A new investigation has revealed what many are calling one of the most serious corruption scandals in U.S. history, centered on President Donald Trump, his family’s business dealings, and U.S. national security.
According to a detailed report from *The New York Times*, the Trump administration approved a deal granting the United Arab Emirates access to hundreds of thousands of advanced artificial intelligence chips—some of the most valuable and restricted technologies in the world—just days after a UAE royal family–linked investment firm poured \$2 billion into World Liberty Financial, a cryptocurrency startup tied to Trump’s family and the family of his Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff.
The timing has raised alarms. The investigation, which included interviews with more than 75 people, did not uncover direct proof that the cash infusion and the chip deal were formally connected. The White House insists the two matters were unrelated. Still, ethics experts told the Times that the back-to-back arrangements violated long-standing American norms designed to keep presidential families from mixing public power with private financial gain.
The concern is heightened by the stakes. These AI chips are scarce and critical in the global race for artificial intelligence dominance. U.S. security officials have warned for years about the dangers of these technologies falling into the hands of countries that could share them with China, America’s main competitor in the field. Yet Trump’s team reportedly allowed the UAE access without demanding any major geopolitical concessions in return.
Observers across politics, law, and international affairs expressed shock. Ryan Cummings, chief of staff at the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research, called it “the largest public corruption scandal in the history of the United States, and it’s not even close.” Laura Rozen, a veteran foreign policy journalist, questioned whether Witkoff, who helped broker the UAE ties, was too focused on money-making ventures to handle urgent diplomatic issues such as Israel-Gaza hostage negotiations or the war in Ukraine.
Alasdair Phillips-Robins of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace criticized the deal as extraordinarily one-sided, saying the U.S. seemed to give away access to technology before getting anything in return. Jacob Silverman, an independent journalist who has written extensively on tech and politics, went further, calling the revelations “impeachable” and describing them as “incredible corruption.”
The scandal doesn’t stop with the crypto investment. Trump has also faced scrutiny for accepting a luxury jet from Qatar’s government, which he plans to use during his presidency and then transfer to his future presidential library. This arrangement raises even more concerns about foreign governments gaining influence over the U.S. president through lavish gifts and business entanglements.
Taken together, the revelations paint a picture of a presidency deeply intertwined with private business deals involving foreign governments, blurring the line between public duty and personal enrichment. For critics, it’s evidence not just of poor judgment but of a White House willing to trade U.S. national security and diplomatic leverage for personal financial gain. For some, it’s the clearest case yet that Trump’s actions in office may meet the constitutional threshold for impeachment.
