Steamroll of the Dice

“Last fall, a high-stakes struggle unfolded inside the red brick walls of an obscure federal agency. Three companies — each with ties to the Trump family’s business empire — needed the Commodity Futures Trading Commission to bless their ambitions in the white-hot field of prediction markets.” You can probably predict what happened. NYT (Gift Article): How Prediction Markets and Crypto Firms Steamrolled a Watchdog Agency. “By Christmas, the agency had put two top officials who had raised questions about the companies on leave, barred them from the office and placed them under internal investigation. Three other senior officials who had enforced laws involving cryptocurrencies — another industry linked to the Trumps — suffered the same fate. None of those officials were told what they had done wrong. But current and former agency staffers said in interviews that the commission’s work force took away a clear message: Don’t cause trouble for those industries.”

+ If you’re still not getting the picture, maybe this headline will help. Trump promotes unregulated online casino after $1 million Super PAC donation.

+ Anyone sensing a trend? A $5 Million Donation From Big Tobacco Preceded F.D.A. Vape Decision.