Jared Isaacman, the billionaire astronaut who had his nomination to lead NASA revoked by President Donald Trump over his donations to far-left Democrats, was arrested on fraud charges and sued by Trump’s New Jersey casino in 2009 for allegedly writing $1 million in bad checks, conservatives have pointed out.
Trump pulled his December nomination of Isaacman, a close ally and business partner of Elon Musk, in a May 31 announcement:
After a thorough review of prior associations, I am hereby withdrawing the nomination of Jared Isaacman to head NASA. I will soon announce a new Nominee who will be Mission aligned, and put America First in Space. Thank you for your attention to this matter!
While Isaacman claimed that he was ousted from the Trump administration out of revenge for Musk’s public feud with the president, records revealed his large contributions to Sens. Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Bob Casey (D-PA), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Jon Tester (D-MT), Elissa Slotkin (D-MI), Mark Kelly (D-AZ), and multiple other Democrat politicians and causes.
Not only did the entrepreneur make a $100,000 donation to the Democrat Senate Majority PAC in 2021, his latest contribution available on record was $10,000 to the Michigan Democratic State Central Committee — just three months before the 2024 election.
Speaking with Breitbart News earlier this week, a senior Trump administration official simply said, “We don’t confirm Schumer donors in this administration.”
“Jared Isaacman should have never been picked. Trump did the right thing by pulling him,” the official added.
The White House has also pushed back on Isaacman’s claim that Trump’s decision was because of his ties to Musk, with an official telling CBS News that the administration is not pushing out the over 100 personnel recommended by the former Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) leader:
News: More than 100 admin officials who came from Elon Musk's orbit. No effort to oust them over feud between Musk and Trump, several admin sources insisted today.
— Jennifer Jacobs (@JenniferJJacobs) June 6, 2025
If any DOGE aides have left/plan to leave after yesterday's public blowup, White House has not received any…
Even more troubling information on Isaacman resurfaced after the White House acknowledged the conflict, with Republican strategist Caroline Wren pointing out that he faced “multiple lawsuits in multiple states” over his alleged fraud:
Here is my rant about why Jared Isaacman is a modern day Frank Abagnale Jr.
— Caroline Wren (@CarolineWren) June 6, 2025
Thank you for your attention to this matter.
pic.twitter.com/3dpr6V97AY
Reuters reported on what was publicly available from court documents, though a number of them were sealed:
Court records from New Jersey and Connecticut filed in 2009 and 2010, respectively, allege the New Jersey native failed to pay casino debts. Civil cases were brought against him by Trump’s now-defunct Taj Mahal casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey and the Mohegan Sun in Connecticut, according to court documents.
The Trump Taj Mahal sued Isaacman in July 2009 in connection with a line of credit he got in November 2005. Isaacman wrote four checks in 2008 for a total of $1 million but his bank account did not have the funds for them to be cashed, according to the complaint. The case was settled in 2011 for $650,000.
In a 2010 complaint filed in Connecticut, the Mohegan Sun said Isaacman had written four bad checks totaling $1 million. That action was eventually resolved and withdrawn, according to a court filing.
More legal trouble for Isaacman also came in 2010, with a U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) release obtained by Reuters reporting that he was captured and arrested at the Canadian border “on a warrant for alleged fraud at the Washington state line.”
“He was taken to a county jail for extradition to Nevada, where Clark County, home to Las Vegas, had issued the felony warrant. No further detail on the alleged fraud was provided,” the outlet reported.
On top of his questionable past with allegedly fraudulent checks, Isaacman’s business ventures also have the stain of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI).
The billionaire’s payment processing company, Shift4 Payments, proudly brags of its high DEI and Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) ratings, touting their “gender diversity” and number of “BIPOC” personnel.
Isaacman’s business also launched two so-called “inclusion networks” in 2022 — one for women, and one for LGBTQ “pride.”
Olivia Rondeau is a politics reporter for Breitbart News based in Washington, DC. Find her on X/Twitter and Instagram.
