266

House Democratic subcommittee report outlines web of alleged corruption, wire fraud and pay-to-play schemes

Donald Trump staged a hostile takeover of the US’s 250th anniversary celebration to enrich political allies, harvest voter data and promote Christian nationalist ideology, according to a congressional investigation released on Thursday.

The interim report, “From Vanity to Insanity: How the White House Cheated the American People Out of Their 250th Birthday”, outlines a web of alleged corruption, wire fraud and pay-to-play schemes orchestrated through a shadow corporation embedded within the National Park Foundation (NPF).

The document was produced by Democratic staff of the House of Representatives’ natural resources committee’s oversight and investigations subcommittee. It has not been officially adopted by the committee.

“Under President Donald Trump, this anniversary has been hijacked and perverted into a hotbed of corruption and self-enrichment,” it states, contending that the machinery built for a national commemoration was converted “into an apparatus for raising and spending money in service of the President’s ego, political ideology, and pet projects.”

top 22 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[-] ShredderFeeder@shredderfood.net 69 points 2 weeks ago

And they wonder why nobody gives a fuck this year...

I have fireworks...but not setting them off on the fourth this year...saving them for the day the big-beautiful-obituary hits the newsstands...

Neighbors are gonna be PISSED.

[-] Atelopus-zeteki@fedia.io 44 points 2 weeks ago

They should be pissed. The whole country should be pissed. I was around for the 200th, and it was a celebration of all of us. This is a disgusting multi-day rally for one guy, and not a very impressive one, unless you count the grift. Truly amazing, the biggest grift.

[-] CharlesDarwin@lemmy.world 25 points 2 weeks ago

Republicans ruin everything. No wonder they are balls-deep on King Merdes. Everything he touches turns to shit.

This could have been one of the coolest July 4th in quite some time. Instead, diaper daddy has to get his grubby mitts on it....

[-] ShredderFeeder@shredderfood.net 12 points 2 weeks ago

I've been watching the crowds (or lack therof) for the "Freedom 250" bullshit in DC and laughing my everloving ass off.. What a fucking joke...

First off, it's like 1,000 degrees out right now, NO ONE is going to spend all day at the national mall sweating their balls off for a lame 'state fair'

(It's my understanding that State Fairs are usually in the fall, because they were originally intended to celebrate the harvest (or the end of it to be specific)

[-] CharlesDarwin@lemmy.world 3 points 2 weeks ago

First off, it’s like 1,000 degrees out right now, NO ONE is going to spend all day at the national mall sweating their balls off for a lame ‘state fair’

(It’s my understanding that State Fairs are usually in the fall, because they were originally intended to celebrate the harvest (or the end of it to be specific)

Also the mosquitoes and gnats and those biting flies that the East has can be annoying AF. At least in the late fall, as long as you don't have an overly warm year, most of that is done with.

I cannot imagine hanging out in DC in 100 degree weather in July. Being stuck in a bullshit fair like this on top of it? 🤮

[-] limonfiesta@lemmy.world 5 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

I never understood American patriotism outside of celebrating Sherman's based war crime strategy, and parts of WW2.

On a related note, we need a federal holiday specifically recognizing Sherman's patriotic and glorious March to the Sea.

[-] ShredderFeeder@shredderfood.net 3 points 2 weeks ago

I kind of understand patriotism...what I don't understand is how, in the US, the people who are the "most patriotic" are the ones that usually hate everything about the government...

[-] EntheoNaut@lemmy.ml 5 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

Nah patriotism in the US is a facade for white Christian colonizer nationalism.

Fuck them all.

[-] CharlesDarwin@lemmy.world 3 points 2 weeks ago

Yeah, they usually confuse nationalistic performative bullshit for patriotism. Don't let them steal real patriotism from everyone else.

Just because they plaster the flag (and the flag of racists and traitorous losers, too, WTF?!) all over everything and talk about Jesus and the Constitution .... does not a patriot make.

[-] Thebeardedsinglemalt@lemmy.world 2 points 2 weeks ago

They treat patriotism as a contest and most of their personality.

[-] adarza@lemmy.ca 26 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

president dipshit needs to be paying for this whole failed event out-of-pocket (HIS not ours). taxpayers should not be paying even one cent towards a politically motivated and themed multi-day 'rally'.

[-] CharlesDarwin@lemmy.world 21 points 2 weeks ago

Yeah, no shit.

And almost anyone with two brain cells could have predicted the world's most well-known malignant narcissist was going to do so, of course.

[-] kylie_kraft@lemmy.world 6 points 2 weeks ago

"if it doesn't benefit me personally, then what's it for?"

[-] Rhaedas@fedia.io 11 points 2 weeks ago

Remember, Trump is a symptom of a deeper and older problem. Maybe we should take this anniversary and reflect on the various ways we've screwed up. The 200th was different, as we did have lots of the same issues festering, but there was a feeling of hope to better ourselves. Now we know that was delusional and we should have done some serious housecleaning instead of being so gullible.

[-] samus12345@sh.itjust.works 9 points 2 weeks ago

Of course, Fascism 101.

[-] WanderWisley@lemmy.world 5 points 2 weeks ago

America 250 could have and should have been a once in a lifetime event for everyone to enjoy. Instead we get the donny experience of ruining everything and making it about himself.

[-] BeMoreCareful@lemmy.world 4 points 2 weeks ago

Isn't this why he can't nonprofit in New York anymore? I don't know how anyone could have seen this coming.

[-] Thebeardedsinglemalt@lemmy.world 4 points 2 weeks ago

person who goes out of his way to make everything about him and openly embezzling...makes the celebration of our country try about himself while openly embezzling money

[-] enkille@lemmy.world 3 points 2 weeks ago

i can't believe he acted completely in character!

[-] savvie@lemmy.zip 3 points 2 weeks ago

“How is this day different from any other day?”

[-] UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world 2 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

I can't believe it! To think, someone would transform a hyper-nationalist spectacle full of historical revisionism and militant jingoism into an exercise in political ideology?!

July 4th is supposed to be about things we can all agree on, like the Founding Fathers being Saints and F-35s being the apex aerial combat machine and Liberal Democracy being the perfect political system and England being a loser country full of knobs. We're supposed to slap one another on the back and proclaim in one voice "This is the best country in the world, no cap!"

It's not about politics. Who would be so vulgar as to make the signing of the Declaration of Independence political?!

Thank goodness we have the apolitical organization known as the checks notes minority caucus of the national legislature to look into this.

[-] FreshParsnip@lemmy.ca 1 points 1 week ago

And his supporters are mad at Taylor Swift for having a big celebration on a holiday weekend in the place where people have big celebrations

this post was submitted on 02 Jul 2026
266 points (100.0% liked)

politics

30432 readers
2658 users here now

Welcome to the discussion of US Politics!

Rules:

  1. Post only links to articles, Title must fairly describe link contents. If your title differs from the site’s, it should only be to add context or be more descriptive. Do not post entire articles in the body or in the comments.

Links must be to the original source, not an aggregator like Google Amp, MSN, or Yahoo.

Example:

  1. Articles must be relevant to politics. Links must be to quality and original content. Articles should be worth reading. Clickbait, stub articles, and rehosted or stolen content are not allowed. Check your source for Reliability and Bias here.
  2. Be civil, No violations of TOS. It’s OK to say the subject of an article is behaving like a (pejorative, pejorative). It’s NOT OK to say another USER is (pejorative). Strong language is fine, just not directed at other members. Engage in good-faith and with respect! This includes accusing another user of being a bot or paid actor. Trolling is uncivil and is grounds for removal and/or a community ban.
  3. No memes, trolling, or low-effort comments. Reposts, misinformation, off-topic, trolling, or offensive. Similarly, if you see posts along these lines, do not engage. Report them, block them, and live a happier life than they do. We see too many slapfights that boil down to "Mom! He's bugging me!" and "I'm not touching you!" Going forward, slapfights will result in removed comments and temp bans to cool off.
  4. Vote based on comment quality, not agreement. This community aims to foster discussion; please reward people for putting effort into articulating their viewpoint, even if you disagree with it.
  5. No hate speech, slurs, celebrating death, advocating violence, or abusive language. This will result in a ban. Usernames containing racist, or inappropriate slurs will be banned without warning

We ask that the users report any comment or post that violate the rules, to use critical thinking when reading, posting or commenting. Users that post off-topic spam, advocate violence, have multiple comments or posts removed, weaponize reports or violate the code of conduct will be banned.

All posts and comments will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis. This means that some content that violates the rules may be allowed, while other content that does not violate the rules may be removed. The moderators retain the right to remove any content and ban users.

That's all the rules!

Civic Links

Register To Vote

Citizenship Resource Center

Congressional Awards Program

Federal Government Agencies

Library of Congress Legislative Resources

The White House

U.S. House of Representatives

U.S. Senate

Partnered Communities:

News

World News

Business News

Political Discussion

Ask Politics

Military News

Global Politics

Moderate Politics

Progressive Politics

UK Politics

Canadian Politics

Australian Politics

New Zealand Politics

founded 3 years ago
MODERATORS