Tag: Trump corruption

Trump Proposes New Rule To Implement His Tax Law That Would Benefit Himself

Trump and Republicans promised that the Trump tax law would benefit workers. That has not happened. Instead, Trump’s Treasury Department has proposed a new rule that could wind up benefiting Trump.  It’s no wonder Republican candidates have abandoned running on the Trump tax law.

Trump’s Treasury Department proposed a new rule to implement the Trump tax law that could wind of benefiting Trump’s business and the wealthiest Americans.

New York Times: “A new 20 percent tax break included in last year’s $1.5 trillion tax overhaul could wind up benefiting President Trump’s real estate empire given how the Treasury Department plans to implement the provision, several tax experts said.” Continue reading “Trump Proposes New Rule To Implement His Tax Law That Would Benefit Himself”

White House uses foreign aid agency to give jobs to Trump loyalists

The following article by Robert O’Harrow, Jr. was posted on the Washington Post website July 28, 2018:

President Trump turns to leave after attending an event on the economy from the South Lawn of the White House on July 27, 2018. Credi: Jacquelyn Martin, AP

The White House has assumed control over hiring at a small federal agency that promotes economic growth in poor countries, installing political allies and loyalists in appointed jobs intended for development experts, according to documents and interviews.

Until the Trump administration, only the chief executive and several other top officials of the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) were selected by the White House, former agency officials said. The chief executive, in turn, used authority granted to the agency by Congress to appoint about two dozen other staffers, primarily for their technical ­expertise.

But starting last year, the White House began naming political appointees to the lower-level positions, according to internal rosters obtained by The Washington Post and interviews with former employees and other knowledgeable people. The employees were warned by an agency leader they could lose their jobs to make way for the new political appointees, the former employees said.

View the complete article here.

The framers worried about corruption. Their words may now haunt the president.

The following commentary by the Washington Post Editorial Board was posted on their website July 27, 2018:

Trump International Hotel in Washington. Credit: Astrid Riecken, The Washington Post

SET AGAINST other past and present items in President Trump’s bulging portfolio of legal problems — reported payoffs to a porn star and a former Playboy model; allegations of fraudinvolving his onetime university; charges that he defamed a woman who accused him of groping her; the ongoing criminal probe into Russia’s intervention on his behalf in the 2016 presidential election — the question of the Constitution’s emoluments clauses and whether he has violated them, is arcane. It seems a stretch to suppose that the president might be imperiled by a case that turns partly on definitions of the word “emolument” gleaned from 18th century dictionaries.

Or maybe not much of a stretch for anyone who has spent time in the lobby of the Trump International Hotel, a few blocks from the White House. There, to the tune of $40 million in revenue last year, it’s possible to glimpse just the sort of influence-peddling the framers may have intended to prohibit by those clauses.

The hotel has been the lodging of choice for an unknown (but not unknowable) number of state and foreign officials, some of whom, it is a fair bet, thereby hoped to curry favor with the president. According to the attorneys general of Maryland and the District of Columbia, both Democrats, who have sued to stop it, that favor-currying falls squarely within the “emoluments” the framers meant to forbid.

View the complete commentary here.

Federal judge allows emoluments case against Trump to proceed

The following article by Ann E. Marimow, Jonathan O’Connell and David Fahrenthold was posted on the Washington Post website July 25, 2018:

D.C. and Maryland are suing President Trump for violating a little-known constitutional provision called “the emoluments clause.” (Video: Jenny Starrs/Photo: Matt McClain/The Washington Post)

A federal judge on Wednesday rejected President Trump’s latest effort to stop a lawsuit that alleges Trump is violating the Constitution by continuing to do business with foreign governments.

The ruling, from U.S. District Judge Peter J. Messitte in Greenbelt, Md., will allow the plaintiffs — the attorneys general of Maryland and the District of Columbia — to proceed with their case, which says Trump has violated little-used anti-corruption clauses in the Constitution known as emoluments clauses.

This ruling appeared to mark the first time a federal judge had interpreted those constitutional provisions and applied their restrictions to a sitting president.

View the complete article here.

Donald Trump’s Turnberry firm paid £50,000 by US Government for weekend visit

The following article by Martyn McLaughlin was posted on the Scotsman website July 17, 2018:

US president Donald Trump plays a round of golf during his weekend trip to his Turnberry resort. Credit: Leon Neal, Getty

Donald Trump’s Turnberry firm was paid more than £50,000 ($65,938.60) by his own government to cover the accommodation bill for his weekend stay at his loss-making resort, The Scotsman can reveal. US federal government spending records seen by this newspaper show a series of payments worth a total of £52,477 ($69,205.20) were made by the State Department to SLC Turnberry Limited, the company behind the South Ayrshire hotel and golf course.

The five-figure windfall, which represents the first example of how Mr Trump’s firm was paid for his contentious working visit to the UK, has been condemned by ethics watchdogs, with one group accusing the 72-year-old of “using the power and authority of his office to profit personally”.

View the full article on the Scottsman website here.

 

Trump tried to bribe France to leave the European Union

The following article by Emily Crockett was posted on the ShareBlue.com website June 29, 2018:

Trump tried to make Vladimir Putin’s wildest dreams come true by destabilizing the European Union.

Presidents Trump and Macron. Credit: AP Photo, Evan Vucci

Trump never misses an opportunity to insult America’s closest alliesin Europe — but the problem is much worse than just trash talk. We now know that Trump is actively trying to destabilize the European Union, two European officials told the Washington Post.

During an April meeting at the White House, Trump offered French President Emmanuel Macron a shocking deal: If France leaves the E.U., the U.S. will give France a much better bilateral trade deal than the rest of the E.U. gets.

Yes, a U.S. president actually offered a bribe to try to dismantle a major organization of U.S. allies. Trump tried to con his way into knocking down a pillar of Western democracy and the international liberal order.

View the complete article here.

Ivanka got Chinese deal the same day her dad dropped Chinese sanctions

The following article by Oliver WIllis was posted on the ShareBlue.com website June 28, 2018:

Ivanka Trump’s company received Chinese trademark approvals the same day her dad decided to drop the sanctions Chinese telecom ZTE had for doing business with rogue regimes.

Credit: AP Photo, Andrew Harnik

The Trump administration lifted sanctions against Chinese telecom ZTE the same day the Chinese government approved new trademarks for his daughter Ivanka.

Sanctions had been imposed on ZTE after it violated prohibitions against doing business with Iran and North Korea.

The Trump administration then reversed course and undid the sanctions against the company on June 7. Continue reading “Ivanka got Chinese deal the same day her dad dropped Chinese sanctions”

Trump’s IRS Nominee Failed to Disclose Trump-Linked Property Ownership

The following article by Aaron Lorenzo was posted on the Politico website June 27, 2018:

The revelation about the hotel seems certain to come up when Chuck Rettig testifies before the Senate Finance Committee on Thursday.

Pres. Trump’s pick to run the IRS, tax lawyer Chuck Rettig, owns properties at the Trump International Hotel Waikiki and Tower. Credit: Patrick Baz, AFP/Getty Images

President Donald Trump’s pick to run the IRS, tax lawyer Chuck Rettig, owns properties at the Trump International Hotel Waikiki and Tower.

He’d previously disclosed his 50 percent stake in a pair of Honolulu rental units, but not their specific location. That detail was discussed later, at a June 21 meeting with congressional staff, according to a memo obtained by POLITICO.

Trump typically gets fees on sales for licensing his name. Continue reading “Trump’s IRS Nominee Failed to Disclose Trump-Linked Property Ownership”

New York files civil suit against President Trump, alleging his charity engaged in ‘illegal conduct’

The following article by David Fahrenthold was posted on the Washington Post website June 14, 2018:

Donald Trump directed millions of dollars to his tax-exempt foundation. Here’s how. (Video: Peter Stevenson, Lee Powell/Photo: Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post)

New York’s attorney general filed suit against President Trump and his three eldest children Thursday, alleging “persistently illegal conduct” at the president’s personal charity and saying that Trump had repeatedly misused the nonprofit organization to pay off his businesses’ creditors, to decorate one of his golf clubs and to stage a multimillion-dollar giveaway at 2016 campaign events.

In the suit, Attorney General Barbara Underwood asked a state judge to dissolve the Donald J. Trump Foundation. She asked that its remaining $1 million in assets be distributed to other charities and that Trump be forced to pay at least $2.8 million in restitution and penalties. Continue reading “New York files civil suit against President Trump, alleging his charity engaged in ‘illegal conduct’”

Pruitt Aide Resigns Amid Scandals

The following article by Elaina Plott was posted on the Atlantic website June 6, 2018:

Millan Hupp filed her paperwork shortly after portions of her congressional testimony were made public.

Credit: Kaster/AP Photo

A top aide to Scott Pruitt, Millan Hupp, resigned from the Environmental Protection Agency, according to a source briefed on the matter and correspondence reviewed by The Atlantic. Her last day will be Friday.

Hupp, who worked as the director of scheduling and advance, has been entangled in many of the scandals dogging EPA Administrator Pruitt. In March, she was one of two aides who received hefty salary bumps, even after the White House refused Pruitt’s request for raises. And as The Washington Post reported on Monday, she recently testified to the House Oversight Committee that she regularly spent her days doing personal tasks for Pruitt, from hunting for housing to calling the Trump Hotel in Washington, D.C., in order to inquire about purchasing a used mattress. Continue reading “Pruitt Aide Resigns Amid Scandals”