Power, ambition, and secrecy collided when Rep. Jasmine Crockett tried to quietly build a marijuana empire while defending a murder suspect in a weed deal gone fatally wrong—raising questions that Congress cannot ignore.
The Secret Portfolio and the Ohio Dispensary Gambit
Jasmine Crockett, a lawmaker branded as a progressive reformer, quietly amassed stakes in more than two dozen companies—including cannabis outfits—without telling voters or Congress. In 2018, she appeared as a 20% owner and chief operations officer of Black Diamond Investments, a group vying for a lucrative medical marijuana dispensary license in Ohio. The business application, uncovered in recent reports, positioned her for a windfall if Ohio’s fledgling weed market took off. Yet, as Crockett’s political star rose in Texas, her business ambitions stretched hundreds of miles north into an industry poised for explosive growth.
https://twitter.com/RedState66/status/1983174929831923976
The dispensary bid ultimately fizzled. But Crockett’s undisclosed pursuit was not just a side hustle—it coincided with her public push for cannabis reform and with legal work that would soon draw national attention. Watchdogs argue that her behind-the-scenes equity in a regulated industry she advocated for constitutes a textbook case of a conflict of interest, especially since congressional ethics rules require full transparency about such holdings.
Defending a Killer While Seeking a Cannabis Fortune
In the same year that Crockett tried to break into Ohio’s cannabis market, she took on a high-stakes criminal defense: Tyvon Montrel Gullatt, accused of murder in a marijuana deal gone violently wrong. Juggling roles as a business stakeholder, a criminal defense attorney, and a legislative advocate for marijuana reform, Crockett waded into a thicket of overlapping interests. As she defended Gullatt, she simultaneously pushed for laws that would make the marijuana marketplace more accessible—potentially to her own benefit, had Black Diamond Investments succeeded.
https://twitter.com/AndrewKerrNC/status/1982832070763446777
This convergence of personal ambition, legal advocacy, and policy influence set Crockett apart from other lawmakers who have merely flirted with investments in the marijuana industry. Her dual life—pushing for decriminalization, representing accused criminals in marijuana deals, and seeking profit from the same trade—raises the question: where does public service end and personal gain begin?
Disclosure Failures and Ethics Watchdogs on High Alert
Crockett’s financial disclosure filings paint a picture of mounting debt and missing details. After her failed bid for an Ohio dispensary, she continued to advocate for marijuana reform in the Texas House and later in Congress. Yet nowhere did she disclose her business attempts or her stakes in cannabis companies, even as she campaigned on transparency and accountability. Reports now allege at least 25 undisclosed company holdings, with watchdogs like Americans for Public Trust calling for a full-blown ethics investigation.
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Ethics experts warn that Crockett’s case exemplifies why robust disclosure rules matter in Washington’s new era of “cannapolitics.” As more lawmakers eye the profits of emerging industries they help regulate, the public’s trust in fair governance erodes. Congressional rules exist to prevent self-dealing and ensure lawmakers serve the people—not their own portfolios. Crockett’s silence about her financial stake in cannabis, at the very moment she championed industry-friendly laws, is exactly the kind of shadow dealing that watchdogs argue must be exposed.
Political Fallout and the Long Shadow of Controversy
Though her Ohio cannabis gamble failed and her client’s murder trial receded from headlines, Crockett’s undisclosed interests continue to haunt her political career. She remains a sitting member of Congress, still advocating for federal marijuana decriminalization. Yet, with every new revelation, the drumbeat for accountability grows louder. No formal ethics probe has been launched—at least not publicly—but the specter of investigation lingers.
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The ripple effects extend well beyond Crockett. For constituents, the episode fuels doubts about whose interests their representatives truly serve. For the cannabis industry, already fighting for legitimacy, the taint of political self-dealing threatens hard-won gains. And for Congress, Crockett’s saga is a stark warning: as the green rush draws lawmakers into business ventures, only radical transparency can preserve the line between public trust and private ambition.
Sources:
Revealed: Dem’s Obnoxious Star Tried to Become Marijuana Queenpin Tycoon (The Western Journal)
How a Marijuana Case Fuelled Jasmine Crockett’s Rise to Presidential Critic (Nation)