Supreme Court Assets and Pentagon Ties Fuel Executive Capture
August 14, 2026
The Trump administration is systematically converting federal infrastructure funds, defense appointments, and trade policies into instruments of private patronage and personal enrichment. At the same time, revelations regarding Supreme Court fossil fuel holdings underscore how institutional checks are increasingly compromised by direct financial conflicts.
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BRIEF
Samuel Alito gained up to $2.9m from oil and gas assets since joining supreme court, analysis shows
Critics argue US high court justice should recuse himself from upcoming fossil fuel firms’ climate accountability case The supreme court justice Samuel Alito gained up to $2.9m from his fossil fuel interests between 2005 and 2024, a new review of financial disclosures shows. The analysis from the no…
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Trump Admin Hijacked $21 Billion In Taxpayer Money Earmarked For Internet Access And Then Went Mute
I’ve written a few times now about how the Trump administration hijacked a $42.5 billion broadband investment fund included in the 2021 infrastructure bill, stripped away requirements that the resulting broadband be fairly deployed and affordable, and instead redirected billions of dollars to Elon M…
- media and technology
- AI governance
- structural power
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Donald Trump has made US$2.2 billion in his second term. How does that stack up against other US presidents?
At the end of June – in the run-up to America’s celebration of the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence – President Donald Trump staged the White House’s first-ever professional sporting event. And while the UFC Freedom 250 evening of mixed martial arts was ostensibly…
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Pete Hegseth’s Pentagon picks raise questions over Trump family business ties
Two advisers have links to a venture fund co-investing in US defense companies that benefit from federal spending Pete Hegseth’s appointments to a key Pentagon advisory body include two men with ties to the venture capital fund where Donald Trump Jr is a partner, which has lucrative investments in m…
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US Senate discreetly moves to renew AGOA through to end of Trump’s term
Trade lobbyists think the House is likely to adopt the two-year extension, as priorities turn to a full slate of election-year issues to address and just eight weeks in session before the end of the year.
- geopolitics