Tag: Trump businesses

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

AlterNet logoThe words “conflict of interest” often come up in connection with President Donald Trump, who hasn’t been shy about encouraging the use of Trump properties for political events. And an analysis by the Center for Responsive Politics shows just how profitable that encouragement has been for the president.

HuffPost’s Mary Papenfuss reports that according to the Center’s analysis of federal election spending records, Trump’s political campaigns and associated committees have spent roughly $16.8 million at his businesses since he launched his 2016 presidential campaign. The analysis was based on spending reports to the Federal Election Commission (FEC).

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.

View the complete October 29 article by Alex Henderson on the AlterNet website here.

Listing of Donald Trump’s Failures

President Trump says he’s a great businessman and deal maker. What do the facts say?

  • GoTrump.com — This 2006 luxury travel search engine lasted a year.
  • Trump Airlines — Donald Trump bought a fleet of 17 Boeing 7272 for $365 million in 1988. He defaulted on the loans for this business and was forced to shut it down. It was taken over by his creditors.
  • Trump Casinos — These casinos (Taj Mahal, Trump Plaza and Trump Marina) in Atlantic City filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy for the third time in a row.
  • Trump Clothing — During his campaign, he talked strong about the country not manufacturing any more. It was coming from China. That includes his own line of clothing. It also is manufactured in Mexico and Bangladesh.
  • Trump Magazine — He started this in 2007. It was gone a year and a half later.
  • Trump Mortgage — He announced this business in 2006. It would be run by Don Jr. It lasted a year and a half.
  • Trump:  The Game — Back in 1989, he worked with Milton Bradley to release this game. It had soft sales. He tried to revive it after The Apprentice.
  • Trump Steak — Started in 2007, his line of “the world’s greatest” steaks” has been discontinued.
  • Trump Steakhouse — This Las Vegas restaurant closed in 2012 for 51 healthcares code violations.
  • Trump University — Started in 2005, this no-accredited, for-profit university, Trump University was sued by 4 students in 2010. They contended it was “offering classes that amounted to extended ‘informercials'”. It 2013, the New York Attorney General sued him and the entity for defrauding students.
  • Trump Vodka —  According to a 2016 article by Bloomberg, its creator, J. Patrick Kenny, said “the company cratered.” It’s slogan?  “Success Distilled”.

Want to Know More About: The Michael Cohen Guilty Plea?

Major Garrett: “Another Complication For The President In This Midterm Political Climate, The Number Of People Close To Him Who Have Either Pled Guilty, Been Convicted Or Implicated In Wrongdoing Continues To Multiply.” [CBS This Morning, CBS, 8/22/18; Video]

Alisyn Camerota: “Cohen, Mr. Trump’s Personal Lawyer, Directly Implicated The President Of The United States As An Unindicted Co-Conspirator Of A Federal Crime.” ALISYN CAMEROTA: “And Cohen, Mr. Trump’s personal lawyer, directly implicated the president of the United States as an unindicted co-conspirator of a federal crime. Cohen testified under oath that the president told him to make those hush money payments to two women who accused the president of affairs for, quote, principle purpose of influencing the election.” [New Day, CNN, 8/22/18; Video] Continue reading “Want to Know More About: The Michael Cohen Guilty Plea?”

Cohen reaches plea deal in tax fraud case: reports

The following article by Tal Axelrod and Brett Samuels was posted on the Hill website August 21, 2018:

Longtime Trump personal attorney Michael Cohen has reached a plea deal with federal prosecutors in Manhattan regarding banking and tax fraud allegations, according to multiple reports.

The U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York’s office is running the probe, but any cooperation could extend to other federal investigations.

Beyond the banking and tax fraud charges, Cohen is being investigated for campaign finance violations for his role in alleged payments he coordinated to women who claimed to have had sexual encounters with President Trump in order to buy their silence about their allegations.

View the complete article here.

10 key questions about the ethical issues surrounding President Trump’s company

The following article by Jonathan O’Connell and David A. Fahrenthold was posted on the Washington Post website February 6, 2018:

Note: This is intended to be a living Q&A. We’ll update it as news breaks and as The Washington Post turns up more details about the ethical questions related to President Trump’s businesses.

The Trump International Hotel is shown on August 10, 2017 in Washington, DC. Credit: Win McNamee/Getty Images)

1. President Trump still owns his company while he is president. Is that illegal?

Not by itself.

By law, the president is exempt from the ethics statutes for federal workers, which prohibit them from taking action on issues where they have a personal financial stake in the decision.

The logic was that a president can’t recuse himself or herself from any given issue: There’s only one president. If a president steps over a major ethical line, the remedy would be the impeachment process. Continue reading “10 key questions about the ethical issues surrounding President Trump’s company”

Nine questions about President Trump’s businesses and possible conflicts of interest

The following article by David A. Fahrenthold and Jonathan O’Connell was posted on the Washington Post website January 30, 2018:

The Washington Post’s David A. Fahrenthold takes a look at the Trump Organization’s real estate business nearly a year into President Trump’s tenure. (Bastien Inzaurralde/The Washington Post)

Note: This is intended to be a living Q&A. We’ll update it as news breaks and as The Washington Post turns up more details about President Trump’s businesses.

1. Does President Trump still own his company?

Yes.

But he’s not in day-to-day control of it. Continue reading “Nine questions about President Trump’s businesses and possible conflicts of interest”

The Republicans’ Fake Investigations

The following op-ed commentary by Glenn R. Simpson and Peter Fritsch was posted on the New York Times website January 2, 2018:

Credit: Credit Harry Campbell

A generation ago, Republicans sought to protect President Richard Nixon by urging the Senate Watergate committee to look at supposed wrongdoing by Democrats in previous elections. The committee chairman, Sam Ervin, a Democrat, said that would be “as foolish as the man who went bear hunting and stopped to chase rabbits.”

Today, amid a growing criminal inquiry into Russian meddling in the 2016 election, congressional Republicans are again chasing rabbits. We know because we’re their favorite quarry. Continue reading “The Republicans’ Fake Investigations”

Trump is “definitely still involved” in his hotel business, a new report says

The following article by Emily Stewart was posted on the Vox website December 30, 2017:

Even as president, Trump keeps up on how his Washington, DC, hotel is doing.

A ribbon-cutting ceremony at the Trump International Hotel, in DC. Chip Somodevilla / Getty

President Donald Trump’s isn’t as separate from his businesses as he would like the public to think. Throughout his campaign and through his first few months as president, Trump has said he would distance himself from his Trump Organization and hand it over to his sons in lieu of divesting entirely, as ethics experts say he should. They fear that otherwise he will use the presidency for his own personal gain or that his policies will be influenced by his business interests.

As far as the president flagship hotel in Washington, DC, goes, Trump is “definitely still involved,” according to an email sent by the hotel’s director of revenue management firstreported by the Daily Beast. Continue reading “Trump is “definitely still involved” in his hotel business, a new report says”

Judge dismisses lawsuit over Trump’s conflicts of interest — but that doesn’t mean the issue is over

The following article by Emily C. Singer was posted on the Mic.com website December 21, 2017:

A federal judge on Thursday dismissed a lawsuit against President Donald Trump, which alleged that Trump was in violation of the Emoluments Clause of the Constitution — which bars a president from accepting gifts or money from a foreign government.

The decision, however, didn’t rule on the merits of whether Trump was in violation of the Emoluments Clause.

Rather, Judge George B. Daniels said that the plaintiffs who filed the lawsuit — the liberal watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington — didn’t have standing to sue. In layman’s terms, that means the judge said the people who filed the lawsuit couldn’t prove that they were specifically harmed by Trump’s alleged actions, and therefore don’t have the legal basis to file suit. Continue reading “Judge dismisses lawsuit over Trump’s conflicts of interest — but that doesn’t mean the issue is over”

Judge dismisses lawsuit alleging Trump violated Constitution

The following article by David A. Fahrenthold and Jonathan O’Connell was posted on the Washington Post website December 21, 2017:

A lawsuit dismissed Thursday challenged President Trump’s decision to hold onto his properties, including his Washington hotel. (Linda Davidson/The Washington Post)

A federal judge dismissed a lawsuit Thursday alleging that President Trump violated the Constitution’s emoluments clause because his hotels and restaurants do business with foreign governments while he is in office.

The plaintiffs argued that because Trump properties rent out hotel rooms and meeting spaces to other governments, the president was violating a constitutional provision that bans the acceptance of foreign emoluments, or gifts from foreign powers. Continue reading “Judge dismisses lawsuit alleging Trump violated Constitution”