Conflicts of Interest

• The Trump Administration Approved a Big Lithium Mine. A Top Official’s Husband Profited. - Karen Budd-Falen, the No. 3 at the Interior Department, didn’t disclose a $3.5 million water-rights contract between her husband and the developers of a Nevada mine, records show.
• A Study Is Retracted, Renewing Concerns About the Weedkiller Roundup - Problems with a 25-year-old landmark paper on the safety of Roundup’s active ingredient, glyphosate, have led to calls for the E.P.A. to reassess the widely used chemical.
• After Watergate, the Presidency Was Tamed. Trump Is Unleashing It. - In the 1970s, Congress passed a raft of laws to hold the White House accountable. President Trump has decided they don’t apply to him.
• White House Invitees Are Asked About Donations to Trump’s Ballroom - Senator Richard Blumenthal is requesting information from an architect hired to oversee the ballroom design and people invited to a donor dinner with the president.
• Pelosi Long Resisted Stock-Trading Ban for Congress, Fueling Suspicion - The former speaker failed to appreciate the groundswell of support for banning the practice, refusing to give an inch amid G.O.P. accusations that she was corrupt.
• Bessent Divested From Soybean Farms After Ethics Office Warning - The Treasury Secretary said on Sunday he recently shed his holdings to comply with his federal ethics agreement.
• Silicon Valley’s Man in the White House Is Benefiting Himself and His Friends - David Sacks, the Trump administration’s A.I. and crypto czar, has helped formulate policies that aid his Silicon Valley friends and many of his own tech investments.