Elizabeth Warren Has The Receipts: 'Bribery In Plain Sight' Funding Trump's Library

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) is raising the stakes after accusing Paramount Global (NASDAQ:PARA)(NASDAQ:PARAA) of potential bribery in its settlement with President Donald Trump.

Here's who the senator believes could be bribing the president for favorable outcomes.

What Happened: Several public companies helped fund Donald Trump's inauguration and also a military parade on July 4. Some of those companies may have done so to settle past bad relations with Trump or to encourage favorable outcomes moving forward.

Warren believes companies are now donating money to Trump's future presidential library to seek favorable outcomes.

Warren's report questions the donations as "bribery in plain sight?"

The senator said over $63 million has been donated to the future presidential library from companies, according to a report from HuffPost. Donations from special interest groups bring the total of donations to over $500 million, according to the report.

"The timing of these donations — coming while Trump sits in office and makes critical decisions that may impact the same donors — raises serious ethical concerns about potential bribery and influence-peddling," Warren said.

Here are companies named in Warren's report and a look at why the donations could be questionable according to the senator:

Paramount Global: Donating $16 million to presidential library as part of settlement from the "60 Minutes" lawsuit. Donation could be made to help complete the company's merger with Skydance, which requires approval from the Trump administration.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META): Donating $22 million to presidential library. Donation comes after Trump previously sued the social media company for having his Facebook and Instagram accounts banned. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg also donated $1 million to Trump's inauguration and attended the ceremony.

ABC News, a unit of Walt Disney Co (NYSE:DIS): Donating $15 million to the presidential library, which comes as the company settled a defamation suit with Trump. ABC News settled in 2024 after Trump had won the 2025 election.

X: Donating $10 million to the presidential library. The company owned by Elon Musk similarly banned Trump from its platform and reinstated him and settled a lawsuit over the ban. Musk and Trump had a strong relationship until a recent falling out. Musk's companies X, Tesla and SpaceX have federal contracts and could be impacted by the Trump administration for current and future contract awards.

Qatari Government: Donating $400 million jet to Trump that will later be transferred to Trump's presidential library. The donation could be seen as a potential move to land favorable deals and relationships between the two countries.

Instant Pot: Donating proceeds from Trump-themed "45/47 Collaboration" to the future presidential library.

Lenox Corporation: Donating proceeds from Trump-themed products to future presidential library. Company sells tableware and collectibles and has future plans for a line of porcelain dinnerware with Trump's face.

Soho Apparel Group: Donating proceeds to future presidential library. Apparel supplier has plans for launching Trump-inspired merchandise.

"We could be seeing giant companies like Paramount and Meta and foreign countries like Qatar pay Trump off in plain sight. Government should work for the American people, not just whichever giant company or foreign government can dump the most money into the president's future library," Warren added.

Money raised from dinners hosted by Trump at Mar-a-Lago, attended by business leaders, is also going toward his future presidential library.

Did You Know?

• Congress Is Making Huge Investments. Get Tips On What They Bought And Sold With Our Easy-to-Use Tool

What's Next: Warren's report is meant to raise concerns about the ethics surrounding the donations. The report said that leftover funds from Trump's inauguration fund are also expected to be sent to his library fund.

With Warren's report, the senator and a group of Democrats in Congress are now pushing the Presidential Library Anti-Corruption Act of 2025, as reported by Variety.

"This boils down to a simple question: Who does the government work for? We believe it works for the American people, not ‘foreign nationals' or multibillion-dollar corporations that donate millions of dollars to a president's library," Warren told reporters Wednesday.

With the backing of only Democratic members of Congress, the bill could struggle to gain traction in the Republican-controlled Congress, which has mostly shown loyalty to Trump.

"Presidential libraries should be monuments to history, not backdoor vehicles for influence," the sponsors of the bill said.

While there are laws around donations to presidential campaigns or inaugural committees, there are not currently restrictions on donations to presidential libraries, the lawmakers said. This means presidents can try to win over donations and use them through their library fund without restriction, according to the report.

Under the terms of the Presidential Library Anti-Corruption Act, presidents would not be able to fundraise for their library outside of donations from nonprofits until they leave office. The bill would also require quarterly disclosures of donations of $200 or more made while a president is in office and for up to five years after leaving.

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