“Donald Trump Jr was handed about $300,000 worth of equity in Kalshi after joining the prediction market platform as a strategic adviser in early 2025” [1].

If you’re in a state with a Democrat AG which is also pursuing Kalshi in court, look up your state’s bribery laws and see if your AG can open an investigation into criminal conduct under state law.

[1] https://www.ft.com/content/f70147b1-ee77-4d75-8587-707a49ddb...

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0xy 3 days ago | parent | next [-]

Unfortunately this is routine and common. The Biden family received over a million dollars from Chinese state energy company State Energy HK, among other conflicts of interest.

This stuff goes back decades, and I suspect both parties look the other way because when they get in power they're doing the exact same thing.

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tzs 3 days ago | parent [-]

> The Biden family received over a million dollars from Chinese state energy company State Energy HK

...at a time when no Biden family member held elected office or was running for elected office and no Biden family member worked for the federal government.

Are you seriously going to compare that to things the Trump family does while Trump is President?!

	▲	0xy a day ago \| parent [-]
		What about the things Hunter did while Biden was SoS? That's a pretty direct link given Biden pressured Ukraine to fire a prosecutor that was entangled with his son's business dealings.

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mrandish 3 days ago | parent | prev [-]

If their lawyers are at all competent, they structured it so it's not illegal (though it's pretty obviously adjacent to bribery). With both houses of Congress turning blue, I 'predict' they'll dump Don Jr by the end of January to claw back the remaining unvested equity.

Hey, maybe we can get that listed as a bet!

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JumpCrisscross 3 days ago | parent [-]

> they structured it so it's not illegal (though it's pretty obviously adjacent to bribery)

Maybe. One usually can't structure around criminal law. If they managed to, somehow, the Congress needs to investigate to amend the law to ensure you can't structure around obvious bribery.

Either way, a criminal investigation by the states is warranted.

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mrandish 3 days ago | parent [-]

> One usually can't structure around criminal law.

I don't see how that applies in this context which is pretty simple. The transaction with Don Jr. was a board advisory role in exchange for equity. Broadly, bribery is "paying to influence the actions or decisions of a public official." Don Jr. isn't an official. He signed a contract to provide board advisory services. The contract wouldn't say anything about anything else. I've been a board advisor and signed a similar contract (if not the same one, they're quite pro forma).

Absent a secret recording establishing payment for influence, there's nothing to prove bribery. Do I think making him an advisor was done in the hope it would influence his father to promote and sign favorable legislation? Yep. Do I think there's any chance evidence exists to prosecute that? Nope.

A Democrat controlled congressional committee can certainly issue subpoenas, have a public hearing and ask Don Jr and/or the company CEO a bunch of leading questions - and all the answers will deny any quid pro quo or wrongdoing. Personally, I think the companies probably knew giving Don Jr. a bunch of money wasn't a very reliable way to ensure Trump's cooperation. It's quite clear that Trump demands loyalty from all but gives none in return. I think their main bet was that hiring Don Jr. would cause potential investors and business partners to infer the company had lower regulatory risk, making the net cost of investment capital lower. Dumb, but that stuff actually works to some extent.

	▲	JumpCrisscross 3 days ago \| parent [-]
		> bribery is "paying to influence the actions or decisions of a public official." Don Jr. isn't an official Nadine Menendez wasn't an official. She still went to jail for corruption [1]. > Absent a secret recording establishing payment for influence, there's nothing to prove bribery Or a text. Or demonstration of policy moves by the Trump administration that benefited Kalshi. Even if the criminal investigation doesn't yield proof beyond reasonable doubt, it could then be turned into a civil case against Kalshi's officers and Don Jr. > Democrat controlled congressional committee Sure. It should also be pursued by state AGs. Trump can't pardon a state conviction. [1] https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/pr/nadine-menendez-sentenc...