Tag: conflict of interest

For Trump’s golf course, PGA tournament is ‘the greatest marketing in the world’


The Washington Post’s David Fahrenthold explains how President Trump’s brand stands to gain positive publicity from the Senior PGA Championship hosted at Trump National Golf Club in Virginia. (McKenna Ewen,Jenny Starrs,Victoria Walker/The Washington Post)

The following article by David Fahrenthold and Jonathan O’Connell was posted on the Washington Post website May 26, 2017:

A little after 1 p.m. on Thursday, anybody watching the Senior PGA Championship on the Golf Channel got to see a little bit of American history.

A man came on the screen during a commercial break to praise the golf course hosting the event — a course that happens to be owned by the president of the United States. Continue reading “For Trump’s golf course, PGA tournament is ‘the greatest marketing in the world’”

While in White House, Trumps remained selling points for ‘very special’ Philippines project

The following article by Drew Harwell and Matea Gold was posted on the Washington Post website May 2, 2017:

Investors looking to buy a condo at Trump Tower in the Philippines would have found, until this week, some high-powered video testimonials on the project’s official website.

There was Donald Trump, in a message filmed several years before he was elected president of the United States, declaring that the skyscraper bearing his name near the Philippine capital would be “something very, very special, like nobody’s seen before.” Then there was his daughter Ivanka Trump, now a senior White House adviser, lavishing praise on the project as a “milestone in Philippine real estate history.” Continue reading “While in White House, Trumps remained selling points for ‘very special’ Philippines project”

The Tax March: Protesters around the country call on Trump to release his taxes

The following article by Perry Stein was posted on the Washington Post website April 15, 2017:

Some wore shirts with an image of President Trump as the Monopoly mascot hauling a bag of money. Others taunted the president with signs that said they would show him their taxes, if he showed them his. And in front of a few thousand people on the lawn of the U.S. Capitol there was an oversized inflatable chicken with hair resembling Trump’s, suggesting the president is “too chicken” to release his taxes to the public.

From Seattle to the District, protesters gathered in cities throughout the country Saturday calling on Trump to release his personal tax returns as part of a nationwide Tax March. The protest falls on the country’s traditionally recognized deadline to file taxes, April 15. Continue reading “The Tax March: Protesters around the country call on Trump to release his taxes”

Trump has given Fox News more than $5 million in free social-media advertising

The following article by Philip Bump was posted on the Washington Post website March 28, 2017:

We’ve become accustomed to tweets like this from President Trump.

Continue reading “Trump has given Fox News more than $5 million in free social-media advertising”

A Back-Channel Plan for Ukraine and Russia, Courtesy of Trump Associates

The following article by Megan Twohey and Scott Shane was posted on the Washington Post website February 19, 2017:

Michael D. Cohen, second from left, Mr. Trump’s personal lawyer, with Michael T. Flynn, left, and former Gov. Rick Perry of Texas at Trump Tower in December. Mr. Cohen delivered the peace plan to Mr. Flynn a week before Mr. Flynn resigned as national security adviser. Credit Sam Hodgson for The New York Times

A week before Michael T. Flynn resigned as national security adviser, a sealed proposal was hand-delivered to his office, outlining a way for President Trump to lift sanctions against Russia.

Mr. Flynn is gone, having been caught lying about his own discussion of sanctions with the Russian ambassador. But the proposal, a peace plan for Ukraine and Russia, remains, along with those pushing it: Michael D. Cohen, the president’s personal lawyer, who delivered the document; Felix H. Sater, a business associate who helped Mr. Trump scout deals in Russia; and a Ukrainian lawmaker trying to rise in a political opposition movement shaped in part by Mr. Trump’s former campaign manager Paul Manafort.

At a time when Mr. Trump’s ties to Russia, and the people connected to him, are under heightened scrutiny — with investigations by American intelligence agencies, the F.B.I. and Congress — some of his associates remain willing and eager to wade into Russia-related efforts behind the scenes. Continue reading “A Back-Channel Plan for Ukraine and Russia, Courtesy of Trump Associates”

Activists: Charities must move galas from Trump’s Mar-a-Lago

The following article by Terry Spencer with the Associates Press was released February 5, 2017:

Protesters are demanding that charities move their upcoming galas from President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort.

Petitions are circulating that the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and the Cleveland Clinic move or cancel gala’s scheduled for the Florida club’s ballroom later this month. A protest march was held Saturday near Mar-a-Lago to coincide with Trump’s appearance at an American Red Cross event there. Continue reading “Activists: Charities must move galas from Trump’s Mar-a-Lago”

Trump Promised To Resign From His Companies — But There’s No Record He’s Done So

The following is an article by Derek Kravitz and Al Shaw was posted on the ProPublica website January 20, 2017:

To transfer control of his companies, the president has to submit filings in Florida, Delaware and New York. We spoke to officials in each of those states.

The President-elect Trump gestures to stacks of manila envelopes he said contain documents that transferred “complete control” of his businesses while speaking during a news conference in the lobby of Trump Tower in New York on Jan. 11, 2017 (Evan Vucci/AP Photo)

Update, Jan. 23, 2017: The Trump Organization is now filing paperwork on President Trump’s resignation from his companies. As of 5:30 p.m., it has filed paperwork for at least 14 companies in Florida.

The documents, which we’ve posted, are dated Monday, Jan. 23.

During today’s press briefing, White House Strategic Communication Director Hope Hicks said that Trump has resigned from all his companies, but that the documents “are not public at this time.”

CNN also reported on a Trump Organization document, dated Jan. 19, in which Trump states his resignation from more than 400 companies. Trump can resign from his businesses with a private letter. But in order to complete the process, he needs to file with states, each of which has its own deadline. Continue reading “Trump Promised To Resign From His Companies — But There’s No Record He’s Done So”

White House website touts Melania Trump’s modeling and jewelry line

The following article by Kelsey Snell was posted on the Washington Post website January 20, 2017:

This post has been updated.

Photo: Daily Beast

Visitors to the newly revamped White House website get more than a simple rundown of first lady Melania Trump’s charitable works and interests — they also get a list of her magazine cover appearances and details on her jewelry line at QVC.

Her biography starts with traditional details, such as her date of birth in her native country of Slovenia and information about her background as a model. That’s when the brief backgrounder takes a promotional turn. The website includes a lengthy list of brands that hired her as a model and several of the magazines in which she appeared, including the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue. Continue reading “White House website touts Melania Trump’s modeling and jewelry line”

Conflicts of DeVos

Donald Trump, Betsy DeVos, and a Pay-to-Play Nomination

The following article by Ulrich Boser, Marcella Bombardieri and CJ Libassi was posted on the Center for American Progress’ website January 12, 2017:

Betsy DeVos speaks during a rally in Grand Rapids, Michigan, on December 9, 2016 /AP/Paul Sancya

Billionaire activist Betsy DeVos and her family have given a massive $4 million to the Republicans who will decide whether to confirm her as Trump’s secretary of education, according to a new analysis by the authors.

DeVos’ hearing begins this Wednesday, and her family has donated a quarter of a million dollars alone to the members of the education committee who are tasked with vetting her nomination. The DeVos family has given a total of more than $950,000 to 21 senators who will have the opportunity to vote on her confirmation. Continue reading “Conflicts of DeVos”

Why Trump Can’t Let Go

He has a lot more than money wrapped up in his self-named business.

The following article by Michael Kruse was posted on the Politico website January 12, 2017:

President-elect Donald Trump talks to reporters at Mar-a-Lago on Dec. 28 in Palm Beach, Fla. (Evan Vucci/AP)

When Donald Trump stood up in front of a throng of reporters as well as loyal, cheering paid staffers Wednesday at Trump Tower in New York, there was the theatrical stack of folders of papers on the table next to the lectern, and there were the phrases that floated out of the mouth of his lawyer (“completely isolating himself from his business interests,” “no new foreign deals,” “his sole business and interest is in making America great again”), and there was what he said, too (“could actually run my business and run the government at the same time,” “turning over complete and total control to my sons,” “I don’t have to do this”)—but the fact of the matter of Trump’s news conference on Wednesday, his first as president-elect, which came nearly six months after his last, was this: He’s not severing ties with his business. He’s not divesting. Continue reading “Why Trump Can’t Let Go”