Dem
47
GOP
53
This story might be more significant than the Hunter Biden pardon. In fact, it may be WAY more significant. And yet, it's getting a tiny fraction of the attention. We will leave it to readers to decide for themselves why that might be (for our part, we can think of numerous possibilities).
This weekend, we had a question about whether or not Donald Trump would be able to skim a million dollars here, and a million dollars there, from the federal budget. Our answer was that it would be difficult and risky, and that there are better ways for him to enrich himself, using his outside businesses. It took a grand total of 48 hours before we got an object lesson in exactly how he might do that.
Recall that the Trump family recently got into the crypto game, with a project called World Liberty Financial (WLF). It is hard to call WLF a business, because the crypto it sells is currently not "currency." The only thing that you get if you buy it is the right to vote when decisions are made about WLF. And that is not likely to change anytime soon, or maybe ever, making WLF a rather poor "investment."
In view of this, WLF hasn't been doing too well, and looked like it might be headed for the same graveyard as Trump Vodka, Trump Steaks, Trump Airlines, etc. However, over the weekend, it got a huge "investment" from Justin Sun, who is a crypto entrepreneur (and a Chinese national, incidentally). Here is Sun announcing his new purchase:
We are thrilled to invest $30 million in World Liberty Financial @worldlibertyfi as its largest investor. The U.S. is becoming the blockchain hub, and Bitcoin owes it to @realDonaldTrump! TRON is committed to making America great again and leading innovation. Let's go!
Sun is generally trying to cultivate an image as a wild and crazy guy who might do something unpredictable at any time—sort of a Richard Branson on steroids. Readers may have seen the story about the "investor" who bought an artwork composed of a banana duct-taped to a wall for $6.2 million a little over a week ago? Well, the buyer was Sun, and he promptly ate the banana. This used to be called conspicuous consumption. It brings to mind the potlatches practiced by some Native American tribes in the Pacific Northwest and Canada. People would spend hundreds of hours making intricate blankets and other items and then they would ceremonially burn them (or give them away) as a statement of: "I am so rich I can afford to lose this valuable property."
Turning back to WLF, let us now point out how the venture is structured. Under the terms of incorporation, the first $30 million in income goes into the bank for operating costs. Thereafter, 75% of all income goes right to the Trumps. Prior to Sun's "investment," WLF's take was $22 million. Add in the Sun money, subtract the "into the bank" money, and calculate 75% of the residue, and the upshot is that Sun just gave the Trumps a $16.5 million holiday bonus. Or, if you prefer, a $16.5 million bribe.
Now, what might Sun be interested in here? Maybe he's a MAGA True Believer and just wants to support the movement. Or maybe this is part of his public branding as a wacky guy who does wacky things. Or possibly this is some lobbying on behalf of the Chinese government, so as to influence the President-elect's thinking about tariffs. Or maybe, just maybe, Sun is worried about the fact that he's been charged with securities fraud by the SEC, and he could sure use a friend who could help him out with that. Sun says he's not looking for anything in exchange for his "investment." If you believe that, then please do contact us, because we have a banana we'd like to sell you. At only $2 million, it's a bargain compared to what some other bananas are going for. You do have to provide your own duct tape and wall, however (although we do have a used roll of tape available for $2,500).
In any case, are we crazy in thinking that the incoming president taking what appears to be a $16.5 million bribe is a much bigger story than the outgoing president letting his kid off the hook? Heck, even the banana art story has gotten more coverage than the WLF "investment." (Z)