Fantastic analysis by @kominmo.bsky.social showing that Russian citizens aren't that excited about veterans of the war in Ukraine holding political office
@szakonyi.bsky.socialDavid Szakonyi
@szakonyi.bsky.social
Associate Professor at George Washington University Co-Founder, Anti-Corruption Data Collective (@acdatacollective.bsky.social) Researching corruption, kleptocracy and authoritarianism in Russia and the West
@szakonyi.bsky.social@szakonyi.bsky.socialDisenfranchised DC residents :)
@szakonyi.bsky.socialthey must have thought they could get away with it because you're so productive and no one would notice
@szakonyi.bsky.socialOur new brief (covered by CNN) shows how easy it is for campaign staff to engage in insider trading
"The Trump administration has embraced prediction companies and is finalizing federal regulations that would allow election markets to keep flourishing"
@acdatacollective.bsky.socialReposted by @szakonyi.bsky.socialOur new Gambling on Democracy briefing examines the growing risk of insider trading on election prediction markets.
“With support from regulators, prediction sites now offer an average of 44 granular markets tied to each individual race” - CNN
@szakonyi.bsky.socialSimply staggering how much public money is flowing to companies connected to the President’s family #CostofTrumpsCorruption /end
@szakonyi.bsky.socialSeparately, Commerce finalized a CHIPS award of up to $100M to PsiQuantum in September 2026. 1789 was one of many investors in its $1B round.
Commerce also proposed $50M in CHIPS incentives for Vulcan under a nonbinding letter of intent
@szakonyi.bsky.socialDHS’s counter-drone program is worth a total of $1.5B
When Anduril missed the “hardware track”, which accounts for most of the cash, the company protested
DHS agreed to re-evaluate, and in September 2026, added Anduril to the hardware track too
@szakonyi.bsky.socialIn November 2025, five months after 1789 Capital began investing, NNSA gave Anduril a counter-drone contract worth up to $140M.
This was a non-competitive bid with only one offer (Anduril).
There have been four orders so far, with $40M obligated
4/
@szakonyi.bsky.socialThat money is largely going to border towers, with CBP placing eight new tower orders worth $568M, including a single $363M deal in December 2025
3/
www.executivebiz.com/articles/cbp-anduril-extended-range-sentry-towers-363m
@szakonyi.bsky.socialExcluding SpaceX, the total is $978M. Anduril accounts for roughly $621M.
1789 Capital is an Anduril investor, but its spokesperson says the stake is not “major.”
2/
@szakonyi.bsky.socialI ran a deep dive on procurement records: companies linked to Don Jr.’s venture firm 1789 Capital have won $4.48B in obligations from civilian agencies since Election Day. Most of it is SpaceX’s long-running NASA work. But the company worth watching is Anduril 1/
@szakonyi.bsky.socialShe also famously does not capitalize her last name
@szakonyi.bsky.socialIncredible AI-generated spam for a book months away from publication Who knew that Fresh Air was pay-to-play!
@szakonyi.bsky.socialOutrageous self-dealing by the president. Just no constraints on his profit-seeking
@acdatacollective.bsky.socialReposted by @szakonyi.bsky.socialKalshi has announced more context on its election markets: a small but welcome step in the right direction.
Election markets will display an accuracy score, flag low-volume markets, and show individual trades in real time, the company said.
www.politico.com/live-updates... @aidreit.bsky.social
@szakonyi.bsky.socialshameless corruption
@szakonyi.bsky.socialit turns out you can prosecute high-ranking members of past administrations for corruption
@szakonyi.bsky.socialThe tide may be turning: politicians can’t spend their way out of ethics scandals. TX polls aren't moving under a deluge of cash
@szakonyi.bsky.socialgreat work! if only they'd grant legitimate interest access...