Donald Shaw

Ashfield

Reporter, Co-Founder and Editor at Sludge

Reporter at @sludge, an independent, anti-corruption newsroom

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Articles

Republicans Are Just Wrong About the SAVE Act and Real ID

1 week ago | readsludge.com | Donald Shaw |Byron Donalds

💡Share this on X and Bluesky!Last Friday, Rep.
Granholm Cashes In

1 week ago | readsludge.com | Donald Shaw

💡Share this on X and Bluesky!Jennifer Granholm, fresh off her role as Biden’s Energy Secretary, is now drawing paychecks from firms tied to fossil fuel and utility interests that lobbied her while she shaped U.S. energy policy.
Trump Picks Apollo Co-Founder’s Son for DFC After Firm Shows Interest in X Debt

2 weeks ago | readsludge.com | Donald Shaw

💡Share this on Bluesky and X!Private equity firm Apollo Global Management and its billionaire co-founder Leon Black are poised to gain a direct link to the Trump administration. On January 31, 2025, President Donald Trump nominated Ben Black—Leon’s 40-year-old son and a former Apollo associate—to serve as CEO of the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC).
MTG Bought Treasuries Ahead of Market Crash

2 weeks ago | readsludge.com | Donald Shaw

💡Share this on Bluesky or X!Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), a close ally of President Donald Trump, invested as much as $750,000 in U.S. Treasury bonds from mid- to late March, according to transaction disclosures reviewed by Sludge. The purchases, made in three transactions between March 17 and March 25, align with her vocal support for Trump’s recently imposed tariffs—policies that have triggered a sharp decline in stock markets.
SpaceX Poised for Massive Profit From Pentagon Rocket Initiative

3 weeks ago | readsludge.com | Donald Shaw |David Moore

🚀Share this on Bluesky and X!A federal rocket program that could be massively profitable for Elon Musk’s SpaceX was quietly pushed forward by the Trump administration last month. In a notice of proposed action posted on March 3, the Air Force announced its plan to construct a testing and demonstration site on the remote Johnston Atoll—a decommissioned military atoll 700 nautical miles from Hawaii—for up to 40 test reentry vehicle landings to be conducted over four years.
Former Wiles Client Boosted by Mining EO

3 weeks ago | readsludge.com | Donald Shaw

💡Share this on Bluesky, Facebook, and X!A former client of President Trump’s Chief of Staff Susie Wiles and megabundler Brian Ballard saw its stock price skyrocket last week following the signing of an executive order on mining. On March 20, Trump signed an executive order titled “Immediate Measures to Increase American Mineral Production,” aimed at boosting domestic mining and reducing U.S. reliance on foreign critical minerals like copper, uranium, and gold.
Trump Has Already Let 100 Companies Off the Hook

3 weeks ago | readsludge.com | Donald Shaw

🗞️Share this news on X, Facebook, and Bluesky!The Trump administration has dropped, withdrawn, or halted over 100 corporate investigations and enforcement actions within its first two months in office, according to an analysis by Public Citizen. That’s 20% of all the active corporate enforcement actions that Public Citizen was tracking as of the end of the Biden administration. Public Citizen’s research director Rick Claypool expects the dropped cases will lead to more corporate abuse.
Exxon Consultant Revolves Back to DOE

4 weeks ago | readsludge.com | Donald Shaw

📲Share this on Bluesky, Facebook, and X!You’ve likely heard about Trump’s selection of fracking CEO Chris Wright to serve as Energy Secretary, but there is another nominee with fossil fuel company ties that Trump has selected to serve alongside Wright at the Department of Energy (DOE) who has received less attention. Keep reading with a free trial Unlock this article and get unlimited access to Sludge with a 14-day free trial. No commitment — cancel any time.
‘Blatantly Pro-Corruption’: Trump Guts Anti-Money Laundering Rule

1 month ago | readsludge.com | Donald Shaw

💡Share this on Bluesky, Facebook, and X!The Trump administration has gutted a key anti-corruption tool meant to combat illicit finance through opaque shell companies. The rollback protects donors who use shell companies to conceal their identities or make illegal political contributions.
Dems Double Down on Fundraising From SpaceX and Palantir Lobbyists

1 month ago | readsludge.com | Donald Shaw |David Moore

💡Share this on Bluesky, Facebook, and X!They’ve done it again. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) has taken in another $1.3 million from lobbyists at Invariant—the bipartisan firm representing Trump-friendly companies SpaceX and Palantir—according to a new FEC filing.