Transportation Secretary Duffy filmed a reality show, funded by firms he regulates; NPR, May 12, 2026

Rachel Treisman, NPR; Transportation Secretary Duffy filmed a reality show, funded by firms he regulates

"On Monday, the nonprofit government watchdog group Citizens for Ethics and Responsibility in Washington (CREW) filed a complaint with Transportation's Office of Inspector General, accusing Duffy of violating federal gift and travel rules, and calling on the Department of Transportation's Office of Inspector General to investigate.

"You have everyday Americans who are struggling with the price of gas, struggling with the costs of everyday items, and you have the cabinet secretary announcing that he is going on a trip with his entire family, which appears to have been funded by the industries that his department is overseeing," CREW president Donald Sherman tells NPR...

As the trailer made the rounds on social media, many commenters asked how the trip was paid for. Some worried it was costing taxpayers, while others said its product placement — like the Toyota car, a Japanese brand, prominently featured in the video — raised questions of corruption. Sherman, of CREW, agrees.

"One has to wonder whether the decision to prominently feature Toyota in this project is because Toyota paid for a sponsorship or because the secretary actually thinks that promoting Toyota is in the best interest of the American public, American automakers and the people that work for that industry," he said."...

The Great American Road Trip Inc. describes itself as an independent nonprofit 501(c)(4) organization, "fully funding its own efforts to celebrate and share America's story." (An IRS database search did not yield any results for an organization by that name, and Barnes did not respond to NPR's requests for an identification number.)

The nonprofit's website lists over a dozen sponsors "powering America's road trip," most of which are in the travel or transportation industry. They include Toyota, Boeing and Royal Caribbean, which Sherman says have been subject to investigation — and in some cases, fines — by the Department of Transportation in recent years "and certainly could be in the future."

"[The nonprofit] has become a vehicle for providing access, to its sponsors, to a cabinet secretary, which should make everyday Americans who cannot pay for similar access really concerned," Sherman adds."

Duffy’s ‘Great American Road Trip’ Prompts Ethical Concerns; The New York Times, May 13, 2026

Karoun Demirjian, The New York Times; Duffy’s ‘Great American Road Trip’ Prompts Ethical Concerns

"On May 1, Sean P. Duffy was in New Orleans, touring its container terminals in his official capacity as the secretary of transportation.

Then, he climbed behind the wheel of a car with his family on the final, all-expenses paid stop for “The Great American Road Trip,” a slickly produced YouTube series that has raised questions about self-promotion and gifts his family may have accepted as he conducted official business as a prominent member of the Trump administration.

The series, filmed across 10 states and Washington, D.C., over the course of seven months, is part of the department’s commemoration of the 250th anniversary of the United States this year. But it doubled as a set of family excursions for Mr. Duffy, his wife and his children, who traveled to national parks and major landmarks paid for by Great American Road Trip Inc., a nonprofit that names among its sponsors Toyota, United Airlines and Boeing.

Mr. Duffy has said that ethics and budget officials in the department cleared the project. But the corporate ties — and the show’s timing, with gas prices rising — drew immediate blowback on social media when the trailer was released, announcing that it will air beginning in June. The average price of gas has gone up more than 40 percent since the war with Iran started in February."

Former DOJ ethics official sounds off on Bondi exit; CNN, April 3, 2026

CNN; Former DOJ ethics official sounds off on Bondi exit

"A former Justice Department ethics official fired by Pam Bondi last year speaks out on her departure."

Is Trump profiting off America's 250th? Ethics groups question merch; USA TODAY, April 2, 2026

Karissa Waddick , USA TODAY; Is Trump profiting off America's 250th? Ethics groups question merch

"Ethics groups point to the for-sale items as part of a growing list of evidence they say suggests the president is hijacking bipartisan plans for the milestone commemoration to benefit his personal interests."

OpenAI to work with Pentagon after Anthropic dropped by Trump over company’s ethics concerns; The Guardian, February 28, 2026

Adam Gabbatt and Dara Kerr, The Guardian; OpenAI to work with Pentagon after Anthropic dropped by Trump over company’s ethics concerns

CEO Sam Altman claims military will not use AI product for autonomous killing systems or mass surveillance

"OpenAI said it had struck a deal with the Pentagon to supply AI to classified US military networks, hours after Donald Trump ordered the government to stop using the services of one of the company’s main competitors.

Sam Altman, OpenAI’s CEO, announced the move on Friday night. It came after an agreement between Anthropic, a rival AI company that runs the Claude system, and the Trump administration broke down after Anthropic sought assurances its technology would not be used for mass surveillance – nor for autonomous weapons systems that can kill people without human input.

Announcing the deal, Altman insisted that OpenAI’s agreement with the government included assurances that it would not be used to those ends.

“Two of our most important safety principles are prohibitions on domestic mass surveillance and human responsibility for the use of force, including for autonomous weapon systems,” Altman wrote on X. He added that the Pentagon “agrees with these principles, reflects them in law and policy, and we put them into our agreement”.

Altman also said he hoped the Pentagon would “offer these same terms to all AI companies” as a way to “de-escalate away from legal and governmental actions and toward reasonable agreements”."

Another Trump Financial Conflict, This Time With Nuclear Power; The New York Times, December 19, 2025

Rebecca F. Elliott and Brad Plumer , The New York Times; Another Trump Financial Conflict, This Time With Nuclear Power

"A Trump-sponsored business is once again betting on an industry that the president has championed, further entwining his personal fortunes in sectors that his administration is both supporting and overseeing.

This one is in the nuclear power sector. TAE Technologies, which is developing fusion energy, said on Thursday that it planned to merge with Trump Media & Technology Group. President Trump is the largest shareholder of the money-losing social media and crypto investing firm that bears his name, and he will remain a major investor in the combined company.

The deal, should it be completed, would put Mr. Trump in competition with other energy companies over which his administration holds financial and regulatory sway. Already, the president has sought to speed up safety reviews of new nuclear power plants and lower thresholds for acceptable radiation exposure.

“Having the president and his family have a large stake in a particular energy source is very problematic,” said Peter A. Bradford, who previously served on the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the independent agency that oversees the industry."

‘Things Happen’: Trump Brushes Off the Murder of Khashoggi; The New York Times, November 18, 2025

 Shawn McCreesh, The New York Times; ‘Things Happen’: Trump Brushes Off the Murder of Khashoggi

"“Things happen.”

That was how President Trump described the murder of the columnist Jamal Khashoggi on Tuesday afternoon while sitting beside Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the Saudi ruler whom the C.I.A. believes approved the killing.

In an Oval Office meeting full of news-making moments, that comment by Mr. Trump was perhaps the most astonishing one, and it came just a few moments after he opened up the room to questions.

It was the ABC News journalist Mary Bruce who asked about the finding by U.S. intelligence officials that Prince Mohammed had ordered the killing of Mr. Khashoggi. “Your royal highness,” she said, turning to Prince Mohammed, “the U.S. intelligence concluded that you orchestrated the brutal murder of a journalist. 9/11 families are furious that you are here in the Oval Office. Why should Americans trust—”

At that moment, the president cut in, his voice vibrating with anger.

“Who are you with?” he demanded to know.

The earlier part of Ms. Bruce’s question, which had been directed at Mr. Trump, concerned his family’s business entanglements in Saudi Arabia. He brushed off those ethics concerns (“I have nothing to do with the family business”) and then addressed the question about Mr. Khashoggi.

“You’re mentioning somebody that was extremely controversial,” Mr. Trump said, referring to the murdered columnist. “A lot of people didn’t like that gentleman that you’re talking about. Whether you like him, or didn’t like him, things happen. But he knew nothing about it, and we can leave it at that.”

The crown prince spoke more like a politician, condemning the 9/11 attacks and Osama Bin Laden. Then he turned to the question about Mr. Khashoggi. “About the journalist,” Prince Mohammed said, going on to give a lengthy answer, casting it as “a huge mistake” that the kingdom never wants to happen again.

Saudi Arabia, Prince Mohammed said, “did all the right steps” to investigate Mr. Khashoggi’s death.

Mr. Trump’s concerns were different.

“You don’t have to embarrass our guest by asking a question like that,” he said to the reporter."

Judge’s reopening of ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ raises ethical concerns; Prism, September 29, 2025

Alexandra Martinez, Prism; Judge’s reopening of ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ raises ethical concerns

"A U.S. appeals court ruled on Sept. 4 to keep Florida’s controversial “Alligator Alcatraz” detention center operating while an appeal plays out, after a district court ruling to shut down the facility. The judge who authored the 2-1 majority opinion was 11th Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Barbara Lagoa. 

Some immigrant rights advocates and local leaders argue that Lagoa’s role in overseeing the case, filed in part against Florida’s government, raises ethical concerns. Lagoa is married to attorney Paul Huck, a partner at Lawson Huck Gonzalez, one of Florida’s most politically connected conservative law firms. The firm is earning millions of dollars from contracts tied to the state’s other legal battles. The firm is not involved in the “Alligator Alcatraz” lawsuit."

Close Trump Allies Sponsored the Military Parade, Raising Ethical Concerns; The New York Times, June 15, 2025

Minho Kim, The New York Times ; Close Trump Allies Sponsored the Military Parade, Raising Ethical Concerns

"Federal regulations prohibit the use of public office for the private gain of officeholders or their friends, relatives or nongovernmental affiliates, said Richard W. Painter, who served as the chief ethics lawyer in the White House Counsel’s Office under President George W. Bush.

“The parade is being used for advertising by these entities with close business ties to the president,” Mr. Painter said in an interview. “You’re in a situation where the U.S. government has been used to endorse a product.”

If he had been Mr. Trump’s chief ethics lawyer, he added, he would have not wanted the sponsorships at all. Such an arrangement would be acceptable only if the companies were to pay for the entire event, Mr. Painter said, allowing the government to host the celebration without paying any tax dollars. The military parade was estimated to cost up to $45 million."

Altered image of Wisconsin Supreme Court candidate in new ad raises ethics concerns; AP, February 4, 2025

 SCOTT BAUER, AP; Altered image of Wisconsin Supreme Court candidate in new ad raises ethics concerns

"A new television attack ad in Wisconsin’s hotly contested Supreme Court race features a doctored image of the liberal candidate, a move that her campaign claims could be a violation of a recently enacted state law.

The image in question is of Susan Crawford, a Dane County circuit court judge. It appeared in a new TV ad paid for by the campaign of her opponent Brad Schimel, a Waukesha County circuit court judge. 

The winner of the high-stakes race on April 1 will determine whether the Wisconsin Supreme Court remains under a liberal majority or flips to conservative control...

Schimel’s campaign spokesperson Jacob Fischer said the image was “edited” but not created by AI.

Peter Loge, the director of the Project on Ethics in Political Communication at George Washington University, said images should never be changed to give a false impression."

Trump Begins Selling New Crypto Token, Raising Ethical Concerns; The New York Times, January 18, 2025

 Eric Lipton, The New York Times; Trump Begins Selling New Crypto Token, Raising Ethical Concerns

"President-elect Donald J. Trump and his family on Friday started selling a cryptocurrency token featuring an image of Mr. Trump drawn from the July assassination attempt, a potentially lucrative new business that ethics experts assailed as a blatant effort to cash in on the office he is about to occupy again.

Disclosed just days before his second inauguration, the venture is the latest in a series of moves by Mr. Trump that blur the line between his government role and the continued effort by his family to profit from his power and global fame. It is yet another sign that the Trump family will be much less hesitant in this second term to bend or breach traditional ethical boundaries.

Mr. Trump himself announced the launch of his new business on Friday night on his social media platform, in between announcements about filling key federal government posts. He is calling the token $Trump, selling it with the slogan, “Join the Trump Community. This is History in the Making!”...

The move by Mr. Trump and his family was immediately condemned by ethics lawyers who said they could not recall a more explicit profiteering effort by an incoming president."

After uproar over ethics, new 'Washington Post' editor won't take the job; NPR, June 21, 2024

David Folkenflik , NPR; After uproar over ethics, new 'Washington Post' editor won't take the job

"The ethical records of both men have come under withering scrutiny in recent days.

Lewis worked with Winnett at the Sunday Times in Britain in the early 2000s. After Lewis was named the youngest editor in the Daily Telegraph's history, he hired Winnett there. The two men, both Brits, worked hand-in-glove and won accolades in the U.K. for their scoops.

Yet NPR, the New York Times and the Post have reported on a parade of episodes involving both men in conduct that would be barred under professional ethics codes at major American news outlets, including the Post.

The incidents include paying a six-figure sum to secure a major scoop; planting a junior reporter in a government job to obtain secret and even classified documents; and relying on a private investigator who used subterfuge to secure people's confidential records and documents. The investigator was later arrested."

House Oversight Committee Democrats Discussion on Supreme Court Ethics; C-Span, June 11, 2024

C-Span; House Oversight Committee Democrats Discussion on Supreme Court Ethics

"Democrats on the House Oversight and Accountability Committee held a roundtable discussion with legal experts on Supreme Court ethics. Supreme Court ethics became a hot topic after news reports revealed ethics concerns with Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito’s paid trips from Republican donors, Justice Sonia Sotomayor’s book sales, and Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson’s concert tickets from Beyonce. Additionally, Justice Alito was under scrutiny for controversial political flags flown at two of his homes and a recent secret audio recording where the justice was talking to a liberal activist about religion and politics." 

Academic paper based on Uyghur genetic data retracted over ethical concerns; The Guardian, December 29, 2023

Amy Hawkins , The Guardian; Academic paper based on Uyghur genetic data retracted over ethical concerns

"The retraction notice said the article had been withdrawn at the request of the journal that had published it, Forensic Science International: Genetics, after an investigation revealed that the relevant ethical approval had not been obtained for the collection of the genetic samples.

Mark Munsterhjelm, a professor at the University of Windsor, in Ontario, who specialises in racism in genetic research, said the fact that the paper had been published at all was “typical of the culture of complicity in forensic genetics that uncritically accepts ethics and informed consent claims with regards to vulnerable populations”.

Concerns have also been raised about a paper in a journal sponsored by China’s ministry of justice. The study, titled Sequencing of human identification markers in an Uyghur population, analysed Uyghur genetic data based on blood samples collected from individuals in the capital of Xinjiang, in north-west China. Yves Moreau, a professor of engineering at the University of Leuven, in Belgium, who focuses on DNA analysis, raised concerns that the subjects in the study may not have freely consented to their DNA samples being used. He also argued that the research “enables further mass surveillance” of Uyghur people."

Controversial French researcher loses two papers for ethics approval issues; retraction watch, October 31, 2023

 Retraction Watch; Controversial French researcher loses two papers for ethics approval issues

"Didier Raoult, the French infectious disease scientist who came to prominence for promoting hydroxychloroquine as a COVID-19 treatment, has lost two papers for ethics concerns after other scientists flagged issues with hundreds of publications from the institute he formerly led. 

Both papers, “Increased Gut Redox and Depletion of Anaerobic and Methanogenic Prokaryotes in Severe Acute Malnutrition,” and “Gut Microbiota Alteration is Characterized by a Proteobacteria and Fusobacteria Bloom in Kwashiorkor and a Bacteroidetes Paucity in Marasmus,” appeared in Scientific Reports in 2016 and 2019, respectively. They have been cited approximately 160 times, according to Clarivate’s Web of Science."

Chief Justice Says Supreme Court Is Working to Address Ethics Questions; The New York Times, May 24, 2023

 Adam Liptak, The New York Times; Chief Justice Says Supreme Court Is Working to Address Ethics Questions

"Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. said on Tuesday night that he and his colleagues on the Supreme Court were continuing to take steps to address questions about the justices’ ethical standards amid a barrage of allegations of misconduct and a push by some lawmakers to tighten the rules.

“I want to assure people that I am committed to making certain that we as a court adhere to the highest standards of conduct,” he said. “We are continuing to look at things we can do to give practical effect to that commitment, and I am confident that there are ways to do that consistent with our status as an independent branch of government and the Constitution’s separation of powers.”

Chief Justice Roberts turned down an invitation last month to testify before a Senate committee, citing the “exceedingly rare” nature of such an appearance, as lawmakers push for ethics changes at the court. A series of revelations about unreported gifts, travel and real estate deals between Justice Clarence Thomas and Harlan Crow, a Texas billionaire and Republican donor, has shaken the court, though all nine justices have defended their existing rules."

Legal Scholars Push For Supreme Court Ethics Code As Gorsuch And Thomas Come Under Fire; Forbes, February 4, 2022

 Alison Durkee, Forbes; Legal Scholars Push For Supreme Court Ethics Code As Gorsuch And Thomas Come Under Fire

"More than two dozen legal ethics scholars asked Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts Thursday to impose a code of conduct for the court’s judges, as the conservative-leaning court faces declining public trust and Justices Neil Gorsuch and Clarence Thomas spark new ethics concerns...

A code of conduct would help the Supreme Court “transparently address potential conflicts and other issues in a way that builds public trust in the institution,” the 25 scholars wrote in their letter to Roberts, which was released through activist group Fix the Court.

The scholars said their request wasn’t in response to any particular concern, and they “do not question the integrity of any justice,” but it comes amid concern about ethical conflicts.

Gorsuch will speak Friday evening at a conference in Walt Disney World for the conservative Federalist Society, drawing criticism because of the event’s overt political nature—other speakers include Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, Vice President Mike Pence and Trump White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany—and because it’s closed to the press."