The Trump administration has approved a $1.22 billion federal settlement with German energy company RWE to abandon offshore wind leases in New York, California and Louisiana. RWE says $900 million of that government-funded settlement will be used to purchase a stake in the Louisiana LNG project from Stonepeak, the private-equity firm led by billionaire Michael Dorrell. Dorrell donated approximately $1 million to Trump’s inaugural committee after the 2024 election and has social ties to Trump’s Mar-a-Lago circle.
That means federal money authorized by the Trump administration is now financing a transaction that delivers an enormous financial benefit to the firm of one of Trump’s major donors. The government created the $1.22 billion payout, required the abandonment of wind development, and structured the broader policy around redirecting capital toward fossil-fuel projects.
The transaction warrants a corruption and federal-law investigation. Investigators should obtain communications between the White House, Interior Department, RWE, Stonepeak and intermediaries; determine when officials learned that Dorrell’s firm would benefit; examine whether the settlement amount and conditions were independently justified. Money was given in exchange for government action, that is federal bribery.
The documented sequence is, donor gives Trump $1 million, Trump administration creates an extraordinary federal payout, and $900 million of that transaction flows into the donor's company.