Reported by
President Donald Trump has grabbed headlines with his vow to acquire Greenland — by force if necessary. Behind the scenes, a handful of Trump’s former employees and staffers have been pursuing business interests involving the Arctic territory.
Former employees who sought or are seeking opportunities include George Sorial, the former executive vice president and chief compliance counsel of the Trump Organization. Also in the group is Trump Organization’s former director of security, Keith Schiller, who ran Oval Office operations in the White House during Trump’s first term. Both men have an interest in company called GreenMet.
In April 2025, GreenMet announced it had inked a strategic partnership with Tanbreez Mining Greenland A/S, a company holding a license to mine rare earth minerals. GreenMet described Tanbreez as the “only shovel ready rare earth project in Greenland.”
GreenMet is the trade name of Greentech Minerals Holdings Inc. Sorial and Schiller appear in Washington D.C. corporate registry documents among the beneficial owners of the company, along with Drew Horn, who is listed as the CEO. Horn was an aide to Trump's first-term vice president, Mike Pence, and was a national security official during that administration.
Horn has made no secret of his business interests in Greenland, but the role of Sorial and Schiller in his company is little known.
Sorial told OCCRP that he and Schiller “are not actively involved with GreenMet or Greenland.”
“We are passive minority shareholders in GreenMet and have no management role in the company,” Sorial said in an emailed response to questions.
Aside from Schiller, Sorial and Horn, reporters looked into two other people within Trump’s orbit who have also had business interests related to Greenland. Both of those individuals were also recently appointed to government positions of influence on the Greenland issue.
The pursuit of deals in Greenland by GreenMet raises ethical questions, according to Norman Eisen, a former U.S. ambassador who founded the Democracy Defenders Fund, a non-profit that combats corruption and the erosion of democratic norms
"Trump’s illegal and illegitimate designs on Greenland would be bad enough. But they are made worse by allegations that Trump associates have ties to companies who could benefit from the president’s actions,” he said.
The pursuit of business opportunities related to Greenland by Trump allies comes amid U.S. government efforts to acquire the island against the wishes of the majority of its population of 57,000. Leaders in Greenland and Denmark, which has controlled the Arctic territory since 1721, have also rejected the idea.
Their objections have not deterred Trump and his supporters from continuing to campaign for a U.S. takeover.
Horn appeared on Fox and Friends on January 14, praising the Trump administration’s efforts and claiming Greenlanders “are absolutely tired of being exploited and oppressed by the Danes as they have been for the last 100 years.”
The former Marine added, apparently without irony: “You know, the era of colonialism is over.”
Web of Connections
Another person associated with both the Trump administration and GreenMet is the company’s former chief geologist, Ned Mamula. He was confirmed last October as director of the U.S. Geological Survey, which a February 2025 Congressional report described as “a lead federal science agency responsible for mineral resources research and analysis.”
Mamula worked in the Energy Department in Trump’s first term and, according to his LinkedIn profile, is a former CIA analyst. He is still listed as an advisor on a GreenMet website, although he filed a form this month indicating he divested from the company.
Mamula wrote a book in 2024 called Undermining Power, with Horn authoring its forward. Both advocated for a strong U.S. role in controlling rare earth critical minerals across the globe for reasons of national security.
“Rare earth” deposits like those found in Greenland contain minerals essential for manufacturing some electronics, including for green energy and defense technology.
In his rhetoric about acquiring Greenland for national security, Trump has cited the island’s mineral deposits, as well as its geo-strategic position in the Arctic Circle.
“One way or the other, we’re going to get it,” Trump told the U.S. Congress in March 2025.
On January 7, 2025, just weeks before his father's presidential inauguration, Donald Trump Jr. had arrived in Greenland aboard a Trump Organization airplane. Sorial shared the younger Trump’s photos from the Greenland trip on LinkedIn with the hashtags #minerals #usa #nationalsecurity. (There is no evidence that the Trump family is pursuing business interests in Greenland.)
Vice President JD Vance visited Greenland soon after, urging locals to ditch ties with Denmark.
One organizer of the Trump Jr. and Vance trips was Thomas Dans, who served as a Treasury Department official during Trump’s first term.
A former investment banker, Dans is another former Trump administration employee with a focus on Greenland. He runs an organization called American Daybreak, which he registered as an income-tax-exempt organization shortly before Trump’s re-election.
Dans wrote on the social media platform X that “American Daybreak has worked on strengthening U.S.-Greenlandic ties for a long time, including helping to organize the visit of the President’s son to Greenland in January.”
The non-profit publication Arctic Today reported that Dans had “worked on icebreaker construction” after leaving the first Trump administration.
American Daybreak’s public disclosure document for its short period of operations for the year 2024 shows $160,000 in contributions, grants or gifts. The sources of the funds are not named.
For its accomplishments in 2024, American Daybreak lists in its disclosure document that it had educated Americans “on the ways Greenland's traditions of self-determination influence the relationship between the United States and Greenland.”
Dans did not respond to questions about Daybreak’s role in the trips to Greenland, and the purpose and activities of the organization.
Last month, Trump appointed Dans to head the U.S. Arctic Research Commission, a scientific body typically run by academics that advises the president on the northernmost region, which includes Greenland.
Insiders Working From Outside
GreenMet shareholder Sorial worked directly for the Trump Organization from 2002 up until Trump’s first inauguration. Sorial wrote a fawning 2019 book about his boss entitled The Real Deal.
When Trump assumed office in 2016, Sorial reported directly to sons Don Jr. and Eric Trump until leaving the Trump Organization in 2019. His book describes efforts to acquire and open golf resorts in Ireland and Scotland; public records show he sat on the board of enterprises in both countries.
In December 2024, a month before Trump took office again, Sorial and Schiller formed a lobbying and consulting firm called Javelin Advisors LLC. In the press release announcing the new firm, they touted themselves as “former Trump advisors.” The Jevelin website boasts in bold letters: “Founded by Insiders. Defined by Access.”
Javelin has no known business in Greenland, but it has done work related to critical minerals. Justice Department filings under the Foreign Agent Registration Act show that Javelin was hired by the Pakistan government last year to pursue a proposed rare-earth minerals agreement with the U.S.
In the meantime, Sorial and Schiller maintain their shares in GreenMet — with its interest in the Tanbreez Mining project in Greenland — along with its CEO, Horn.
Horn told OCCRP that “George Sorial and Keith Schiller resigned their roles on the board and as advisors in GreenMet in early 2025, and have had no role other than passive shareholders since that time.”
Horn added that GreenMet “focuses exclusively on US business activities that support US Policy Goals, as publicly dictated by the US executive and legislative branches.”
GreenMet said in a June 2025 statement that it had helped Tabreez investor Critical Metals Corp. obtain key backing to buy into the Greenland mine. The two announced last June a letter of intent from the U.S. Export Import Bank for a $120-million package to help develop the site. Horn personally briefed Trump's team with photos of the site, according to reporting by Bloomberg.
Critical Metals Corp. had taken a controlling interest in the project in September 2025. But Tanbreez actually began its effort to acquire mining rights back in the early 2000s, according to a timeline on its website.
As Horn’s company helped lay foundations for U.S. interests in mining critical minerals in Greenland, Trump announced yet another appointment in December, which aimed at consolidating his influence in the Danish territory.
In a surprise move, Trump appointed Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry as special envoy to Greenland — even though he had no known past connection to the Arctic island. Donald Trump Jr. had campaigned for Landry in September 2023 during the gubernatorial run.
A week before Landry’s appointment, Louisiana’s economic development officials announced an $850-million planned investment to create a critical minerals refinery in the state. The announcement did not say where the minerals would be sourced. The company cited in the announcement, ElementUSA, also contracts with the Defense Department for mineral supplies.
The U.S. defense sector’s need to source rare earth and critical minerals is behind the accelerated scramble in Greenland and several less-developed nations, said Clare Hammond, senior investigator for the environmental advocacy group Global Witness.
“That's what's driving this race against China, and that's what's driving this vast money-making spree as Trump tries to secure the minerals,” she said.
**Additional reporting by Eva Jung and Michael Lund (Berlingske), and Matt Drange (OCCRP).
