NEWS: Trump Fires Every Member of the Federal Election Agency PLUS Trump's Sons Stand to Profit From a Secret Mineral Deal
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Here’s what you may have missed:
Corruption and Self-Dealing
Common Dreams, ‘Go Out and Buy a Dell’: Trump Touted 20+ Corporations Days After Buying Their Stock
A CNN analysis found that President Trump publicly praised more than 20 companies on his social media platform days after buying their stock, without disclosing the purchases at the time. Trump made stock purchases across 21 firms—including Nvidia, Apple, Boeing, and Dell—and after each one he posted flattering messages about the companies. In one case, he bought up to $500,000 in Nvidia shares just before announcing that permits for the company to build AI supercomputers would be “expedited.” He also bought up to $5 million in Dell stock, then urged Americans to “go out and buy a Dell,” after which Dell won a nearly $10 billion Pentagon contract. Dell’s stock rose about 215% this year. Watchdogs from across the political spectrum, including the libertarian Cato Institute, called it “an ethics disaster” and a “case study in presidential conflicts of interest.”
Why this matters: The president is promoting companies he secretly holds stock in and those firms are then receiving federal contracts. The public’s business is being steered towards Trump’s private profit. Reporting that documents these conflicts lets voters and lawmakers judge whether the president is serving the country or himself.
CNBC, Trump bought as much as $5 million in Axon stock before ICE sought $220 million Taser deal
Trump disclosed buying between $1 million and $5 million in Axon Enterprise stock on Feb. 10, and two weeks later ICE posted a notice seeking a five-year, $220 million contract for about 17,800 Tasers. The notice does not name Axon, but procurement reviewers and three policing experts told CNBC the specifications appear to match only Axon products, which make about 90% of U.S. Tasers. Ethics experts said the timing alone raises red flags. Axon shares rose more than 34% in the week after the ICE notice, and the company spent nearly $2.5 million lobbying last year as it expands its federal business.
Why this matters: More clearly corrupt behavior by the president and his family.
CREW, Trump has made 29 private prison stock trades since taking office
CREW found that Trump’s brokers made 29 private prison stock trades since his second term began, buying and selling shares of GEO Group and CoreCivic worth between $281,029 and $990,000. Over the same period, his administration’s immigration crackdown fueled record profits for those same companies: GEO Group won more than $2 billion in ICE contracts and saw profits jump nearly 700% over 2024, while CoreCivic’s net income rose about 70%. Several administration officials have direct ties to the industry, including an acting ICE head who once worked for GEO Group and a border czar who was a former GEO Group consultant. Both companies were also major Trump donors, with GEO Group giving nearly $2 million. CREW notes that 2025 was the deadliest year on record for people held in ICE detention, amid lawsuits over conditions in private facilities.
Why this matters: Are the president’s decisions being made for the country’s benefit or his own. Watchdog investigations that document these financial ties give voters the facts they need to demand accountability. The public just has to decide whether it believes public interest journalists or a corrupt president who calls journalists the enemy of the people.
Mother Jones, Trump’s Sons Stand to Profit From the Critical Minerals Arms Race
Citing a New York Times investigation, Mother Jones reports that a U.S. mining deal with Kazakhstan gives Trump’s sons Eric and Donald Jr. access to a huge untapped reserve of tungsten. The president’s sons and the sons of Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick are tied to Kaz Resources, the company set to build the mine, which is slated to receive at least $1.6 billion in government funding. The Kazakh deal was signed on November 6 without disclosing the Trump or Lutnick families’ involvement, and the Times found at least 14 companies tied to the two families working with the federal government on mineral deals. Times reporters described it as “a pattern of self-enrichment in the second Trump administration that has few precedents in American history.”
Why this matters: There’s nothing left to say. Information becomes our outcomes. Share all of the above reporting on this blatant self-dealing by the Trump family with as many people as need to see it. It’s only by spreading information that exposes corruption that we can muster around facts and reality to make better choices as a nation.
Voting and Elections
Votebeat, Trump fires Election Assistance Commission members, leaving agency unable to act
President Trump fired the last three members of the U.S. Election Assistance Commission, the only federal agency devoted solely to running elections well. The move follows a recent Supreme Court decision, Trump v. Slaughter, that gave the president new power to remove leaders of independent agencies. With the commission frozen, it cannot certify voting systems or update the federal voter registration form ahead of the 2026 midterms.
Why this matters: Bipartisan election agencies were built to be insulated from any single party’s control so that federal voting rules stay neutral. The president removed every member at once and then just this week gave yet another speech full of lies about election integrity. These moves set the stage for Trump and the GOP to reshape election administration to achieve a partisan advantage.
Democracy Docket, Michigan election fraud cited in Trump speech had no impact on votes
In a primetime speech, President Trump ordered FBI Director Kash Patel to reopen a long-closed investigation into a 2020 Michigan voter registration case, presenting it as major election fraud. But the fraudulent registrations, submitted by a single low-level worker for the firm GBI Strategies, were voided before the 2020 election and led to no fraudulent votes being cast. State and FBI investigations found no evidence of a larger scheme, and no one was ever charged. Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson called Trump’s claims “long debunked and baseless” within minutes of the speech and affirmed the state’s elections are secure. Sen. Elissa Slotkin said the speech deepened her fears that Trump could try to interfere in the 2026 midterms, noting he has refused to rule out sending in uniformed military.
Why this matters: Debunking false fraud claims protects public trust in elections and guards against efforts to overturn legitimate results. The president is lying to try and justify new federal investigations. Journalism that lays out the documented facts helps voters resist manipulation and defend the integrity of their vote.
Courts and the Rule of Law
Slate, One Judge Has the Guts to Put the Horror of This Supreme Court Term in Context
Writing for the Hawaii Supreme Court, Justice Todd Eddins vacated the 1990 conviction of Daniel Granillo, which had relied on FBI hair-and-fiber analysis that later scientific panels found cannot reliably identify a single source. Eddins used the ruling to sharply criticize a string of recent U.S. Supreme Court decisions on voting rights, immigration, religious liberty, executive power, birthright citizenship, campaign finance, gerrymandering, and gun laws. He argued the nation’s high court has been systematically tearing down democratic safeguards. Eddins also stressed that state constitutions do not have to follow the federal court’s approach, leaving states room to protect rights on their own. Slate’s Mark Joseph Stern frames the opinion as a rare judicial voice putting the term’s damage into plain context.
Why this matters: The U.S. Supreme Court is weakening democratic protections. State courts interpreting their own constitutions are now a critical backstop for people’s rights. Journalism that spotlights these judicial checks helps the public understand where their freedoms are still being defended.
Public Health
WIRED, The CDC Has a Cyclospora Lab. DOGE Downsized It Last Year
As cases of the parasite cyclospora rise across the U.S., former CDC staff say the agency’s response has been badly weakened by last year’s layoffs under President Trump and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). Joel Barratt, who used to lead the CDC lab that responds to cyclospora outbreaks, says the team was cut from 11 people to just three. Nearly 7,000 people may have been sickened, with Michigan alone reporting more than 4,300 cases, and experts say the true count is likely higher. The cuts come as the CDC is also juggling an Ebola outbreak in Congo and U.S. outbreaks of measles, E. coli, infant botulism, and salmonella, after the agency lost about a quarter of its workforce since January 2025. Barratt says he left voluntarily because staff purges and hiring freezes made it a “hostile work environment” where he could no longer “do right by public health.”
Why this matters: Cutting the government’s disease-response labs during active outbreaks puts public health and lives at direct risk, and voters deserve to know when agency staffing decisions leave them less protected. Reporting like this holds officials accountable for choices that can quietly endanger families across the country. Who will you send this story to?
Workers, Retirement, and the Economy
ProPublica, Wall Street Wants to Change the Rules for Your 401(k). It Could Put Your Retirement at Risk.
The Trump administration is moving to weaken the rules that protect Americans’ 401(k) retirement savings, which hold roughly $10 trillion in assets. A proposed Labor Department rule would give employers “safe harbor” legal protection if they follow a checklist when picking investments, making it harder for workers to sue over bad choices. The effort, led by former industry insider Daniel Aronowitz, aims to open 401(k) plans to riskier, higher-fee options like private equity and cryptocurrency. ProPublica notes that fees matter enormously: a 1% annual fee can shrink retirement savings by 28% over time, while passive index funds charge under 0.1%. Major firms like BlackRock, Apollo, and Goldman Sachs have already launched 401(k) funds that include these private assets.
Why this matters: Rules that shield employers from accountability while steering workers into costly, risky investments erode the retirement security of millions of us. Investigative reporting like this helps the public understand who benefits from these changes and equips them with the awareness they need to push back before their savings are put at risk.
War and Government Transparency
The Intercept, U.S. Official: Iran Attacks Injured “Far More” Troops Than Pentagon Admits
A U.S. official told The Intercept that recent Iranian strikes injured “far more” American troops than the Pentagon has publicly admitted, with “dozens” needing medical attention. The Pentagon’s official count puts U.S. casualties at at least 446, up more than 15% since a ceasefire began April 8, but officials say the real number is higher. The report describes long delays in the military’s casualty system, where some troops who were killed or went missing were not counted for days or weeks. The article ties this to a pattern going back to 2017, including the 2020 Al-Asad Air Base attack, when President Trump said “no Americans were harmed” even though 110 troops were later found to have traumatic brain injuries.
Why this matters: The government is hiding the human cost of war. The public is left without the accurate information it needs to judge military decisions and hold leaders accountable at the ballot box. Independent journalism that surfaces hidden casualty figures acts as a check on officials who might otherwise avoid scrutiny for their life and death choices.
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