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'Incredible Corruption': Blockbuster Report on Trump Crypto Grift Leaves Observers Stunned
"If this is true, this is the largest public corruption scandal in the history of the United States and it's not even close," said one critic.
Sep 15, 2025
The New York Times on Monday published a blockbuster report detailing how US President Donald Trump's administration gave the United Arab Emirates access to high-powered artificial intelligence chips just days after receiving a massive investment in Trump's cryptocurrency startup.
As the Times report documented, Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan, a member of the United Arab Emirates' (UAE) ruling family, had one of his investment firms deposit $2 billion into World Liberty Financial, the startup founded by members of the Trump family and the family of Trump Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff.
Just two weeks later, wrote the Times, "the White House agreed to allow the UAE access to hundreds of thousands of the world’s most advanced and scarce computer chips, a crucial tool in the high-stakes race to dominate artificial intelligence," despite national security concerns about these chips being shared with China.
The Times, which interviewed more than 75 people in its investigation of the deals, did not present direct evidence that the two deals were explicitly linked, and the White House denied any connection between the massive investment in the Trump family's crypto firm and the decision to grant UAE access to the chips.
However, the paper interviewed three ethics lawyers who said that "the back-to-back deals violate longstanding norms in the United States for political, diplomatic, and private dealmaking among senior officials and their children."
Other political observers were stunned by the Times' report.
"If this is true, this is the largest public corruption scandal in the history of the United States and it's not even close," commented Ryan Cummings, chief of staff at the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research.
US foreign policy journalist Laura Rozen questioned whether Witkoff's dealings with the UAE and other countries were impacting his ability to do his job in other areas.
"Maybe Witkoff is too busy pushing deals to enrich his and Trump’s families to focus on getting an Israel-Gaza hostage deal over the line, recognizing the Russians are not interested in ending the war on Ukraine, etc.," she speculated.
Alasdair Phillips-Robins, a fellow in the Technology and International Affairs Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, marveled at the reporting that Trump's negotiation team appeared to be willing to grant UAE access to the chips without forcing any major geopolitical tradeoffs.
"This sounds like the world's weakest negotiation: telling the UAE they'll get unlimited chips before they've agreed to a single concession in return," he wrote.
Independent journalist Jacob Silverman, who has written extensively on the politics of the US tech industry, remarked that the Trump administration's actions exposed in the Times report were "impeachable" and smacked of "incredible corruption."
In addition to his cryptocurrency-related dealings with UAE, Trump has also come under scrutiny for accepting a luxury jet from the government of Qatar that he plans to use for the remainder of his term in office and that will be given to his official presidential library after he leaves the White House.
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Trump Officials' Gaza Tour Slammed as 'Blatant Theatrical Display'
"The goal is clear—to erase the truth, discredit thousands of recorded videos, and wash away the blood," said one Palestinian photojournalist.
Aug 01, 2025
Palestinians and international humanitarian groups were among those who denounced Friday's highly orchestrated tour of a Gaza aid distribution center run by a U.S.-backed group condemned for its role in Israeli forces' massacres of desperate people seeking food and other lifesaving aid.
U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee and special Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff visited one of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation's (GHF) distribution sites near Rafah in southern Gaza, where Israel Defense Forces (IDF) officials presented a sanitized version of a reality normally characterized by near-daily massacres of desperate, starving Palestinians clamoring for food and other aid.
"The purpose of the visit was to give [President Donald Trump] a clear understanding of the humanitarian situation and help craft a plan to deliver food and medical aid to the people of Gaza," Witkoff wrote on the social media site X.
In recent days, both Trump and Vice President JD Vance have acknowledged that Palestinians are starving, with Vance lamenting that "little kids... are clearly starving to death"—a direct contradiction of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's lie that "there is no starvation in Gaza."
However, unconditional U.S. support for Israel continues unabated and practically unchallenged, save for another failed bid led by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) to suspend some arms transfers.
Palestinian photojournalist Osama Abu Rabee described Friday's visit as "a blatant theatrical display."
"Everything appears organized and civilized: no repression, no pepper spray, no gunfire or casualties, not even crowd stampedes," Abu Rabee wrote on social media. "The goal is clear—to erase the truth, discredit thousands of recorded videos, and wash away the blood of nearly 1,000 starving martyrs and hundreds of wounded victims trapped in humiliation."
"To perfect the staged scene, aid distribution was restricted to the families of mercenaries loyal to Yasser Abu Shabab's forces," he added, referring to the Israel-backed anti-Hamas alleged drug trafficker known for looting humanitarian shipments. "Snipers and tanks were withdrawn, and the deception ceremony was prepared—one that Trump's envoy arrived to witness and rubber-stamp as 'reality.'"
Huckabee—who during his ill-fated 2008 presidential campaign denied the very existence of the Palestinian people—claimed on social media that GHF has served more than 100 million meals in two months, a dubious assertion emblazoned on banners around the site he visited.
"Gaza has 2 million people. If that number were true, every person in Gaza should have received 50 meals by now," Gaza teacher and activist Alaa Radwan wrote on the social media site X. "But I know for a fact that my family didn't get a single one. Neither did my friends."
"One hundred million meals. And yet famine is tearing through people's bodies," Radwan continued. "One hundred million meals. And my mother, my father, and my siblings have lost nearly half their body weight. What kind of lie is this? What kind of cruelty does it take to put out a number so outrageous, so disconnected from reality, while the world watches children collapse from hunger?"
"If they insist on lying, they could at least try to make it believable," she added. "But even that seems too much to ask."
Shortly after Huckabee and Witkoff left Gaza, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said that the IDF killings of aid-seekers at GHF sites are "war crimes" and urged the abandonment of the "U.S.-backed death trap scheme."
"U.S.-backed Israeli forces and private contractors have put in place a flawed, militarized aid distribution system that has turned aid distributions into regular bloodbaths," HRW noted.
1,373 Palestinians have been killed while seeking food, most by the Israeli military, between May 27 and July 21 in Gaza.Israeli forces routinely opening fire on starving Palestinians amount to war crimes.Learn more: bit.ly/46yFXlj
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— Human Rights Watch (@hrw.org) August 1, 2025 at 6:50 AM
According to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, "since 27 May, at least 1,373 Palestinians have been killed while seeking food; 859 in the vicinity of GHF sites and 514 along the routes of food convoys."
IDF whistleblowers including officers and soldiers have said they were ordered to open fire on civilians seeking aid at GHF sites with live bullets and artillery shells.
Anthony Aguilar, a retired U.S. special forces colonel who worked as a security subcontractor at GHF sites before resigning, described Israeli troops and American mercenaries indiscriminately shooting at starving Palestinian aid-seekers.
"What I saw on the sites, around the sites, to and from the sites, can be described as nothing but war crimes, crimes against humanity, violations of international law," Aguilar told Democracy Now! host Amy Goodman earlier this week. "This is not hyperbole. This is not platitudes or drama. This is the truth... The sites were designed to lure, bait aid, and kill."
HRW added that "the dire humanitarian situation is a direct result of Israel's use of starvation of civilians as a weapon of war—a war crime—as well as Israel's continued intentional deprivation of aid and basic services, which amounts to the crime against humanity of extermination, and acts of genocide."
The International Court of Justice, where Israel is facing an ongoing genocide case brought by South Africa and supported by dozens of nations, has repeatedly ordered Israel to avoid genocidal acts in Gaza and allow humanitarian aid into the strip, where more than 60,200 Palestinians have been killed and over 146,800 others wounded since October 2023, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.
However, Israel has ignored these orders. Last year, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant—who ordered the "complete siege" of Gaza that has fueled deadly mass starvation and disease—for alleged crimes against humanity and war crimes, including mass starvation and murder.
Responding to Huckabee and Witkoff's visit, Oxfam America director of peace and security Scott Paul called on the U.S. government "to use its full influence to put an end to this catastrophe before we pass the point of no return."
"We do not have time for symbolic measures—a few more trucks, airdrops, and humanitarian pauses may be better than nothing—but in reality, they are far more effective in grabbing headlines than they are at saving lives," he said.
"Without urgent, meaningful action, these numbers are going to spiral out of control in the coming days," Paul added, "and the growing death toll will be an indelible stain on this administration."
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Macron Says France Will Recognize Palestinian Statehood: 'There Is No Alternative'
The French president's announcement came as more Palestinian children starved to death in Gaza and the U.S. and Israel quit cease-fire talks with Hamas.
Jul 24, 2025
France is set to become the first Group of Seven nation to officially recognize Palestinian statehood, amid worsening deadly starvation in Gaza caused by Israel's 656-day genocidal annihilation and siege of the coastal enclave.
French President Emmanuel Macron said on social media Thursday that he would announce the move at September's United Nations General Assembly in New York.
"The urgency today is to end the war in Gaza and to provide aid to the civilian population," Macron asserted. "Peace is possible. There must be an immediate cease-fire, the release of all hostages, and massive humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza."
"It is also necessary to ensure the demilitarization of Hamas, secure and rebuild Gaza," he added. "Finally, it is essential to build the state of Palestine, ensure its viability, and enable it, by accepting its demilitarization and fully recognizing Israel, to contribute to the security of all in the Middle East. There is no alternative."
Approximately 150 of 193 United Nations member states currently recognize Palestinian statehood. Following a 2024 announcement that Ireland, Norway, and Spain would formally recognize Palestine, then-Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz threatened "severe consequences" for nations who take such a step.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu—who is wanted by the International Criminal Court for alleged crimes against humanity and war crimes in Gaza—said Thursday that Israel "strongly condemn[s] President Macron's decision."
"Such a move rewards terror and risks creating another Iranian proxy, just as Gaza became," the prime minister added. "A Palestinian state in these conditions would be a launch pad to annihilate Israel—not to live in peace beside it."
However, the Palestinian Authority welcomed the news, with First Vice President Hussein al-Sheikh expressing "thanks and appreciation" to Macron.
"This position reflects France's commitment to international law and its support for the Palestinian people's rights to self-determination," al-Sheikh added.
Macron's announcement came as the Israeli government and Steve Witkoff, U.S. President Donald Trump's Mideast envoy, said they were quitting cease-fire negotiations with Hamas, which is still believed to hold 20 living Israeli and other hostages taken during the October 7, 2023 attack.
Blaming Hamas for the talks' breakdown, Witkoff said that "we will now consider alternative options to bring the hostages home and try to create a more stable environment for the people of Gaza." He did not elaborate upon those "options."
Gaza officials said Thursday that at least 115 Palestinians—including more than 80 children—have starved to death since October 2023. Overall, Israel's assault and siege have left more than 215,000 Palestinians dead, maimed, or missing in Gaza, while forcibly displacing most of the strip's more than 2 million people, often multiple times.
Some observers criticized Macron even as they welcomed Thursday's announcement.
"Why did it take France so long, Mr. Macron?" asked British attorney and activist Shola Mos-Shogbamimu on the social media site X. "Why stand by and watch Israel commit a holocaust for so long?"
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