Bush lawyer sees a corruption problem '1,000 times worse' for Trump family

A former George W. Bush White House ethics lawyer said that the Trump family has engaged in business activity much more problematic than Hunter Biden's as corruption tops voters' concerns.

His comments follow a new investigation into the reach of the Trump sons' business empire.

Richard Painter, former chief White House ethics lawyer under Bush, offered a scathing assessment to the Financial Times after its investigation into meetings between Donald Trump Jr., Eric Trump and foreign officials, which coincided with the expansion of their business interests during their father’s second term..

"I made a big stink about Hunter Biden. We had to take a firm stance that this was wrong," Painter said, continuing:

"Donald Trump, he’s encouraging it. And it’s 1,000 times worse than [what] Hunter Biden did."

Republicans investigated Hunter Biden's work at the Ukrainian energy company Burisma while his father was vice president. Both Joe and Hunter Biden have denied any wrongdoing.

The FT has documented at least 18 instances of the Trump brothers meeting with foreign politicians or officials since January 2025, including heads of state, ministers and senior officials.

Eric and Jr. hold no official position in the US government, yet some foreign officials seem to see them as people with influence in Washington. Painter made it clear that a diplomatic role would be inappropriate as they are not government emissaries and are not bound by the same conflict-of-interest rules.

"We have no way of knowing what was said in these conversations," he said.

The investigation also looked at the vast amounts of money passing through the family businesses. According to the report, Trump's personal fortune grew by over $2 billion last year, with over $500 million coming from token sales from Trump Jr.’s crypto business, World Liberty Financial, a crypto business his sons co-founded.

Since Trump returned to office, his privately owned business has announced 15 overseas projects, with another five mentioned in the presidential ethics disclosures. Their foreign licensing, development, and management revenues increased 40 percent to $63 million between 2024 and 2025.

The brothers have interests in controversial sectors such as crypto, prediction markets, and critical minerals. Those business interests need federal regulatory approval, and government contracts have led ethics watchdogs to question whether these dealings can be considered separate from the presidency.

Painter also called out the names of Trump Jr.'s venture capital firm, 1789 Capital, and the Washington members' club, Executive Branch.

"When you name your company 1789 Capital — after the founding of the Constitution — or you have a social club called Executive Branch, that they’ve started up to sell memberships ... it’s not subtle."

Trump Jr.'s spokesperson maintained that he tells foreign officials he is acting as a private citizen, not as a representative of the Trump administration. The Trump Organization stated that its business is separate from the White House and is in compliance with all applicable ethics laws.

Although the report doesn't establish that official favors were traded for business benefits, it leaves open the question of how the president's financial interests may connect to decisions that affect countries where his family does business.

As Walker Davis of the watchdog Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington put it: "We shouldn’t have to wonder whether those decisions are what’s best for Americans, or what’s best for Trump’s bottom line."