This is an adapted excerpt from the Oct. 8 episode of “All In with Chris Hayes.”
We have just over three weeks until the midterm elections — and voters are mad. They are frustrated with the war and the cost of living. But there is another issue near the top of voters’ minds: corruption.
That issue is suddenly a front-and-center concern in a lot of races because we are living through what appears to be the most corrupt administration in American history.
It’s not just President Donald Trump. It’s everywhere you look: From people notorious for conflicts of interest, like Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, to people you might not have even heard of, the whole enterprise arguably functions as a bunch of grifters grifting and using their positions to enrich themselves.
Like the former fiancée of Donald Trump Jr., Kimberly Guilfoyle, the current U.S. ambassador to Greece. The Wall Street Journal reported that when Guilfoyle was preparing for her confirmation hearing last year, she told a Trump donor she needed $100,000 from him — and she did not want to leave a paper trail. According to texts reviewed by the Journal, she texted him a link with the message: “You could just send it here. It won’t show up anywhere if you wire money to American Express that’s all that will show.”
Trump and his family — the whole administration, not just his actual relatives — are feeding from a full trough while you are paying $4.50 for a gallon of gas.
Guilfoyle also reportedly warned the donor, Eric Deters, not to discuss money or payments in text, writing: “Eric, I really wish you would stop papering all these things. It’s really dangerous and not helpful to you or me while you could simply just call me on signal.”
An attorney for Guilfoyle challenged the authenticity of those texts but didn’t provide any specifics. And the Journal reported that Deters has his own history of credibility issues.
This comes just two weeks after another report from the Journal that Guilfoyle traveled with a 39-year-old Greek energy lobbyist, brought him to meetings with foreign officials and talked up his businesses. A U.S. Embassy official told the Journal that, in that case, she was in “full compliance with State Department guidance.”
But it’s not just a one-off. Take David Milstein, a staffer for U.S. Ambassador Mike Huckabee in Israel and the stepson of far-right broadcaster Mark Levin.
Last month Milstein, a top-secret-cleared official, took heat after Politico reported that he sent wedding guests a Sept. 16 invitation soliciting monetary gifts in U.S. dollars or Israeli shekels through a QR code.
After being asked whether the solicitation had State Department and White House approval, Milstein said the message was meant only for family and close friends seeking registry information, was mistakenly sent to a broader list and that he and his partner could not accept gifts.
As Politico reported, “It’s unclear whether any monetary gifts changed hands in the days between the invitation and Saturday, when Milstein says he took down the codes.”
This week, the Times also reported that, on her last day running the Department of Homeland Security, Kristi Noem bought five massive airplanes from a contractor for tens of millions more than they appeared to be worth, including a luxury 737 featuring a bar, a bedroom, a marble shower and a large dining room.
According to the Times, the chair of the company that sold those planes, William Walters, gave $10,000 to Noem’s political action committee in 2024. The company told the paper Walters did not know the group was associated with Noem at the time — though it existed to support her and its website prominently displayed a photo of her face.
The Times reported that Noem, now a special envoy at the State Department, declined to answer specific questions about the sale. Instead, she appeared to throw her replacement, Markwayne Mullin, under the bus, saying the purchase was completed under his tenure.
This all comes just after the Journal reported that Noem’s former top aide at DHS, Corey Lewandowski, sought to be paid by officials from Qatar and the United Arab Emirates in exchange for access. Lewandowski denied seeking any contracts with foreign governments.
And on Thursday, The Financial Times reported that Katie Wiles, the daughter of White House chief of staff Susie Wiles, is working for a U.S. lobbying firm that represents Republika Srpska, a small Serbian enclave in Bosnia that is aligned with Vladimir Putin’s Russia.
According to The Financial Times, in mid-August, Katie Wiles traveled to Republika Srpska on a trip organized by the lobbying firm, which was founded by Carlos Trujillo, an adviser on Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign.
Last month, Susie Wiles held a meeting with the top-ranking Serb in Bosnia’s government in Washington. A White House official told The Financial Times that the request for that meeting came from Alex Garcia, a partner at Continental Strategy who served as deputy political director of the president’s 2024 campaign.
A White House official told The Financial Times that Susie Wiles does not discuss work matters with her daughters. Continental Strategy said Katie Wiles August trip to Republika Srpska was on behalf of a separate client and that she had never spoken with any U.S. government officials about Republika Srpska.
It’s probably just a coincidence that two of Trump’s other longtime top political advisers, including his former campaign manager, Chris LaCivita, were also advising Republika Srpska’s Russia-aligned candidates ahead of elections there last Sunday.
That is all just the new stuff. It doesn’t include the many other instances of alleged corruption from members of Trump’s inner circle since he returned to the White House.
Of course, they are all acting this way because the guy at the very top — a guy whose whole con was that he was this brilliant businessman, when in fact he was just a legacy case who received a big inheritance from his father, one he squandered multiple times.
But now, he has actually found a business model that works, which is being the most corrupt president in the history of presidents.
It works a lot like a crime family: “The Don” has his people’s backs. He makes sure everybody gets their fiefdoms. They can get their beaks wet. But they’ve always got to make sure they’re giving the boss his due and keeping him happy.
You know who has thoughts on how this is supposed to work? The people who are paying into it, like that donor involved in Guilfoyle’s alleged corruption scandal, Deters.
On Thursday, he told MS NOW’s Peter Alexander that he thought she was a “grifter” and said he believed Guilfoyle and other Trump administration officials had “done this to more than me.” Deter also slammed the president and his sons for “getting rich out in the open.”
However, when Alexander asked whether Deter regretted voting for Trump, he said “no” and told him he “would vote for Trump and MAGA candidates again.”
That’s cronyism in a nutshell. That’s how Trump and his family — the whole administration, not just his actual relatives — are feeding from a full trough while you are paying $4.50 for a gallon of gas.
Allison Detzel contributed.
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