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Conflict of Interest or pay-to-play

Trump DOE Pushed To Divert Puerto Rico Solar Funds To Bankrupt Utility [1]

"Internal documents show the Department of Energy knew the decision "may generate negative commentary" and be perceived as "undue favoritism.""

Climate Change [2]
Conflict/Corruption [3]
Consumer [4]
Disasters [5]
Economy & Business [6]
Energy & Fuel [7]
Environmental Justice [8]
Environmental Politics [9]
Infrastructure [10]
People & Population [11]
Technology [12]
Public [13]
National (U.S.) [14]
SE (AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC PR SC TN) [15]
Source: Grist [16], 06/23/2026
  • Read more about Trump DOE Pushed To Divert Puerto Rico Solar Funds To Bankrupt Utility [1]

US Proposes To Slash Costs For Energy Drillers On Federal Lands [17]

"The Trump administration on Monday proposed looser rules for oil and gas drilling operations on federal ​lands, including a dramatic cut to clean-up costs ‌for abandoned wells."

Climate Change [2]
Conflict/Corruption [3]
Economy & Business [6]
Energy & Fuel [7]
Environmental Health [18]
Environmental Politics [9]
Infrastructure [10]
Laws & Regulations [19]
Natural Resources [20]
Pollution [21]
Waste [22]
Public [13]
California [23]
Source: Reuters [24], 06/23/2026
  • Read more about US Proposes To Slash Costs For Energy Drillers On Federal Lands [17]

Trump Coal Push Breathes New Life Into Plants With Repeated Violations [25]

"At least three of the 12 coal plants the Trump administration funded have been repeatedly cited for violating environmental regulations, amplifying public-health concerns."

Climate Change [2]
Conflict/Corruption [3]
Economy & Business [6]
Energy & Fuel [7]
Environmental Health [18]
Environmental Politics [9]
Infrastructure [10]
Laws & Regulations [19]
Pollution [21]
Public [13]
National (U.S.) [14]
Source: Inside Climate News [26], 06/22/2026
  • Read more about Trump Coal Push Breathes New Life Into Plants With Repeated Violations [25]

Trump DOJ Supports Musk-Owned Data Center In Suit By NAACP [27]

"The Trump administration urged a federal court on Monday to dismiss an environmental lawsuit against Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence startup, saying the company’s Grok government model and the data centers that power it are crucial to national security. The NAACP alleges that xAI has rushed to build and continue expanding its Colossus Gas Plant in vulnerable and heavily Black communities near the Tennessee-Mississippi border without legally required permits or pollution controls."

Conflict/Corruption [3]
Consumer [4]
Economy & Business [6]
Energy & Fuel [7]
Environmental Health [18]
Environmental Justice [8]
Environmental Politics [9]
Infrastructure [10]
Laws & Regulations [19]
People & Population [11]
Pollution [21]
Public [13]
National (U.S.) [14]
SE (AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC PR SC TN) [15]
Source: E&E News [28], 06/17/2026
  • Read more about Trump DOJ Supports Musk-Owned Data Center In Suit By NAACP [27]

Paramount Rejected Ad Slamming Its Owners And Warner Bros Acquisition [29]

"Paramount Skydance refused to air an ad submitted by a press freedom group that heavily criticized the network’s leadership and merger with Warner Bros Discovery, with an advertising associate deeming it a “conflict of interest”.

Conflict/Corruption [3]
Economy & Business [6]
Government [30]
Journalism & Media [31]
Laws & Regulations [19]
Public [13]
National (U.S.) [14]
Source: Guardian [32], 06/17/2026
  • Read more about Paramount Rejected Ad Slamming Its Owners And Warner Bros Acquisition [29]

Billionaire Donor Benefits as Trump Plans to Protect Methane-Leaking Wells [33]

"Trump’s EPA is planning to weaken restrictions on oil and gas wells that produce very little energy but release vast amounts of methane. Oil billionaire Jeffery Hildebrand, a major Trump donor, is set to reap the benefits. Society as a whole will deal with the environmental costs."

Air [34]
Chemicals [35]
Climate Change [2]
Conflict/Corruption [3]
Energy & Fuel [7]
Environmental Health [18]
Environmental Politics [9]
Government [30]
Laws & Regulations [19]
Pollution [21]
Public [13]
National (U.S.) [14]
South America [36]
Source: ProPublica [37], 06/17/2026
  • Read more about Billionaire Donor Benefits as Trump Plans to Protect Methane-Leaking Wells [33]

Trump DOE Issues Emergency Order to Keep Florida Coal Plant Running [38]

"The Orlando plant had been scheduled for retirement in 2025. The order cited an energy emergency related to a shortage of facilities and proliferation of data centers."

Climate Change [2]
Conflict/Corruption [3]
Consumer [4]
Economy & Business [6]
Energy & Fuel [7]
Environmental Politics [9]
Infrastructure [10]
Laws & Regulations [19]
People & Population [11]
Pollution [21]
Technology [12]
Public [13]
National (U.S.) [14]
SE (AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC PR SC TN) [15]
Source: Inside Climate News [39], 06/16/2026
  • Read more about Trump DOE Issues Emergency Order to Keep Florida Coal Plant Running [38]

Trump FWS Land Gift To SpaceX Would Hurt Texas Habitat: Suit [40]

"Environmental groups on Wednesday sued attempting to stop the Trump administration from giving SpaceX more than 700 acres (280 hectares) of wildlife refuge in Texas, claiming it would worsen ecological risks to a Gulf Coast region already transformed by billionaire Elon Musk’s rocket operations."

Biodiversity [41]
Conflict/Corruption [3]
Economy & Business [6]
Environmental Politics [9]
Environmental Studies [42]
Laws & Regulations [19]
Technology [12]
Wildlife [43]
Public [13]
National (U.S.) [14]
Source: AP [44], 06/11/2026
  • Read more about Trump FWS Land Gift To SpaceX Would Hurt Texas Habitat: Suit [40]

U.S. Revokes Endangered Species Listing for Permian Basin Lizard, Resolves Texas Attorney General Lawsuit [45]

“The Trump administration agreed to strip endangered ​species protection from a lizard whose habitat overlapped the largest oil-producing region in the United ‌States, settling a lawsuit brought by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.”

Biodiversity [41]
Conflict/Corruption [3]
Government [30]
Laws & Regulations [19]
Policy [46]
Wildlife [43]
Public [13]
National (U.S.) [14]
Southwest (AZ NM OK TX) [47]
Source: Reuters [48], 06/09/2026
  • Read more about U.S. Revokes Endangered Species Listing for Permian Basin Lizard, Resolves Texas Attorney General Lawsuit [45]

Troubled by Spreading Landfill Pollution, a Long Island Community Demands Action [49]

“For decades, a landfill has towered over the town of Brookhaven. A groundwater contamination plume has spread beneath nearby properties.”

Activism [50]
Conflict/Corruption [3]
Disasters [5]
Environmental Health [18]
Environmental Justice [8]
Health [51]
Pollution [21]
Waste [22]
Water & Oceans [52]
Public [13]
National (U.S.) [14]
Northeast (CT MA ME NH NJ NY RI VT) [53]
Source: Inside Climate News [54], 06/09/2026
  • Read more about Troubled by Spreading Landfill Pollution, a Long Island Community Demands Action [49]

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Source URL:https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/conflictcorruption?page=4

Links
[1] https://www.sej.org/headlines/trump-doe-pushed-divert-puerto-rico-solar-funds-bankrupt-utility [2] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/climate-change [3] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/conflictcorruption [4] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/consumer [5] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/disaster [6] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/business [7] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/energy [8] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/environmental-justice [9] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/environmental-politics [10] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/infrastructure [11] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/people-population [12] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/technology [13] https://www.sej.org/taxonomy/term/81 [14] https://www.sej.org/category/region/national [15] https://www.sej.org/category/region/national/southeast [16] https://grist.org/energy/inside-the-governments-push-to-divert-puerto-rico-solar-funds-to-a-bankrupt-utility/ [17] https://www.sej.org/headlines/us-proposes-slash-costs-energy-drillers-federal-lands [18] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/environmental-health [19] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/laws [20] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/land [21] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/pollution [22] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/waste [23] https://www.sej.org/category/region/national/california [24] https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/us-proposes-slash-costs-energy-drillers-federal-lands-2026-06-22/ [25] https://www.sej.org/headlines/trump-coal-push-breathes-new-life-plants-repeated-violations [26] https://insideclimatenews.org/news/18062026/trump-administration-funds-coal-plants-with-repeated-violations/ [27] https://www.sej.org/headlines/trump-doj-supports-musk-owned-data-center-suit-naacp [28] https://www.eenews.net/articles/trump-doj-supports-musk-owned-data-center-in-suit-by-naacp/ [29] https://www.sej.org/headlines/paramount-rejected-ad-slamming-its-owners-and-warner-bros-acquisition [30] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/government [31] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/journalism/media [32] https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jun/16/paramount-rejects-ad-on-warner-bros-acquisition [33] https://www.sej.org/headlines/billionaire-donor-benefits-trump-plans-protect-methane-leaking-wells [34] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/air [35] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/chemicals/toxics [36] https://www.sej.org/category/region/international/south-america [37] https://www.propublica.org/article/trump-epa-methane-jeffery-hildebrand-hilcorp-oil-regulations [38] https://www.sej.org/headlines/trump-doe-issues-emergency-order-keep-florida-coal-plant-running [39] https://insideclimatenews.org/news/08062026/trump-emergency-order-keeps-florida-coal-plant-open/ [40] https://www.sej.org/headlines/trump-fws-land-gift-spacex-would-hurt-texas-habitat-suit [41] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/biodiversity-1 [42] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/environmentalists [43] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/wildlife [44] https://apnews.com/article/spacex-texas-land-lawsuit-c40ed323000b3c81881327eba8cf2baa [45] https://www.sej.org/headlines/us-revokes-endangered-species-listing-permian-basin-lizard-resolves-texas-attorney-general [46] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/policy [47] https://www.sej.org/category/region/national/southwest [48] https://www.reuters.com/legal/litigation/us-revokes-endangered-species-listing-permian-basin-lizard-resolves-texas-2026-06-04/ [49] https://www.sej.org/headlines/troubled-spreading-landfill-pollution-long-island-community-demands-action [50] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/activism [51] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/health [52] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/water [53] https://www.sej.org/category/region/national/northeast [54] https://insideclimatenews.org/news/08062026/new-york-brookhaven-landfill-pollution/ [55] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/conflictcorruption?page=3 [56] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/conflictcorruption?page=1 [57] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/conflictcorruption?page=2 [58] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/conflictcorruption?page=5