Trump’s Potential Conflicts Of Interest as President: “They’re Everywhere”

Posted by DanielS on Saturday, 03 December 2016 14:14.

Ivanka’s simple presence as part of the entourage of the Trump administration is helping that brand promote itself
NPR, “Trump’s Potential Conflicts Of Interest: ‘They’re Everywhere”:

Donald Trump tweeted that he will be taking himself out of his business operations and will announce the detail his plan on Dec. 15th. But that hasn’t eliminated concerns that the trump organization’s business interests in the US and in at least twenty countries around the world could lead to conflicts of interest when Trump becomes president.

In response to Trump’s tweets yesterday, the office of government ethics tweeted that - as we discussed with your council - divestiture is the way to resolve these conflicts.

As we are about to hear, “divestiture” is different from Trump taking himself out of his business operations.

16 democratic members of the house judiciary requested that the committee hold hearings to discuss conflict of interest provisions that might apply to Trump when he becomes president.

New York Times investigative reporter Eric Lipton tells Fresh Air’s Terry Gross that because of a “quirk in the law,” American presidents are not mandated to separate themselves from their businesses.

“He could legally continue to operate them and even take actions as president that would benefit those businesses, and it wouldn’t be a formal ethics violation,” Lipton says.

Trump’s business entanglements and the complication of his potential conflicts of interest as president are unprecedented.
It’s worth a listen - NPR, 1 Dec 2016

Tags: Business & Industry, Islam & Islamification, Jewish Diaspora, Law & Order, Political analysis, That Question Again, The American right, U.S. Politics

Comments:

Posted by Milford on Sun, 04 Dec 2016 04:37 | #

Not to be rude, but the NPR and the NYT? If those rat bastards told me it was sunny, I’d look out the window.

Posted by DanielS on Sun, 04 Dec 2016 04:48 | #

Posted by Milford on Sat, 03 Dec 2016 23:37 | #

Not to be rude, but the NPR and the NYT? If those rat bastards told me it was sunny, I’d look out the window.

It’s a valid objection, Milford - thank you - and of course I anticipated it. I only use sources like that (((sources like that))) if I believe that the subject matter is neutral enough and not too distorted by the sources. Either that, or I’ll use those sources in some didactic or critical sense.

If you listen to this interview, you’ll find that it pretty much sticks to the facts.

Posted by The old orange and black on Wed, 14 Dec 2016 16:47 | #

Trump ducked a discussion of his conflict of interests for this cameo distraction…

Business Insider, 14 Dec 2016:

“Kanye West just unexpectedly showed up at Trump Tower to talk about ‘life’ with Trump”

“We’ve been friends for a long time,” Trump said, adding that the two discussed “life.”

Posted by Trump Makes $420,000 for New Year's party access on Mon, 02 Jan 2017 03:40 | #

“Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago Made over $420,000 Selling Access to the President-elect on New Year’s Eve”

Teen Vogue, 1 Jan 2017:

According to Politico, Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida charged a reported minimum of $525 per person for a New Year’s Eve celebration that Trump and his family were set to attend. On Friday, Trump’s incoming White House press secretary told reporters that the party was “sold out,” with over 800 guests expected at the event. That’s more than $420,000 made off of dinner, dancing, and access to the incoming President of the United States.

Incoming White House Director of Strategic Communications Hope Hicks attempted to dismiss concern that the Mar-a-Lago’s pricy New Year’s Eve Party comprised yet another conflict of interest issue for Trump. “The transition is not concerned about the appearance of a conflict,” she told Politico. “This is an annual celebratory event at the private club, like others that have continued to occur since the election. Additionally, the president cannot and does not have a conflict.”

To be clear, simply saying “the president cannot and does not have a conflict” in no way eliminates the obvious potential conflict of interest. Previous issues include but are not limited to Trump’s hotel in Washington D.C. and its pay-for-play potential, Trump’s attempt to prevent development on British wind farm because it would block the view from his golf course, and his diplomacy-disrupting call to Taiwan after scoping out the possibility of building Trump property in the region. There are a lot of other examples.

While Trump has said his sons will take over his business, many have suggested that the only way for Trump to truly avoid conflicts of interest is by divesting his assets entirely. As ethics expert Norman Eisen put it in an interview with Chuck Todd, “There is no way that Donald Trump can serve as the president of the United States and hang onto this enormous web of domestic and international businesses and keep an interest in them. He’s going to be conflicted, there’s going to be a cloud, a question every time he makes a decision. … He’s going to stumble over the Constitution.”

...how about vulgar?

Posted by Trump being sued by D.C. and Maryland on Mon, 12 Jun 2017 12:18 | #

Washington Post, “D.C. and Maryland to sue President Trump, alleging breach of constitutional oath”, 12 June 2017:

Attorneys general for the District of Columbia and the state of Maryland say they will file a lawsuit on June 12 against President Trump, alleging breach of constitutional oath . The suit centers on the fact that Trump chose to retain ownership of his company when he became president.

Attorneys general for the District of Columbia and the state of Maryland say they will sue President Trump on Monday, alleging that he has violated anti-corruption clauses in the Constitution by accepting millions in payments and benefits from foreign governments since moving into the White House.