Trump Admin ENGULFED in $1 Million ETHICS SCANDAL?!?!

Attorneys Brian Kabateck and Shant Karnikian examine Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin’s disclosed investment of up to $1 million in Botanic Tonics, the Oklahoma maker of Feel Free, a kratom and kava drink sold in more than 24,000 stores, and what they see as a conflict of interest. Kratom acts on the brain’s opioid receptors, the FDA has warned about its risks, and critics call it “gas station heroin.” Founder J.W. Ross was born Jerry Dale Cash, changed his name in 2014 and was imprisoned for diverting $10 million from an Oklahoma oil and gas company, according to The Daily Beast. At a July 2025 press conference Mullin backed a federal crackdown on 7-OH, a concentrated synthetic kratom derivative, that hit Botanic Tonics’ rivals but spared whole-leaf kratom. The New York Times reported that Mullin urged HHS officials to remove kratom warnings from the FDA’s website, and that by the end of 2025 the FDA had removed links to enforcement actions against Botanic Tonics. In December, prosecutors moved to drop an FDA lawsuit against the company, saying the seized supplements had expired. Ross donated about $162,000 to Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s defunct presidential campaign, Botanic Tonics gave $1 million to a Kennedy-linked PAC, and Kennedy called Ohio’s governor to head off a kratom ban. A rival kratom executive, Ryan Niddel, told the Times, “It’s not pay to play. It’s pay to have conversations.” The hosts call that distinction meaningless, say the facts amount to bribery in their view, and note the gaps in disclosure and conflict-of-interest law. DHS says Mullin follows all ethics standards and has not lobbied for any company, and Sen. Ron Wyden has opened an inquiry. Brian’s bottom line: a Cabinet official’s personal investment should never be on the same table as the regulations that decide which products stay on the shelf.

Kabateck LLP: Call 1-844-74-CIVIL for a free case evaluation or visit us at https://www.kbklawyers.com/

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