcy Warren. They combined to donate $25 million, after Mr. Warren spent heavily to support the Trump campaign. His company, which has seen its profits increase this year, has praised the Trump administration’s industry-friendly approach to oil and gas permitting as good for business......
Industry executives who gave to MAGA Inc. were invited to a White House crypto summit in March that included a broad cross-section of the most influential figures in the industry. Among the attendees was an executive from Mr. Andreessen’s and Mr. Horowitz’s company. Also on the list were Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss, who run the crypto exchange Gemini and contributed a combined total of nearly $4 million to MAGA Inc. through the company and personal donations, and Kyle Samani, a venture investor who donated $200,000 after having donated $250,000 to the inauguration.
On May 5, MAGA Inc. organized a “crypto and A.I. innovators dinner” featuring Mr. Trump at his golf club in Virginia. Among the attendees, according to two people who requested anonymity to discuss a private event, was JP Richardson, the chief executive of the crypto company Exodus, which donated $1 million to MAGA Inc. in January......
People seeking appointments from Mr. Trump also donated to MAGA Inc.
In February, Anjani Sinha, an orthopedic surgeon and businessman who has been described as a friend of Mr. Trump’s, donated $1 million. The next month, he was nominated to be U.S. ambassador to Singapore.
This is the most corrupt administration in history. Everything has a price
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