#political-donations

#political-donations

Nigel Farage is facing a formal investigation by the parliamentary standards watchdog over a 5m gift from the crypto billionaire Christopher Harborne. The Reform UK leader received the money weeks before announcing he would stand as a candidate in the 2024 general election. Farage has said the gift, first revealed by the Guardian, was intended to cover his personal security costs and therefore did not need to be declared.

The BBC understands that the Parliamentary Standards Commissioner has decided to begin an inquiry into whether the Reform leader Nigel Farage has breached the House of Commons Code of Conduct over accepting a 5m gift and not declaring it.

Thiel told Fortune in an interview that he will be "less involved" in the forthcoming presidential election, though he does intend to vote for the Republican candidate. And he confirmed for the first time an earlier report that, citing sources familiar with his thinking, he would not financially support any of the candidates. Thiel said that while there were "a lot of different, complicated reasons" for his decision not to donate, he isn't convinced that money matters at the presidential level.

“The secretary will be meeting with Mr. Hamm at 5 PM in the Pearl Mesa room,” Burgum's aide later confirmed. Few Americans have such access to top government officials, but Hamm and Burgum have tight ties that go back to Burgum's tenure as the governor of North Dakota.

Marling donated $675,000 in the GOP primary, accounting for roughly two-thirds of the amount spent by a super PAC opposed to Crenshaw. Marling's contributions bankrolled a stream of mailers and TV ads that have inundated Crenshaw's southeastern Texas district since the beginning of the year.

Now that obsequiousness could be coming back to haunt them. As reported by MIT Technology Review, activists critical of the Trump administration and the actions of Immigration and Customs Enforcement have started a campaign called QuitGPT, urging regular users to ditch OpenAI's chatbot for good. So far, the campaign boasts over 700,000 supporters of the boycott. The QuitGPT website lists a few different ways to participate: quitting ChatGPT outright, cancelling paid subscriptions, and spreading the word about the boycott with others on social media.

That Supreme Court decision, Buckley v. Valeo, happens to turn 50 years old this week. It's Buckley, and not the often-excoriated 2010 Roberts court decision in Citizens United v. FEC, that created the conditions for the ultrawealthy to transform their vastly unequal economic power into lopsided political power, and for a billionaire like Elon Musk to contribute a staggering $291 million to help elect Republican candidates, including Donald Trump, in 2024.

Rogers insisted he was a very progressive person who cares deeply about winning these elections, but my phrasing was not right. I will be more thoughtful! I really do promise. He added, I have great respect and admiration for Rep. Crockett, and I regret that my words suggested otherwise. I just want us to win and I will be better at finding ways to help.

Netanyahu said - antisemitism spreads when leaders stay silent. "Nothing to do with Isreal committing genocide in Palestine then. Netanyahu wants antisemitism to be a thing, it validates him - he acts to make it so."

As we wrap up 2025, we're looking at the year's biggest winners: the people, companies, products and trends that made the most impact over the year. Almost at the top of the pile, of course, are the tech billionaires. According to a recent report by Oxfam, the 10 richest US billionaires (who are all tech leaders, save for Warren Buffet) increased their wealth by $698 billion in 2025. Some of that has been spent treating and lavishing donations on President Trump.

We had to go in and clean up the mess for them, and this is part of the continued cleanup. A lot of money has been transferred from the individuals who committed this fraud, including those who donated to the governor, donated to representative Omar and to AG Ellison. They have been transferred to something called MBSs these are Money Bureau Services, and they are wire transfer organizations that are outside the regulated banking system.

His comments at a New York Times finance summit underscored the governor's balancing act with the tech industry, even as his relationship with its major businesses has been strained by Trump this year. Though he has excoriated law firms and universities for selling out to Trump administration demands this year even threatening to pull state funding from California universities that sign certain agreements with the president Newsom has walked a finer line when it comes to tech.

I confirmed that I was supportive. I knew that the decision was for the secretary of state to take and I replied on the basis that the decision had been taken. In retrospect, it would have been better if I had not been given the note or confirmed that I was content with the appointment. This was an unfortunate error for which I express my sincere regret.

The move marks a significant shift for Bamford, who has donated over £9 million to the Conservatives and was one of Boris Johnson's key financial backers, even hosting the former prime minister's wedding celebration. Bamford, a long-time Brexit supporter who helped bankroll the Vote Leave campaign, has not previously donated to Farage's party. However, his company sponsored Reform UK's annual conference in September and has featured prominently in Farage's campaign events.

systemic weaknesses

Companies that have recently donated to Labour were awarded contracts worth almost 138m during the party's first year in government, according to new research that raises fresh concerns about the relationship between political donations and public spending. A report by the thinktank Autonomy Institute has identified more than 100 companies that have given money to political parties and then won government contracts, under both Conservative and Labour administrations.