**Official Trump Conflict of Interest Thread**

[koriwhat]

1125899424201420800

lmao looking towards the past for pats on the back... pafuckingthetic! where'd you get your MBA at again?

[LkrFan]

lmao looking towards the past for pats on the back... pafuckingthetic! where'd you get your MBA at again?

MHA

[koriwhat]

MHA

so you're in the health field?

[Spurs Homer]

Its ok

the russians took care of those losses/debts

this is why trump works for russia

[LkrFan]

so you're in the health field?

Yep. I'm a healthcare administrator in the Navy.

[koriwhat]

Yep. I'm a healthcare administrator in the Navy.

:tu

[RandomGuy]

if six of my businesses declare bankruptcy in 18 years, will I be considered a brilliant businessman as well?

Looks like "art of the deal" should really be the "art of tax cheating". Given his appalling lack of ethics at all levels, it shouldn't really surprise at this point. He seemed like a shyster then, albiet one more in command of his faculties.

I watched his testimony to some legislative body or other in the early 90s, and his ability to string together thoughts and complete sentences was a marked contrast to his current self.

[RandomGuy]

Yep. I'm a healthcare administrator in the Navy.

Neat.

[Winehole23]

Five-alarm scandal that would be shouted over hill and dale in any Democratic administration, just another Monday in Trumplandia.

The Cabinet officer's husband is Mitch McConnell.

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/02/us/politics/elaine-chao-china.html

[Winehole23]

No explicit quid pro quo. The new conservative ethics in the time of DJT is that any behavior short of criminality is halal.


If the industry had written a $1 million check directly to the president’s campaign, both the CFSA and campaign could have faced fines or even criminal charges — and Trump couldn’t have used the money to enrich himself. But paying $1 million directly to the president’s business? That’s perfectly legal.https://www.propublica.org/article/trump-inc-podcast-payday-lenders-spent-1-million-at-a-trump-resort-and-cashed-in/

[boutons_deux]

Rachel Maddow connects the dots on an epic financial scandal involving Mitch McConnell and Russia

The MSNBC host recounts a bizarre scandal involving Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky


the federal government put sanctions on Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska, who she pointed out “used to do a bunch of work with Paul Manafort.”

The sanctions also impacted his company Rusal, which is the second largest aluminum company in the world.

Maddow explained how Deripaska ran a “robust and very expensive campaign by lobbyists” that resulted in the Trump administration relaxing the sanctions.

A big, bipartisan majority in the House of Representatives said,

‘Actually, no, the U.S. government should not lift those sanctions. Are you kidding? Oleg Deripaska was sanctioned for a reason, for a good reason. Why is the Trump Treasury Department lifting those sanctions?'”

The host noted 70 percent of House Republicans voted to retain the sanctions.

“Then it goes over to the Senate. Senate turns out to be a different story,” she reported.

“There were a whole bunch of Republican senators who wanted to join the House in making sure those sanctions stayed on Deripaska’s company,

but the Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell made sure that measure met a swift death on his side of the capitol.

And so the Trump Administration was allowed to, in fact, lift those sanctions on Oleg Deripaska’s aluminum company earlier this year.”

Oleg Deripaska’s company announced last month that they have made a surprise decision to spend $200 million opening a new plant in Mitch McConnell’s home state of Kentucky,”

she continued.

“It will come with a bow on it. It’s a project they’ll say will bring billions of dollars and thousands of Jobs to Mitch McConnell’s state.”

https://www.salon.com/2019/05/22/rachel-maddow-connects-the-dots-on-an-epic-financial-scandal-involving-mitch-mcconnell-and-russia_partner/ (https://www.salon.com/2019/05/22/rachel-maddow-connects-the-dots-on-an-epic-financial-scandal-involving-mitch-mcconnell-and-russia_partner/)

[RandomGuy]

Rachel Maddow connects the dots on an epic financial scandal involving Mitch McConnell and Russia

The MSNBC host recounts a bizarre scandal involving Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky


the federal government put sanctions on Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska, who she pointed out “used to do a bunch of work with Paul Manafort.”

The sanctions also impacted his company Rusal, which is the second largest aluminum company in the world.

Maddow explained how Deripaska ran a “robust and very expensive campaign by lobbyists” that resulted in the Trump administration relaxing the sanctions.

A big, bipartisan majority in the House of Representatives said,

‘Actually, no, the U.S. government should not lift those sanctions. Are you kidding? Oleg Deripaska was sanctioned for a reason, for a good reason. Why is the Trump Treasury Department lifting those sanctions?'”

The host noted 70 percent of House Republicans voted to retain the sanctions.

“Then it goes over to the Senate. Senate turns out to be a different story,” she reported.

“There were a whole bunch of Republican senators who wanted to join the House in making sure those sanctions stayed on Deripaska’s company,

but the Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell made sure that measure met a swift death on his side of the capitol.

And so the Trump Administration was allowed to, in fact, lift those sanctions on Oleg Deripaska’s aluminum company earlier this year.”

Oleg Deripaska’s company announced last month that they have made a surprise decision to spend $200 million opening a new plant in Mitch McConnell’s home state of Kentucky,”

she continued.

“It will come with a bow on it. It’s a project they’ll say will bring billions of dollars and thousands of Jobs to Mitch McConnell’s state.”

https://www.salon.com/2019/05/22/rachel-maddow-connects-the-dots-on-an-epic-financial-scandal-involving-mitch-mcconnell-and-russia_partner/ (https://www.salon.com/2019/05/22/rachel-maddow-connects-the-dots-on-an-epic-financial-scandal-involving-mitch-mcconnell-and-russia_partner/)




... and there it is.

[Winehole23]

Cadre was founded in 2014 by Kushner, his brother Joshua and their friend Ryan Williams, who previously worked for Goldman Sachs. The company operates from a building in Manhattan owned by the Kushner family’s real estate corporation.https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/jun/10/jared-kushner-real-estate-cadre-goldman-sachs

[Winehole23]

Chao and McConnell: swamp creatures.


Chao’s designation of Inman as a special intermediary for Kentucky — a privilege other states did not enjoy — gave a special advantage to projects favored by her husband, which could in turn benefit his political interests. In such situations, ethicists say, each member of a couple benefits personally from the success of the other.https://www.politico.com/story/2019/06/10/mcconnell-elaine-chao-1358068

[boutons_deux]

Jared Kushner-owned company raked in $90 million from secret foreign sources

A real estate company partially owned by Jared Kushner has

received $90 million from anonymous foreign sources

since he started working in the White House.

Most of the money flowed into Cadre, a company Kushner still holds a reported $50 million stake in,

through a vehicle run by Goldman Sachs in the Cayman Islands tax haven,

https://www.rawstory.com/2019/06/jared-kushner-owned-company-raked-in-90-million-from-secret-foreign-sources-report/?utm_source=&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=308 (https://www.rawstory.com/2019/06/jared-kushner-owned-company-raked-in-90-million-from-secret-foreign-sources-report/?utm_source=&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=308)

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/jun/10/jared-kushner-real-estate-cadre-goldman-sachs

[boutons_deux]

Of course they are, frauds and cheats gonna fraud and cheat

NBC analyst accuses Trump family of ‘insider’ trading with early knowledge of Trump’s market-moving tweets

https://www.rawstory.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Junior-Melania-Trump-Ivanka-Eric.jpg

NBC’s Howard Fineman over the weekend asserted that President Donald Trump’s family is guilty of

using early knowledge of the president’s tweets to make money in the stock market (https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-marvel-china-tweet-stock-market-2019-5).

https://www.rawstory.com/2019/06/nbc-analyst-accuses-trump-family-of-insider-trading-with-early-knowledge-of-trumps-market-moving-tweets/ (https://www.rawstory.com/2019/06/nbc-analyst-accuses-trump-family-of-insider-trading-with-early-knowledge-of-trumps-market-moving-tweets/)

Of course, the SEC is so politicized, compliant, under-funded that SEC won't bother to rut out the insider dealing, which is the lifeblood of the oligarchy.

[boutons_deux]

Chao created special path for McConnell’s favored projects

A top Transportation official helped coordinate grant applications by McConnell’s political allies.

https://static.politico.com/dims4/default/d49f3ce/2147483647/resize/1160x%3E/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fstatic.politico.com%2Ffe%2F62%2 F201d0b5f4c99aa146c215da1a39d%2Fdoherty-mcconnell-lede.jpg

The Transportation Department under Secretary Elaine Chao

designated a special liaison to help with grant applications and other priorities from her husband Mitch McConnell’s state of Kentucky,

paving the way for grants totaling at least $78 million for favored projects as McConnell prepared to campaign for reelection.

https://www.politico.com/story/2019/06/10/mcconnell-elaine-chao-1358068 (https://www.politico.com/story/2019/06/10/mcconnell-elaine-chao-1358068)

[Winehole23]

Second boutons sloppy seconds today. I scooped you twice on this page, dude.

[RandomGuy]

No explicit quid pro quo. The new conservative ethics in the time of DJT is that any behavior short of criminality is halal.

https://www.propublica.org/article/trump-inc-podcast-payday-lenders-spent-1-million-at-a-trump-resort-and-cashed-in/

"short of"???

With the cult of personality, and some quite literally proclaiming him a messiah, I am not sure the qualifier is warranted at this point.

[boutons_deux]

Questions swirl over Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump’s relationship with billionaire landlord

A conglomerate owned by Chilean billionaire Andrónico Luksic purchased a $5.5 million house in Washington (https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/25/climate/trump-minnesota-mine.html) shortly before President Donald Trump assumed office, according to the New York Times.

The home was then rented to Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump, respectively the new president’s son-in-law and daughter,

raising questions about whether a potential conflict of interest arose for the new administration in regards to policy pertaining to Antofagasta, the conglomerate controlled by Luksic.

“But it doesn’t look good.”

it is known that the Trump administration reversed course on a position taken by former President Barack Obama’s administration regarding the construction of a copper mine in Minnesota. :lol

Executives with the mining company, Antofagasta, discussed the project with senior administration officials, including the White House’s top energy adviser, the emails show.

Even before an interior secretary was appointed to the new administration,

the department moved to re-examine leases critical to the mine, eventually restoring those that the Obama administration had declined to renew.

And the Forest Service called off an environmental review that could have restricted mining,

it is entirely possible that the Trump administration is once again prioritizing business over the environment. :lol

the Trump administration’s instruction to the EPA to use a new method for projecting the future health risks of air pollution (https://www.salon.com/2019/05/20/experts-call-out-trumps-epa-for-redefining-environmental-standards-to-allow-for-more-air-pollution/),

a logical next step in the effort by Trump and

the polluting interests that dictate his environmental policies

to dismantle the environmental protections of the past half century

put in place by past both Republican and Democratic presidents.”

“Let me be blunt: Trump is choosing to kill people in order to increase the profits

of the polluting interests to which he is beholden.

I cannot think of a more craven act than this, and we’re talking about a president who is known for craven acts.

There is a reason I warned back in October 2016 that Trump is a threat to the planet.”

https://www.rawstory.com/2019/06/questions-swirl-over-jared-kushner-and-ivanka-trumps-relationship-with-billionaire-landlord/ (https://www.rawstory.com/2019/06/questions-swirl-over-jared-kushner-and-ivanka-trumps-relationship-with-billionaire-landlord/)

[boutons_deux]

Trump’s DC hotel billed the Secret Service $200,000 in his first year of office

On Thursday, NBC News reported (https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/trump-hotel-washington-charged-secret-service-200-000-president-s-n1022641) that the Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C., billed the Secret Service $200,000 in just 2017.

Documents obtained through the Freedom of Information Act reveal

a stunning expenditure of security money paid to the Trump property,

which was run out of the Old Post Office building and

on lease from the General Services Administration.

In one instance, the Secret Service spent $30,000 in two nights.

https://www.rawstory.com/2019/06/trumps-dc-hotel-billed-the-secret-service-200000-in-his-first-year-of-office-report/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TheRawStory+%28The+Raw+Story% 29

[Winehole23]

The roll out of new Trump-branded ventures in Indonesia revives conflict of interest concerns amid trade tensions.

Are any of y'all old enough to remember ethics concerns about the Clinton Foundation?


the visit comes amid increased trade tensions between the countries, with Indonesian officials worried about potential U.S. tariffs on the country’s products—and a renewed focus on potential conflicts of interest inherent in the development deal. The most recent issue raising concerns among ethics experts is the fact that the daughter of the Trump Organization’s billionaire business partner is being considered by Indonesia’s president for a Cabinet-level position.https://www.fastcompany.com/90388229/don-jrs-visit-to-luxury-resort-pre-launch-in-indonesia-revives-conflict-of-interest-concerns

[Winehole23]

Some of the financing for the Indonesian projects comes from foreign government-owned entities. When Trump visited South Korea last month, reporters raised questions (https://www.politico.com/story/2019/07/01/trump-resort-south-korea-government-1390736) about a $120 million contract that Trump partner MNC Land signed with a construction company partly owned by the South Korean government, with financing by KEB Bank and IBK Securities, a Korean state-owned bank. That followed reports last year that the Chinese government is extending a $500 million loan to a state-owned construction company building (http://www.mncland.com/indonesia-china-has-strengthened-as-mnc-signs-framework-agreement-for-new-tourism-destination/) a theme park adjoining the Trump resort in Lido, Indonesia.

[Winehole23]

ah well, the grift must go on

[Winehole23]

PURE COINCIDENCE:


the close relationship between Trump and Tanoesoedibjo made headlines again earlier this summer, when it was reported that the Indonesian billionaire was behind a mysterious entity that paid $13.5 million for Trump’s villa in Beverly Hills. (https://www.mercurynews.com/2019/06/13/trumps-business-partner-buys-one-of-his-california-mansions/)

[RandomGuy]

PURE COINCIDENCE:

Surprise.

[LkrFan]

Add this too
https://twitter.com/AOC/status/1160179049983090690?s=19
Fine people on both sides my ass. 100% committed by whiteysPERIOD. SMH

[Winehole23]

Donald J. Trump: historically corrupt.

https://www.citizensforethics.org/2000-trump-conflicts-of-interest-counting/

[boutons_deux]

I bet he will not pay for his corruption, encouraging other in the WH, and across the country, to follow his example, esp since he won't be punished for his corruption.

[Winehole23]

I bet he will not pay for his corruption, encouraging other in the WH, and across the country, to follow his example, esp since he won't be punished for his corruption.Elite impunity is well established.

Iran/Contra, torture and indefinite detention at Gitmo, spying on Americans, assassinating Americans, letting financial fraudsters off the hook after the epochal bust, etc..

[boutons_deux]

What?

Obama and Holder put 100s of BigFinance exec in jail

[Winehole23]

What?

Obama and Holder put 100s of BigFinance exec in jailName em.

[Winehole23]

You forget the robo-signing scandal, boutons, that was tends of thousands of fairly straightforward felonies that went by the boards due to prosecutorial discretion. The common wisdom was that prosecuting fraud would roil a weak market. So Obama (through his cats" paws Eric Holder and Tim Geithner) screwed homeowners instead of the banks and market makers that precipitated the financial panic

[Thread]

What?

Obama and Holder put 100s of BigFinance exec in jail

Holder also took time out to roast a bunch of women, children & men alive at Waco.
Hussein:::He couldn't resist that Trayvon materiel; the stupid shit.

[Thread]

Add this too
https://twitter.com/AOC/status/1160179049983090690?s=19
Fine people on both sides my ass. 100% committed by whiteysPERIOD. SMH

There were fine people on both sides in Virginia. yes.

Yep, the old man got his mind right overnight on that event. & gd good thing he did. Otherwise Dale woulda had to turn his back on him like the cops did DiBlasio in New York.

[Winehole23]

Holder also took time out to roast a bunch of women, children & men alive at Waco.They all say as you get older, the mind starts to go. What they don't tell you is, you won't miss it very much.

I think you mean Janet Reno.

[Thread]

They all say as you get older, the mind starts to go. What they don't tell you is, you won't miss it very much.

I think you mean Janet Reno.

+ Janet Reno. Holder has blood on his hands as well.

[Winehole23]

+ Janet Reno. Holder has blood on his hands as well.If you’re talking about Waco, you probably read that Victoria Jackson bit in godlikeproductions. Completely made up, btw — Holder had zero to do with the Branch Davidian stand-off, maybe you meant “Fast and Furious”?

[Thread]

If you’re talking about Waco, you probably read that Victoria Jackson bit in godlikeproductions. Completely made up, btw — Holder had zero to do with the Branch Davidian stand-off, maybe you meant “Fast and Furious”?


No, no. I'll make myself clear, crystal clear once & again:::Holder has Waco blood on his hands. That fuck.

[Winehole23]

No, no. I'll make myself clear, crystal clear once & again:::Holder has Waco blood on his hands. That fuck.How so?

He was a DC Superior Court judge in 1993, had nothing whatsoever to do with it. Not in his jurisdiction.

if you have evidence otherwise, please share.

[boutons_deux]

You forget the robo-signing scandal, boutons, that was tends of thousands of fairly straightforward felonies that went by the boards due to prosecutorial discretion. The common wisdom was that prosecuting fraud would roil a weak market. So Obama (through his cats" paws Eric Holder and Tim Geithner) screwed homeowners instead of the banks and market makers that precipitated the financial panic

didn't forget shit

did you forget than MERS breaks the chain of title, violating a couple 100 years of the foundation of property law?

[Winehole23]

didn't forget shit

did you forget than MERS breaks the chain of title, violating a couple 100 years of the foundation of property law?Nope, you probably found out about that by reading my posts about it here.

[Spurs Homer]

There were fine people on both sides in Virginia. yes.

Yep, the old man got his mind right overnight on that event. & gd good thing he did. Otherwise Dale woulda had to turn his back on him like the cops did DiBlasio in New York.

Proud of being a nazi aren't you?

[RandomGuy]

What?

Obama and Holder put 100s of BigFinance exec in jail

One banker went to jail.

One.

Sorry man. Obama sucked it on this.

[boutons_deux]

One banker went to jail.

One.

Sorry man. Obama sucked it on this.

Of course, I know.

they got the Indian guy for insider trading, and

Frenchman Fabulous Fabrice for packaging a bunch of Paulson's failing crap, selling it to investors, while Paulson then bet against it, and won.

Paulson wasn't punished

[Winehole23]

Of course, I know.

they got the Indian guy for insider trading, and

Frenchman Fabulous Fabrice for packaging a bunch of Paulson's failing crap, selling it to investors, while Paulson then bet against it, and won.

Paulson wasn't punished
You said 100s went to jail.

Are you a liar, boutons?

[boutons_deux]

You said 100s went to jail.

Are you a liar, boutons?

no, I'm a sarcasmer

[boutons_deux]

Trump’s company could save millions if interest rates fall as he demands

President Trump

stands to save millions of dollars annually in interest on outstanding loans on his hotels and resorts

if the Federal Reserve lowers rates as he has been demanding, according to public filings and financial experts.


In the five years before he became president,

Trump borrowed more than $360 million via four loans from Deutsche Bank for his hotels in Washington, D.C., and Chicago, as well his 643-room Doral golf resort in South Florida.

The payments on all four properties vary with interest rate changes, according to Trump’s official financial disclosures.

his payments could drop by millions of dollars more annually if the central bank grants Trump’s wish and further lowers short-term rates,

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trumps-company-could-save-millions-if-interest-rates-fall-as-he-demands/2019/08/24/5e5df684-c5a9-11e9-b5e4-54aa56d5b7ce_story.html?noredirect=on (https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trumps-company-could-save-millions-if-interest-rates-fall-as-he-demands/2019/08/24/5e5df684-c5a9-11e9-b5e4-54aa56d5b7ce_story.html?noredirect=on)

[boutons_deux]

Trump encouraged Pence to stay at his golf resort in Ireland

the Trump International Golf Links & Hotel was “the one facility” that could accommodate the size of the delegation traveling with Pence in Doonbeg, a village from which Pence’s family hails. The hotel has 120 rooms.

“We checked it with the State Department. They approved us staying there." :lol

During his taxpayer-funded trip to Ireland, Pence is flying to meetings in Dublin, which is nearly 150 miles away.

Asked why Pence chose not to stay in Dublin,
Short said that the vice president’s schedule had changed too late to make such a change. :lol

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-encouraged-pence-to-stay-at-his-golf-resort-in-ireland/2019/09/03/a2dc63c4-ce3f-11e9-b29b-a528dc82154a_story.html?noredirect=on&wpisrc=nl_most&wpmm=1

[boutons_deux]

Trump’s Treasury secretary flew on a private jet owned by jailed ‘junk bond’ king lobbying for pardon

https://www.rawstory.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/KBTV_03-25-2018_08.40.41c.jpg

Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin flew on a private jet owned by a billionaire who served two years in prison (https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/18/us/politics/mnuchin-private-flight-michael-milken.html) for securities fraud in the 1990’s.

Mnuchin flew from Washington, D.C. to Los Angeles on a jet owned by Michael Milken, a “junk bond” billionaire.

an internal review the department decided he did not need an ethics waiver. :lol

Milken and the secretary have “known each other for years” and that

Mnuchin reimbursed the billionaire — but did not disclose the amount of the reimbursement.

Mnuchin and other administration officials have been lobbying President Donald Trump

to pardon Milken for the six securities fraud charges

“Mr. Milken, who had to pay $600 million in fines, was sentenced to 10 years in prison and

released after two years,” :lol

https://www.rawstory.com/2019/01/trumps-treasury-secretary-flew-private-jet-owned-jailed-junk-bond-king-lobbying-pardon/?utm_source=&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=1342 (https://www.rawstory.com/2019/01/trumps-treasury-secretary-flew-private-jet-owned-jailed-junk-bond-king-lobbying-pardon/?utm_source=&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=1342)

[boutons_deux]

Pence is pretty fucking stupid, and looks it

Mike Pence has changed his story 3 times on why he stayed at Trump hotel for Ireland meeting

“So, if you’re re-explaining are you losing again?” Melber asked.

“Because Mike Pence is revising his story a third time ongoing 180 miles out of his way all to get government money, your tax dollars into Donald Trump’s company in Ireland. T

his is now one day after Pence’s team said that Trump suggested he stay there so we know about that.”

But now there’s another story.

“At no time did Trump direct our office to stay at his Doonbeg resort,” Pence’s team claimed.

Melber recalled when former Trump “fixer” Michael Cohen was testifying before Congress about what information he knew about the president’s lies.

Cohen explained that Trump doesn’t ask people to lie or tell people to do things to benefit him,

he simply works to ensure people understand what he wants.

“Pence and his team plunked down taxpayer money to go stay at Trump’s resort which you see here, was 180 miles away from the government meetings he had in Dublin,” Melber said.

In fact,

it caused Pence to travel at least four hours each day to the meetings all the way across the country.

Pence claimed it was because

no hotel could accommodate his entourage,

which seems like a stretch for the nation’s capital city,

or any other city within 180 miles of Dublin.

https://www.rawstory.com/2019/09/mike-pence-has-changed-his-story-3-times-on-why-he-stayed-at-trump-hotel-for-ireland-meeting-msnbc-host/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TheRawStory+%28The+Raw+Story% 29 (https://www.rawstory.com/2019/09/mike-pence-has-changed-his-story-3-times-on-why-he-stayed-at-trump-hotel-for-ireland-meeting-msnbc-host/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TheRawStory+%28The+Raw+Story% 29)

180 miles everyday? Houston - San Antonio

[boutons_deux]

In the mafia, there is a name for what Pence and Barr did

As a federal organized crime prosecutor, I learned that

the mafia uses a practice known as "kicking up" or "paying tribute" to the boss.

Essentially, all members of a mafia family must make sure that

some of their earnings end up in the boss' pocket.

From the member's point of view, "kicking up" is a way to show respect, curry favor, and reinforce the hierarchical power structure.

From the boss's point of view, it's a way to get rich.

now a political version of it seems to be catching on within the Trump administration. Vice President Mike Pence has decided to stay at Trump's golf resort in Doonbeg, Ireland, during an official visit to Dublin (over a one-hour flight away, so not particularly close or convenient).

in the "posterior osculation" category (as Paul Begala colorfully put it (https://www.cnn.com/2019/08/28/opinions/barr-sucking-up-to-trump-begala/index.html)),

Attorney General William Barr reportedly (https://www.cnn.com/2019/08/27/politics/barr-trump-hotel-holiday-party/index.html) will spend more than $30,000 of personal money

to throw a private holiday party at the Trump International Hotel in Washington DC.

there is no escaping that Barr's choice to patronize a Trump property, like Pence's, will put thousands of dollars in Trump's pocket.

First,

the payments could violate the Emoluments Clause (https://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/articlei) of the Constitution, which prohibits federal government officials from accepting

(1) "any present, emoluments, title or office" from any foreign country or

(2) any income beyond official salary from any American state or the federal government. (https://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/articleii)
Second,

the decisions by Pence and Barr to patronize Trump's private business raise vexing precedent and serious ethical questions.

Do other high-ranking federal officials need to take notice and follow suit?

Will they be punished or disfavored if they don't throw a couple bucks Trump's way?

Is there some implicit understanding that Trump will favor those who pay?

Even if the answer to all of these questions is "no,"

the appearance itself is terrible; :lol "we don't need no steekin appearances":;ol

The attorney general is supposed to be independent and stand above politics, but

Barr looks weak and sycophantic to Trump.

https://www.cnn.com/2019/09/04/opinions/pence-barr-money-trumps-pocket-honig/index.html?utm_source=fark&utm_medium=website&utm_content=link&ICID=ref_fark (https://www.cnn.com/2019/09/04/opinions/pence-barr-money-trumps-pocket-honig/index.html?utm_source=fark&utm_medium=website&utm_content=link&ICID=ref_fark)

[boutons_deux]

Air Force crew made an odd stop on a routine trip: Trump’s Scottish resort

Now the layover is part of a broader House inquiry into military spending at and around the Trump property.

In early Spring of this year, an Air National Guard crew made a routine trip from the U.S. to Kuwait to deliver supplies.

What wasn’t routine was where the crew stopped along the way: President Donald Trump’s Turnberry resort, about 50 miles outside Glasgow, Scotland.

why the crew on the C-17 military transport plane made the unusual stay — both en route to the Middle East and on the way back

But they have yet to receive any answers from the Pentagon.

The inquiry is part of a broader, previously unreported probe into U.S. military expenditures at and around the Trump property in Scotland.

the military has spent $11 million on fuel at the Prestwick Airport

fuel that would be cheaper if purchased at a U.S. military base.

The letter also cites a Guardian report (https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2018/feb/07/scottish-government-criticised-over-us-military-use-of-airport) that the airport provided cut-rate rooms and free rounds of golf at Turnberry for U.S. military members.

the military has helped keep Trump’s Turnberry resort afloat —

the property lost (https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trumps-scotland-resort-lost-45-million-in-2017-new-report-says/2018/10/04/3821aa66-c71b-11e8-b2b5-79270f9cce17_story.html) $4.5 million in 2017,

but revenue went up (https://www.politico.com/story/2019/06/06/trump-resort-revenue-1355525) $3 million in 2018.

On previous trips to the Middle East, the C-17 had landed at U.S. air bases such as Ramstein Air Base in Germany or Naval Station Rota in Spain to refuel,

, the plane landed in Glasgow — a pitstop the five-man crew had never experienced in their dozens of trips to the Middle East.

The location lacked a U.S. base and was dozens of miles away from the crew’s overnight lodging at the Turnberry resort.

the choice of hotel — markedly different than the Marriotts and Hiltons the 176th maintenance squadron is used to

the crew’s per diem allowance wasn’t enough to cover food and drinks at the ritzy resort.

Trump’s properties are unfairly :lol ILLEGALLY :lol profiting off of his administration have dogged the president since entering office.

the potential involvement of the military takes the issue to a different level.

https://www.politico.com/story/2019/09/06/air-force-trump-scottish-retreat-1484337 (https://www.politico.com/story/2019/09/06/air-force-trump-scottish-retreat-1484337)

[boutons_deux]

Pence family boondoggle in Ireland cost U.S. taxpayers $600,000 for the limos alone (https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2019/9/10/1884643/-Pence-family-boondoggle-in-Ireland-cost-U-S-taxpayers-600-000-for-the-limos-alone)

Pence and his family opted to stay on the opposite side of the country,

to be near the hometown of Pence’s great-great-grandpappy, which also happened to be conveniently located near the once struggling Trump International Golf Links & Hotel in Doonbeg.

Now we learn that the travel back and forth from Dublin to Doonbeg, where the Pence family spent two nights at Trump’s hotel, were quite costly for American taxpayers. CREW (https://www.citizensforethics.org/mike-pence-doonbeg-cost-nearly-600k/) obtained the contracts from the State Department and learned that

taxpayers ponied up $599,454.36 (https://www.fpds.gov/ezsearch/fpdsportal?indexName=awardfull&templateName=1.5.1&s=FPDS.GOV&q=+VENDOR_ADDRESS_COUNTRY_CODE%3A%22IRL%22+DESCRIP TION_OF_REQUIREMENT%3A%22VPOTUS%22&x=0&y=0) just for the limousines used to ferry the Pence family back and forth across Ireland.

the Doonbeg stay wasn’t the first time Mike Pence has directly helped Donald Trump’s bottom line:

he is one of the most frequent visitors in the Trump administration,

visiting Trump businesses at least 20 times.

Additionally, political groups linked to Pence have also hosted 6 events at Trump properties.

"@GOPLeader (https://twitter.com/GOPLeader): "The President's resorts are hotels that he owns, that people are traveling. :lol what? :lol

It's just like any other hotel... :lol

I don't know that that's different than anything else. :lol

Is it different than if I go and stay or eat at a Marriott here or eat at the Trump?" :lol

https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2019/9/10/1884643/-Pence-family-boondoggle-in-Ireland-cost-U-S-taxpayers-600-000-for-the-limos-alone?detail=emaildkre (https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2019/9/10/1884643/-Pence-family-boondoggle-in-Ireland-cost-U-S-taxpayers-600-000-for-the-limos-alone?detail=emaildkre)

Remember the Fox/Repug/Spurstalk insane outrage when Michelle took her girls on a trip to Africa? :lol

[boutons_deux]

Checking In at Trump Hotels, for Kinship (and Maybe Some Sway)

To ethics lawyers, the most extraordinary aspect of the

daily merging of President Trump’s official duties and his commercial interests is that

it has now become almost routine.

Staying at the Trump hotel or hosting an event in one of its ballrooms is hardly a guarantee of getting something in return from the Trump administration, or even getting on Mr. Trump’s personal radar.

But many people like Ms. Bartlett have learned that it also does not hurt.

“President Trump has really been on the side of the evangelicals and we want to do everything we can to make him successful,”

“And if that means having dinner or staying in his hotel, we are going to do so.”

Since Mr. Trump became president,

there have been thousands of visits to his properties,

not only by Mr. Trump himself,

but by foreign leaders,

lobbyists,

Republican candidates,

members of Congress,

cabinet members and

others with ties to the president.

At least 90 members of Congress,

250 Trump administration officials and

more than 110 foreign officials have been spotted at Trump properties since 2017,

“It reflects the normalization of corruption — this is just how business works in Trump’s Washington, D.C.,”

since January 2017, at least $5.6 million has been spent at Trump properties by political candidates or party organizations, including by Mr. Trump’s own political operation,

In the four years before Mr. Trump’s bid for president, these same hotels and other venues collected a total of only $119,000 in federally regulated payments from political groups.

“The committee does not believe that U.S. taxpayer funds should be used to personally enrich President Trump, his family and his companies,” :lol duh

“When you have an event there or do something there, it signifies that you are supporting the president, and supporting what he is doing,” Mr. Navarro said.

“It sends a clear message.” :lol that one supports stealing taxpayers $Ms and blatant corruption :lol

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/07/us/politics/trump-hotel.html

[boutons_deux]

Trump Adviser Tom Barrack Pushed for Saudi Nuclear Deal — and Planned to Profit From It

Documents released by a congressional committee reveal

Barrack’s plan to team up with Arab princes to buy a U.S. nuclear company.

Federal prosecutors are investigating foreign influence.

https://www.propublica.org/article/trump-adviser-tom-barrack-saudi-nuclear-deal (https://www.propublica.org/article/trump-adviser-tom-barrack-saudi-nuclear-deal)

Barr's DoJ will obviously do bang up job on Barrack

[boutons_deux]

How Payday Lenders Spent $1 Million at a Trump Resort — and Cashed In

At the Trump Doral outside Miami, payday lenders celebrated the potential death of a rule intended to protect their customers.

They couldn’t have done it without President Donald Trump and his latest deregulator, Kathleen Kraninger.


In mid-March, the payday lending industry held its annual convention at the Trump National Doral hotel outside Miami.

Payday lenders offer loans on the order of a few hundred dollars, typically to low-income borrowers, who have to pay them back in a matter of weeks. The industry has long been reviled by critics for charging stratospheric interest rates —

typically 400% on an annual basis —

that leave customers trapped in cycles of debt.

Payday lenders, many dressed in golf shirts and khakis, enjoyed an open bar and mingled over bites of steak and coconut shrimp.

They had plenty to be elated about.

A month earlier, Kathleen Kraninger, who had just finished her second month as director of the federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, had delivered what

the lenders consider an epochal victory:

Kraninger announced a proposal (https://www.consumerfinance.gov/about-us/newsroom/consumer-financial-protection-bureau-releases-notices-proposed-rulemaking-payday-lending/) to gut a crucial rule (https://files.consumerfinance.gov/f/documents/201710_cfpb_final-rule_payday-loans-rule.pdf) that had been passed under her Obama-era predecessor.

https://www.propublica.org/article/trump-inc-podcast-payday-lenders-spent-1-million-at-a-trump-resort-and-cashed-in (https://www.propublica.org/article/trump-inc-podcast-payday-lenders-spent-1-million-at-a-trump-resort-and-cashed-in)

[boutons_deux]

This Is Still Happening: Elaine Chao

An ongoing roundup of Trump administration malfeasance.


https://compote.slate.com/images/56e14e89-8cb9-4cec-b468-f08ad06afaab.jpeg?width=780&height=520&rect=1560x1040&offset=0x0


his administration has been beset by levels of corruption rarely seen outside of the worst dictatorships and global sports governing bodies (http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_spot/2014/06/05/fifa_corruption_take_our_quiz_to_match_the_corrupt _act_to_the_corrupt_organization.html).

Given their boss’s open venality and complete lack of accountability,

it’s been hard to keep track of everything that Trump officials have themselves gotten away with.


Chao, who is married to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and who previously served as George W. Bush’s labor secretary, faced back-to-back-to-back-to-back scandals this summer with a series of pieces about her and her husband’s various public grafts.

First, at the end of May, the Wall Street Journal published a report (https://www.wsj.com/articles/transportation-secretary-still-owns-stock-she-pledged-to-divest-11559035921) that Chao had failed to divest her shares in a crushed stone, sand, and gravel company, which supplied construction materials to the transportation sector, a year after she had promised to do so. In the meantime, she had netted more than $40,000.


a 5,500-word feature (https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/02/us/politics/elaine-chao-china.html) on her family’s shipping company,

its deep ties to the government of China,

the money it has provided Chao and her husband and his campaigns, and

Chao’s apparent efforts to use her positions to bolster the business. Chao repeatedly sought to include family members and relatives affiliated with the company in meetings with top Chinese officials during overseas trips (this was reportedly stymied by State Department officials);

in a response to a Senate confirmation questionnaire, Chao failed to list multiple honorary awards, titles, and appointments she had received in China;

her agency has proposed U.S. maritime program budget cuts that would hurt competitors of her family’s business;

she took at least 21 meetings or interviews with Chinese-language media in her first year in office, including multiple appearances with her father, the company’s former chairman;

she attended an event celebrating a company deal that involved transit projects that fell under her oversight;

she did not recuse herself from any decisions affecting the shipping industry.

The Times also reported that 13 members of Chao’s family had given $1.1 million to McConnell’s campaigns and political action committees tied to him between 1989 and 2018.

The paper noted that Chao’s father had given the couple a gift of between $5 million and $25 million in 2008 that

catapulted McConnell to become the 10th wealthiest senator. Chao’s apparent efforts to boost her husband’s political career through favorable Department of Transportation treatment for McConnell-friendly Kentucky communities. Among the highlights of that piece:

Chao had an aide on her payroll specifically working as an intermediary to McConnell’s office and dedicated to Kentucky transportation projects;

Owensboro, the Kentucky community where the special adviser was from, received an $11.5 million federal grant for a highway-widening project after it was rejected by the previous administration;

days before launching his 2020 Senate campaign, McConnell held an event in Owensboro touting his work for the community;

after Chao met with a top county official,

her department approved “a $67 million discretionary grant to upgrade roads in rural Boone County, another McConnell stronghold northeast of Louisville.”

a separate McConnell stronghold, the town of Paducah, had benefited from Chao’s largesse.

Members of the community of 25,000 had donated $331,029.50 to McConnell’s reelection campaign in 2013 and 2014,

contributing at three times the rate of Louisville’s residents and eight times the rate of Lexington’s.

Meanwhile:

A local marine transportation equipment company received $377,000 from Chao’s DOT in 2017 to boost the town’s dry dock capabilities;

Chao helped kill an administration proposal that would have ended a subsidy for small rural airports like Paducah’s;

last year, Chao opened a Maritime Administration office in Paducah;

and Chao’s department offered a $251,927 grant to the town for maritime highway projects.

etc, etc.

https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2019/09/elaine-chao-trump-corruption-still-happening.html (https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2019/09/elaine-chao-trump-corruption-still-happening.html)

[boutons_deux]

Appeals panel allows emoluments case against Trump's self-enrichment to proceed (https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2019/9/13/1885279/-Appeals-panel-allows-emoluments-case-against-Trump-s-self-enrichment-to-proceed)

federal appeals panel in New York voted 2-1 Friday (https://thehill.com/regulation/administration/461278-appeals-court-allows-trump-emoluments-case-to-move-forward) to let a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of Donald Trump's failure to divest from his businesses to move forward.

The decision overturned a lower court decision from December 2017 and scored a victory for the group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, which has brought the suit on behalf of Trump's competitors.

"If President Trump would like to avoid the case going further and curtail the serious harms caused by his unconstitutional conduct, now would be a good time to divest from his businesses and end his violations of the Emoluments Clauses of the Constitution," CREW Executive Director Noah Bookbinder said in a statement.

Judge Pierre Leval wrote for the majority,

"Plaintiffs have plausibly pleaded that the President’s ownership of hospitality businesses that

compete with them will induce government patrons of the hospitality industry

to favor Trump businesses over those of the Plaintiffs so as to secure favorable governmental action from the President and Executive branch."

https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2019/9/13/1885279/-Appeals-panel-allows-emoluments-case-against-Trump-s-self-enrichment-to-proceed (https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2019/9/13/1885279/-Appeals-panel-allows-emoluments-case-against-Trump-s-self-enrichment-to-proceed)

[boutons_deux]

House committee investigating Elaine Chao for possible efforts to boost her family's fortunes (https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2019/9/16/1885857/-House-committee-investigating-Elaine-Chao-for-possible-efforts-to-boost-her-family-s-fortunes)

The House Oversight and Reform Committee has asked (https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/16/us/politics/elaine-chao-house-investigation.html) Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao to provide documents relating to her family's shipping company, The New York Times reports.

The committee is investigating whether she has acted in her capacity as transportation secretary

to benefit herself and her family, which includes her husband, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.

The committee is investigating communications between the Transportation Department and Foremost Group,

the shipping company owned by her family and headed up by her sister,

which have been part of a Times investigation that found

"numerous instances in which Ms. Chao, as transportation secretary, may have boosted Foremost’s image."

Chao has made multiple joint appearances with her father, James Chao, who founded the company, since she became the department's secretary, essentially under the auspices of the department.

She and her father have conducted interviews with Chinese-language reporters standing in front of the logo and the flag of the Transportation Department, and

she appeared at a signing ceremony celebrating an agreement between Foremost and a Japanese company that has mass transit projects in the U.S., overseen by her department.

A spokesman for the department told the Times that these "were just routine family events."

Like all our families do.

https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2019/9/16/1885857/-House-committee-investigating-Elaine-Chao-for-possible-efforts-to-boost-her-family-s-fortunes?detail=emaildkre

Lock Her Up

[boutons_deux]

Democrats, Don’t Forget About Wilbur Ross

When the incoming Congress begins its investigations into Trump’s inner circle, the commerce secretary should be near the top of the list.

another journalist has homed in on the business practices of one of the Trump administration’s highest-profile cabinet members: Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross.

Ross is involved in many of the issues closest to the president’s heart:

the North American Free Trade Agreement, 1 (https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2018-11-08/wilbur-ross-s-term-at-commerce-is-ripe-for-democrats-inquiry#footnote-1)
trade negotiations with China,
tariffs on imported steel and aluminum, and so on.

to judge by the work (https://www.forbes.com/sites/danalexander/#a7a81d93c7a9) of Dan Alexander of Forbes,

Ross may also be Trump’s most corrupt cabinet member,

which is saying something in a cabinet that includes
Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke, 2 (https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2018-11-08/wilbur-ross-s-term-at-commerce-is-ripe-for-democrats-inquiry#footnote-2) and
once included Scott Pruitt,

In a different administration, Alexander’s exposés of Ross would dominate the front page,

but they’ve gotten buried in the blizzard of news generated by the president.

Yet just as Fahrenthold’s work will likely spark Trump-related investigations,

so will Alexander’s stories trigger investigations into Ross.

Last year, his net worth was said by the magazine to be $2.9 billion,

When Trump nominated Ross to be commerce secretary, he was required to publicly disclose his finances.

That’s when Alexander realized there were huge discrepancies between the information listed in his financial disclosures and the Ross-aided calculations the magazine used to grant him billionaire status.

Indeed, the disclosures suggested that he was worth no more than $700 million.

Alexander began digging around. Almost exactly a year ago — November 7, 2017 —

he published his first big Ross story (https://www.forbes.com/sites/danalexander/2017/11/07/the-case-of-wilbur-ross-phantom-2-billion/#30969c875155), which concluded that the missing $2 billion had never existed.

“It seems clear that Ross lied to us,” Alexander wrote,

“the latest in an apparent sequence of
fibs,
exaggerations,
omissions,
fabrications and
whoppers that have been going on with Forbes since 2004”

Ross had failed to disclose 19 lawsuits on a Senate questionnaire he filled out as part of the nominating process.

detailed holdings Ross or his family had continued to own even after he was confirmed as commerce secretary — and even though they constituted major conflicts of interest.

Navigator Holdings was a shipping company “connected to cronies of Vladimir Putin.”

His family held a stake in the Bank of Cyprus, which was also connected to Putin allies.

He had a stake — along with the Chinese government — in a company called Diamond S Shipping.

Ross’s Wall Street firm had taken “a 30 percent interest alongside a state-owned company named Shanghai Shenda and got roughly $300 million in cash.

That same month Chinese officials hosted trade talks with none other than Wilbur Ross.”

After learning that the New York Times was about to publish (https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/05/world/wilbur-ross-russia.html) an investigation into his relationship with Navigator Holdings, Ross shorted the company’s stock.

the commerce secretary was trading on the not-yet-public news that he was about to be exposed!

Alexander reported that several senators were calling on the Securities and Exchange Commission to investigate Ross for insider trading.

Alexander got ahold of Ross’s calendar, and wrote a story nicely summed up by its headline:

“Wilbur Ross’ Calendar Reveals Dozens of Meetings With Companies Tied To His Personal Fortune. (https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/05/world/wilbur-ross-russia.html)”

Only when Alexander’s story was about to be published did Ross finally announce that he was selling off all of his equity holdings — holdings that in many cases he had failed to disclose as required by law.

In a story in early August, Alexander actually labeled the commerce secretary a “grifter.”

Many of those who worked directly with him claim that

Ross wrongly siphoned or outright stole a few million here and a few million there,

huge amounts for most but not necessarily for the commerce secretary. …

But all told, these allegations — which sparked lawsuits, reimbursements and an SEC fine —

come to more than $120 million.

If even half of the accusations are legitimate,

the current United States secretary of commerce could rank among the biggest grifters in American history.

https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2018-11-08/wilbur-ross-s-term-at-commerce-is-ripe-for-democrats-inquiry

[boutons_deux]

Transportation Secretary Chao turned her department into a gravy train for Kentucky and McConnell (https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2019/10/7/1890811/-Transportation-Secretary-Chao-turned-her-department-into-a-gravy-train-for-Kentucky-and-McConnell)

https://images.dailykos.com/images/473170/story_image/GettyImages-115534153.jpg?1510850425

Elaine Chao's position in the cabinet—has been very, very good to Chao’s spouse, Moscow Mitch McConnell. Politico has found out just how good (https://www.politico.com/news/2019/10/07/elaine-chao-kentucky-officials-grants-028412).

In just her first 14 months in office, one-quarter of all Chao's scheduled meetings with local officials about Department of Transportation projects were with Kentuckians.

Kentucky did not have 25% of the nation's transportation projects from January 2017 through March 2018. At least five of the 18 meetings Chao had in those months with local officials from Kentucky were requested by McConnell's staff, and were identified as "friends" or "loyal supporters" of McConnell.

"Some of the officials who met with Chao had active grant applications before the Department of Transportation through competitive programs and

the emails indicate that the meetings sometimes involved the exchange of information about grants and opportunities for the officials to plead their case directly before Chao."

Clearly, Chao was giving deferential treatment to McConnell's friends and supporters, and to projects in their state.

"Ever since she came in, it's been very hard to figure out how to get time with her," Beth Osborne, executive director of Transportation for America,

suggested that they invite Chao to their states to see projects.

"And while I was giving that recommendation I kept hearing from folks,

'Oh, she doesn't accept invitations to such things. She just doesn't do that,'" Osborne said.

"And I heard that repeatedly:

'We offered and we were told she just doesn't do trips. That's just not her thing.'"
Her thing, it appears, is making sure that the bucks go to Kentucky and that her husband keeps his job.

https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2019/10/7/1890811/-Transportation-Secretary-Chao-turned-her-department-into-a-gravy-train-for-Kentucky-and-McConnell?detail=emaildkre (https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2019/10/7/1890811/-Transportation-Secretary-Chao-turned-her-department-into-a-gravy-train-for-Kentucky-and-McConnell?detail=emaildkre)

https://www.politico.com/news/2019/10/07/elaine-chao-kentucky-officials-grants-028412

If there's any doubt, assume that that entire Trash/Repug/judicial assholes are totally corrupt.

[spurraider21]

cocaine mitch and the china people!

[Trill Clinton]

1181593679590330368

[boutons_deux]

1181593679590330368

Frey, seeing how Trash has stiffed other cities ($500K in El Paso), is asking for $500K up front.

Trash has $125M in his campaign fund.

[boutons_deux]

Trump chief of staff announces G7 will be held at Trump’s FAILING golf course

Mulvaney insisted that the president will not personally profit from holding the meeting there :lol

and claimed that it was simply the “best” place to hold the summit. :lol

https://www.rawstory.com/2019/10/trump-chief-of-staff-announces-g7-will-be-held-at-trumps-golf-course/ (https://www.rawstory.com/2019/10/trump-chief-of-staff-announces-g7-will-be-held-at-trumps-golf-course/)

[boutons_deux]

Fox objects to Trash's self-enrichment


https://www.facebook.com/washingtondcpress/videos/442580029715105/ (https://rideleep.com/)

[LkrFan]

https://twitter.com/RepMaxineWaters/status/1185264421188329473?s=19

:lol

[Winehole23]

Trump continues to normalize self dealing.

https://www.propublica.org/article/trump-inc-podcast-taxpayers-covered-liquor-bill-for-trump-staffers-and-more-mar-a-lago/

[Winehole23]

Using power to steer federal contracts to yourself, that's just what a sharp businessman does, get over it!

[boutons_deux]

One Day After Trump Called Emoluments Clause ‘Phony,’
Court Sets Hearing in Emoluments Case Against Him

a federal court scheduled a proceeding to address an ongoing Emoluments Clause lawsuit aimed at Trump, meaning that

two Emoluments-related proceedings will occur in the same week this December.

Several (https://twitter.com/renato_mariotti/status/1186322511979597826?) legal (https://twitter.com/benjaminwittes/status/1186392985321295878) experts (https://twitter.com/NoahBookbinder/status/1186639636443160576) quickly (https://twitter.com/CREWcrew/status/1186658778026074113) noted (https://twitter.com/RWPUSA/status/1186364658598531072)t hat (https://twitter.com/Delavegalaw/status/1186344988138971137) the (https://twitter.com/OrinKerr/status/1186354611931582464) Emoluments Clause is not phony whatsoever–it’s an integral part of the U.S. Constitution.

In truth, the so-called “Emoluments Clause” is actually comprised of two separate sections of the U.S. Constitution:

(1) the Title of Nobility Clause located at Article I, Section 9, Clause 8 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Title_of_Nobility_Clause); and

the Presidential Emoluments Clause located at Article II, Section 1, Clause 7 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Article_Two_of_the_United_States_Constitution#Clau se_7:_Salary)–collectively known as the Emoluments Clauses.

... understood from time immemorial to stand for and enshrine the idea and ideal that

U.S. presidents cannot make substantial profits from either foreign or domestic sources during their time in office

if such profits are made as a direct or indirect result of their being president.

“It is harder to imagine a more clear example of exactly what the emoluments restrictions were designed to prevent than

the president of the United States literally hosting international events in his official capacity at his privately owned properties,”


One lawsuit, stylized as Richard Blumenthal, et, al. v. Donald Trump, is currently pending before the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

This action was brought by 30 Democratic Party Senators and 166 Representatives.

The suit alleges that

Trump has violated and continues to violate the Title of Nobility Clause (also known as the Foreign Emoluments Clause) by accepting gifts and payments from foreign governments without congressional approval.

second case is being brought by the attorneys general of Maryland and the District of Columbia. Filed over the summer, the case was initially shelved by a three-judge panel of GOP appointees.

The full court (https://lawandcrime.com/high-profile/yet-another-federal-court-resurrects-an-emoluments-lawsuit-against-trump/), however, brought the case back to legal life earlier this month–agreeing to hear the case all together (https://www.scribd.com/document/430465735/Fourth-Circuit-Order#from_embed) or, in legalese: en banc.

That case, stylized as D.C. and Maryland v. Trump (https://www.law360.com/cases/593ec13a3b73960afb000001) also alleges that

Trump has violated and continues to violate the Foreign Emoluments Clause–and other “unprecedented constitutional violations”–through the operation of his luxury D.C. Trump International Hotel.

https://lawandcrime.com/high-profile/one-day-after-trump-called-emoluments-clause-phony-court-sets-hearing-in-emoluments-case-against-him/

[Winehole23]

The Trump campaign is a family grift:

https://twitter.com/Heidi_Cuda/status/1183196842915291136?s=19

[Winehole23]

“They worked with the White House on it and want to be sure we are coordinated,” wrote the official, Christine Roeder, in an email with the subject line “Quicken.”

The exact role of the White House is not clear. But less than two weeks after the email was written, the Trump administration revised its list of census tracts that were eligible for the tax break. New to the list? One of the downtown Detroit tracts dominated by Gilbert that had not previously been included. And the area made the cut even though it did not meet the poverty requirements of the program. https://www.propublica.org/article/how-a-tax-break-to-help-the-poor-went-to-nba-owner-dan-gilbert/

[DarrinS]

He sucks at this, I guess

https://www.nbcnews.com/business/business-news/trump-has-lost-1-billion-personal-wealth-running-president-n916221

[Winehole23]

He sucks at this, I guess

https://www.nbcnews.com/business/business-news/trump-has-lost-1-billion-personal-wealth-running-president-n916221Grifting isn't a crime if you lose money because you tarnished your own brand, overstated the value of your holdings, and accelerated your own security costs by staying at your own resort.

Great point, Darrin.

Did you read your own post, or did you stop at the headline again?

[DarrinS]

Grifting isn't a crime if you lose money because you tarnished your own brand, overstated the value of your holdings, and accelerated your own security costs by staying at your own resort.

Great point, Darrin.

Did you read your own post, or did you stop at the headline again?


Do you really think he ran for office to make money?

[Winehole23]

Do you really think he ran for office to make money?I don't think he cares about anything beaides money and himself, tbh. Hell, he even bragged about making money off it beforehand.

I don't think he thought he would actually win. Just wanted to promote his brand, and got elected by accident.It damn sure wasn't public service that motivated him.

What do you think moves Trump, Darrin?

[ElNono]

Do you really think he ran for office to make money?

You don't?

[boutons_deux]

Records reveal the staggering amount of money Trump-owned businesses have raked in by doing business with Trump’s campaign and Republicans

Trump’s political campaigns and associated committees have spent

roughly $16.8 million (https://www.huffpost.com/entry/poliltical-campaigns-18-million-trump-properties_n_5db7837be4b0bd61024fe1f1?ncid=APPLENE WS00001&guccounter=1) at his businesses since he launched his 2016 presidential campaign.

In the 2020 election cycle alone, the Center for Responsive Politics notes, Republican campaigns and political action committees have spent $1.8 million at Trump properties.

That $1.8 million, includes — among other things —
$1.3 million spent by Trump’s campaign,
$123,000 spent by the Republican National Committee (RNC) and
$104,000 spent by the political action committee (PAC) Great America.


The Center for Responsive Politics also points out that

48 Republicans in Congress have spent money at Trump businesses through their campaigns and associated committees.

That includes

$12,000 spent by Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan,
$8000 spent by House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy and
$14,000 spent by Indiana Rep. Greg Pence —

who is the brother of Vice President Mike Pence.

https://www.rawstory.com/2019/10/records-reveal-the-staggering-amount-of-money-trump-owned-businesses-have-raked-in-by-doing-business-with-trumps-campaign-and-republicans/?utm_source=&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=2830 (https://www.rawstory.com/2019/10/records-reveal-the-staggering-amount-of-money-trump-owned-businesses-have-raked-in-by-doing-business-with-trumps-campaign-and-republicans/?utm_source=&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=2830)

[Winehole23]

RNC to hold winter meetings at Doral, contracts will be worth hundreds of thousands.

https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/470569-rnc-to-host-winter-meetings-at-trumps-doral-resort

[Winehole23]

Nothing to see here, just more bowing and scraping to the KSA

1196513658668552192

[spurraider21]

https://cdn.cnn.com/cnnnext/dam/assets/170521182043-20-trump-saudi-arabia-0521-exlarge-169.jpg

[boutons_deux]

Nothing to see here, just more bowing and scraping to the KSA

1196513658668552192

Catholic asshole Billy Barr is amazingly, endlessly thorough in his authoritarian corruption

[Winehole23]

RNC to hold winter meetings at Doral, contracts will be worth hundreds of thousands.

https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/470569-rnc-to-host-winter-meetings-at-trumps-doral-resortAs we all know, the Trump administration backtracked, but not before lying about the process:


The acting White House chief of staff, Mick Mulvaney, told reporters the the administration selected Trump’s resort after initially looking at about 12 potential locations in various other US states.
“Doral was by far and away the best physical facility for this meeting,” he said at a news briefing. “It’s almost like they built this facility to host this event.”




“Our original itinerary included Hawaii, Utah, California and North Carolina,” a Secret Service official wrote, describing a trip that a team of Secret Service personnel took in July to examine the finalists, The Washington Post reported (https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trumps-doral-resort-was-a-last-minute-addition-in-search-for-g-7-site-newly-released-email-shows/2019/11/15/f39056a0-07fa-11ea-8ac0-0810ed197c7e_story.html). “By departure, they had already cut two (California and North Carolina) and added Miami on the back end.”

Miami referred to the financially troubled Doral resort near the Miami airport, which wasn’t among the original 10 sites the Secret Service started looking at in late May. The official wrote on July 12 that “yesterday was the first time we put eyes on this [Doral] property.”

[Winehole23]

Trump using his POTUS platform to publicize his club, like one does now.

1205105242704138240

[RandomGuy]

Do you really think he ran for office to make money?

You don't?

[RandomGuy]

Do you really think he ran for office to make money?

He ran to help his branding and make money.

:lol naive Darrin.

[RandomGuy]

:rollin

Aw. Only one post in this entire thread.

Almost as if you don't care about conflicts of interest when Trump does it, you lying, hypocritical sack of shit.

[RandomGuy]

:rollin

Here's your big chance to denounce Trumps conflicts of interest.

[RandomGuy]

[crickets]

I guess TSA isn't concerned about conflicts of interest if his hero is concerned.

[RandomGuy]

:rollin

You have yet to comment on Trumps conflicts of interest, despite having been made aware of them.

Why is that?

Guessing the answer rhymes with shmouble standards. :lol

[RandomGuy]

[moar crickets]

Ok then. Let's roll with your stated position.


I've already said any conflict of interest is bad when you asked me years ago.

Does that include Trumps conflicts of interest?

You're online now. Feel free to comment on Trump's conflicts of interest here, as I have commented about Bidens'.

or admit your double standards and sophism by continued silence.

[RandomGuy]

[crickets]

:lol

TSA never fails to fail to criticize anything Trump.

[RandomGuy]

:lol

Nope. Still nothing.

[RandomGuy]

:rollin

[moar crickets]

.. and it goes on.

[Winehole23]

money straight into Trump's pocket

I know everyone is too jaded to pay attention to Trump's open corruption, but once he's squandered his political capital, all this will come back into play



Donald Trump’s realty firm is representing one of the country’s largest pharmaceutical companies in its effort to offload a $12 million New York condo—an arrangement that represents yet another (https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2025/05/donald-trump-qatar-747-bezos-amazon-facebook-cbs-crypto-golf/) apparent conflict of interest for the 47th president of the United States.

The condo on the 39th floor of the Trump International Hotel and Tower at Columbus Circle has been on and off the market for several years but hasn’t been successfully sold. According (https://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/1-Central-Park-W-G39_New-York_NY_10023_M41717-42273) to real estate websites, it was listed by a different realty firm, Sotheby’s, until late last month. Around that time, it was listed for sale on Trump International Realty’s website. If it sells at its current listing price, it would likely earn hundreds of thousands of dollars in commissions for Trump’s firm.
https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2025/06/trump-realty-roche-condo/

[Winehole23]

https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:dmopowukpuxjkjvvnsi4srit/bafkreie5ahxt2vraf4ddzjlswqp5dd5fscgb33vumivqb3dkt esis776gu@jpeg

[Blake]

"....The Trump family secured a roughly $5 billion windfall on Monday as trading of a digital token belonging to its primary cryptocurrency venture, World Liberty Financial, opened...."

https://abcnews.go.com/US/trump-family-profits-launch-world-liberty-financial-crypto/story?id=125179318

So wut if he is strong arming crypto his way. U jes jealous.

[Spurs Homer]

"....The Trump family secured a roughly $5 billion windfall on Monday as trading of a digital token belonging to its primary cryptocurrency venture, World Liberty Financial, opened...."

https://abcnews.go.com/US/trump-family-profits-launch-world-liberty-financial-crypto/story?id=125179318

So wut if he is strong arming crypto his way. U jes jealous.

HE DOES NOT NEED THE MONEY! I TRUST HIM BECAUSE HE IS ALREADY SUCCESSFUL AND KNOWS HOW TO RUN A BIZNEZZ!

[Blake]

HE DOES NOT NEED THE MONEY! I TRUST HIM BECAUSE HE IS ALREADY SUCCESSFUL AND KNOWS HOW TO RUN A BIZNEZZ!

Lol same thing with Elon and the DOGE crew.

HE'S ALREADY THE RICHEST MAN IN THE WORLD HE'S JUST DOING IT TO HELP MURICA BE GREAT AGAIN

[Spurs Homer]

lol ^