Tag: Trump kleptocracy

Kellyanne Conway Took Expensive Private Jets, Too

The following article by Greg Price was written for Newsweek and was posted on the National Memo website March 14, 2018:

Kellyanne Conway Credit: REUTERS/Carlos Barria

Senior White House adviser Kellyanne Conway took private flights with former Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price last year at the cost of thousands of dollars to taxpayers, according to a letter sent by a high-ranking Democrat Tuesday. He also accused the White House of denying the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee requested documentation of Conway’s trips.

Conway and some members of her staff took four private flights with Price between May and September of last year, according to the letter. The total for two of the flights was nearly $60,000, ranking committee Democrat and U.S. Rep. Elijah Cummings of Maryland wrote, citing private documents the committee managed to obtain. Continue reading “Kellyanne Conway Took Expensive Private Jets, Too”

HUD Secretary Carson’s wife weighed in on redecorating effort, new emails show

The following article by Juliet Eilperin and Jack Gillum was posted on the Washington Post website March 14, 2018:

Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson has mainly kept a low profile at HUD. Here’s some of what he has been up to. (Victoria Walker/The Washington Post)

Housing and Urban Development officials repeatedly consulted with Secretary Ben Carson’s wife about the prospect of redecorating his office last year, according to new documents released under the Freedom of Information Act.

The push to redecorate Carson’s office in the weeks following President Trump’s inauguration — even before the former pediatric neurosurgeon had taken office — has come under congressional scrutiny in recent weeks. HUD’s former chief ­administrative officer, Helen Foster, filed a complaint with the department’s special counsel last fall charging that she was demoted in part because she warned other officials that the planned refurbishment would require congressional notification because it would exceed $5,000. Continue reading “HUD Secretary Carson’s wife weighed in on redecorating effort, new emails show”

Trump’s personal pilot ‘in the mix’ to lead the Federal Aviation Administration

The following article by John Wagner was posted on the Washington Post website February 25, 2018:

Credit: Getty Images

President Trump’s personal pilot is “in the mix” to lead the Federal Aviation Administration, a White House official confirmed Sunday night.

Axios first reported that John Dunkin, Trump’s longtime pilot, who flew him around the country on a Boeing 757 during the 2016 campaign, is on the Trump administration’s shortlist to head the FAA, which regulates civil aviation in the United States. Continue reading “Trump’s personal pilot ‘in the mix’ to lead the Federal Aviation Administration”

Trump gala at Mar-a-Lago on Saturday night again rents a ballroom from Trump

The following article by David A. Fahrenthold was posted on the Washington Post website January 20, 2018:

Mar-a-Lago isn’t just Trump’s vacation spot; it’s his second White House (Peter Stevenson/The Washington Post)

PALM BEACH, Fla. — President Trump’s posh Mar-a-Lago Club was set to host a high-priced gala on Saturday night intended to celebrate Trump’s first year in office and raise money for his reelection campaign and the Republican National Committee.

Tickets started at $100,000 per couple, Bloomberg News reported. Continue reading “Trump gala at Mar-a-Lago on Saturday night again rents a ballroom from Trump”

Trump picks another official with potential conflicts of interest for powerful regulatory role

The following article by Mark Hand was posted on the ThinkProgress website January 8, 2018:

Kevin McIntyre (Credit: FERC; Graphic: Diana Ofosu / ThinkProgress

Kevin McIntyre worked almost 30 years as an energy industry attorney.

By choosing a longtime corporate attorney to head the nation’s top energy regulatory agency, President Donald Trump stuck to his practice of nominating officials riddled with potential conflicts of interest to high-ranking roles in the U.S. government.

As a partner with Jones Day, a prominent Washington, D.C. law firm, Kevin McIntyre’s ties to energy companies that fall under the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s (FERC) jurisdiction were so numerous and ran so deep that his swearing-in as chairman of the agency was delayed to give him more time to sever the relationships. Continue reading “Trump picks another official with potential conflicts of interest for powerful regulatory role”

How a Local Bureaucrat Made Millions Amid the Rush to Build a Border Fence

The following article by Kiah Collier and Julian Aguilar of the Texas Tribune and T. Christian Miller with ProPublica was posted on their website December 29, 2017.  Illustrations by Susie Cagle are special to ProPublica.

EDINBURG, TEXAS — A decade ago, Congress gave officials at the Department of Homeland Security a year to build 60 miles of fence in the Rio Grande Valley to protect the Texas-Mexico border.

They faced determined resistance. Political leaders denounced the border fence as wasteful and ineffective. Landowners refused to sell their property for its construction. Environmentalists argued it would slice up habitat for endangered species in one of the most biodiverse regions in the country. Continue reading “How a Local Bureaucrat Made Millions Amid the Rush to Build a Border Fence”

Is the FTC backing off investigation into hidden resort fees?

The following report was broadcast on the CBS This Morning program December 27, 2017:

An attempted crackdown on hidden hotel charges now faces a potential roadblock in Washington. A growing number of travelers complain that resort, urban or facility fees can add up to $50 to your bill. Anna Werner reports on the struggle to contain those charges.

View the post here.

Trump has spent nearly one-third of his presidency at a Trump property

The following article by Don Merica was posted on the CNN website December 26, 2017:

Credit: ANDY BUCHANAN/AFP/GETTYIMAGES

West Palm Beach, Florida (CNN) — President Donald Trump has spent nearly one-third of his time in office this year at one of the properties that either bear his name or that his family company owns, according to CNN’s count.

Trump arrived in Florida on Friday for a prolonged visit at Mar-a-Lago, his private club that sits on this tony spit of land in southern Florida. The visit comes after Trump signed his signature tax legislation, putting an exclamation point on a tumultuous first year for the President.

With Trump comes a host of White House aides, an abundance of Secret Service agents and the ongoing controversy around the President boosting his private businesses by making frequent visits to properties that bear the Trump name. Continue reading “Trump has spent nearly one-third of his presidency at a Trump property”

Maryland, D.C. get subpoena power in Trump emoluments suit

The following article by Jonathan O’Connell and David A. Fahrenthold was posted on the Washington Post website November 29, 2017:

Maryland Attorney General E. Brian Frosh canserve subpoenas requiring the Trump Organization to preserve documents in an “emoluments” lawsuit he and the D.C. attorney general filed.(Jonathan Newton / The Washington Post)

A federal judge Tuesday ordered President Trump’s business to preserve records related to a lawsuit brought by the Democratic attorneys general from Maryland and the District of Columbia that allege his private company has violated anti-corruption clauses in the Constitution.

With the ruling, D.C. Attorney General Karl A. Racine and Maryland Attorney General Brian E. Frosh are now permitted toserve subpoenas requiring the Trump Organization to preserve documents if the court allows the two sides to seek evidence from one another.

The decision by Judge Peter J. Messitte is a small advancement in one of the most high-profile attempts to get a court to consider a case on the emoluments clauses of the Constitution, which bars the president from accepting gifts or payments from foreign or state governments. Continue reading “Maryland, D.C. get subpoena power in Trump emoluments suit”

Watchdog says Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke failed to properly document travel

The following article by Lisa Rein and Drew Harwell as posted on the Washington Post website November 16, 2017:

Credit: Molly Riley/AP

Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke has failed to keep complete records — and in some cases kept none at all — of his travel since taking office, the agency’s watchdog told department officials this week, saying that management of Zinke’s travel was “deficient” and lacked oversight.

A rare alert sent by Deputy Inspector General Mary Kendall to the secretary’s office Wednesday, obtained by The Washington Post, said her investigation into allegations of improper travel practices by Zinke has been stymied by “absent or incomplete documentation for several pertinent trips.”

Interior lawyers and ethics officials also have not shown evidence to investigators that they have been able to “distinguish between personal, political and official travel” or cost-analysis documents to justify his choice of military or charter flights, Kendall wrote. Continue reading “Watchdog says Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke failed to properly document travel”