Ethics officials agree, Kellyanne Conway broke the law. Yesterday, the government’s ethics watchdog sent a letter to the White House urging action, as the Washington Post reports: “The director of the Office of Government Ethics said there is “strong reason to believe” that senior adviser Kellyanne Conway violated federal rules by endorsing Ivanka Trump’s clothing line, urging the White House to investigate the matter and consider disciplining her.”
House Oversight Committee Chairman Jason Chaffetz then called on President Trump to follow the agency’s advice. Will the President address this blatant ethics violation–let alone the many other ethics concerns facing his administration?
There are more than 225 trademarks in China using Trump’s name that don’t belong to Donald Trump — something he’d like to remedy. The Associated Press reports, “There’s a Trump toilet, a Trump condom, a Trump pacemaker and even a Trump International Hotel among hundreds of trademarks in China that don’t belong to Donald Trump. But after a decade of grinding battle in China’s courts, the president was expected to get an unlikely win this week: the rights to his own name.”
All of the sudden after a 10 year battle Trump gets his victory? Interesting timing! These foreign trademarks could pose serious conflicts of interest (violating the emoluments clause) and could be used by foreign governments to extend or withhold favor with President Trump.
Richard Painter, formerly Bush’s ethics lawyer called the situation “highly improper” while former ethics lawyer for Obama Norman Eisen had this to say: “There can be no question that it is a terrible idea for Donald Trump to be accepting the registration of these valuable property rights from China while he’s a sitting president of the United States… It’s fair to conclude that this is an effort to influence Mr. Trump that is relatively inexpensive for the Chinese, potentially very valuable to him, but it could be very costly for the United States.”
Campaign Finance/Election Law
US News: A Threat to Democracy
Common Cause’s Karen Hobert Flynn: “Americans who voted for President Donald Trump because of his blunt criticisms that our political system is out of balance and dominated by wealthy special interests must feel betrayed.Trump’s nomination of U.S. Court of Appeals Judge Neil Gorsuch, a millionaire backed by millions of special interest dollars, to the U.S. Supreme Court stands to further entrench big-money politics as the law of the land and threaten our democracy.”
After meeting with Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch, Sen. Dick Durbin noted some things he disagrees with the nominee on including money in politics: “When it comes to some fundamental issues, issues relating to freedom of religion, issues related to Citizens United and the like, I have some basic differences with his approach”
NPR: Trump Claims Voter Fraud, FEC Wants Administration’s Evidence
On Morning Edition, FEC commissioner Ellen Weintraub talked about Trump and his team’s claims of voter fraud.
Vox: Corporations like Exxon are using spurious free speech claims to fend off regulation
“In the latest instance of the corporate takeover of the First Amendment — and other constitutional rights — Exxon Mobil, the world’s largest oil and gas corporation, has invented a constitutional right to obstruct state investigations into allegations of fraud.”
Congress/Administration
Campaign Legal Center: Flynn May Have Violated the Emoluments Clause, Too
Flynn, like his former boss, has financial conflicts of interest that leave him open to influence by foreign governments and since military officers remain subject to the Emoluments Clause even after retirement he may have violated the law: “Flynn reportedly accepted an honorarium from the Russian government for appearing on a panel at a 2015 gala in Moscow, where he sat at a dinner table with Russian President Vladimir Putin.”
CNN: Who is Donald McGahn?
He’s the guy that worked to dismantle our campaign finance laws and break the FEC from within as an FEC commissioner. Oh and he also has a central role in the Flynn scandal as White House Council. He did an “exhaustive and extensive” interview with Flynn and deemed his actions legal.
Washington Post: Group urges New York AG to put Trump out of business by revoking charter
Free Speech for People has an idea for how to end Trump’s business conflicts: “A liberal advocacy group is urging New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, already a foe of President Trump, to investigate and consider revoking Trump’s business charter in New York for business practices that it argues have run afoul of state law.”
CNN: The hottest invite in town: Donald Trump’s supper club
How often will Trump give big donors a seat at the table? “Less than a week before President Donald Trump’s meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, he settled down to dinner to discuss the upcoming visit — and America’s approach to Mideast peace — with his guests for the evening: billionaire casino magnate Sheldon Adelson, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley.”
And of course an invite to dinner is not the only prize for big donors, as this mention in Wall Street Journal of a spat between Trump and Tillerson illustrates: “Mr. Trump had told Mr. Tillerson he would have a say in appointing some key ambassadorships, including Canada and Switzerland, those people said. Mr. Priebus subsequently got the president to approve names for those positions—including several top donors to the RNC—without consulting the secretary of state, which angered Mr. Tillerson.”
Salon: That time Linda McMahon, incoming head of Small Business Administration, donated millions to Donald Trump’s efforts
Yet another big donor was confirmed to Trump’s cabinet. She also donated $701,000 to 23 of the Senators considering her nomination, according to Every Voice analysis.
This sarcastic letter to the editor from Deb in Hudson, OH is just the latest LTE showing how folks are not happy about their Senator’s choice to vote to confirm their big donor Betsy DeVos: “I would like to thank Senator Rob Portman (R) of Ohio for putting money above the interests of the schoolchildren of the United States.”
Speaking of Cabinet nominees buying their way into Trump’s Cabinet, Every Voice and Restaurant Opportunities Centers United teamed up to say that with Andy Puzder’s history of selling out workers and buying influence so he can get away with it, Puzder should not be allowed to buy his way into the role of Labor Secretary. Every Voice’s David Donnelly: “Lots of Senators have received campaign cash from Puzder—will they give him the scrutiny his troubling record deserves?”
Roll Call: Harris Was Only 2016 Senate Democratic Candidate to Get Cash From Mnuchin
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin’s $2,000 donation to Sen. Kamala Harris of California may not have bought him a vote, but would he even be in the position he is now if not for his role as chief fundraiser for Trump? And how do we know he’ll be looking out for the interests of all Americans when he’s used to dealing with the interests of Wall Street folks and big donors?
POGO: Unmuzzle the Ethics Watchdog
“The controversial confirmation process and related concerns about conflicts of interest have brought to light the essential role of the Office of Government Ethics (OGE) in guarding the integrity of government.” And POGO has some ideas for how to strengthen the OGE’s role including giving it more authority to investigate ethics violations and enforce ethics laws to ensure true accountability.
ProPublica: Trump Then: ‘I Would Have No Problem’ Banning Lobbyists. Trump Now: You’re Hired!
“During his campaign, Donald Trump repeatedly welcomed the idea of banning lobbyists from his administration. Fast forward eight months, and now-President Trump is welcoming them in.”
Center for American Progress: For Polluters, Congress Will Overturn an Environmental Rule for $2.3 Million
CAP had a look at the environmental rules that Congress are scrapping: “The striking commonality among these rules is the scale of the campaign contributions and the political connections of the affected industries to the sponsors of the legislation. Thus far, industries that have succeeded in having Congress overturn an environmental rule have donated an average of $2.3 million to the sponsors of the CRA resolutions in both chambers.”
States/Other
Associated Press: Senate Committee Considers Campaign Finance Overhaul
But don’t be fooled, it won’t go as far as the voter-approved law did to give everyday people a bigger voice in state politics: “South Dakota legislators are weighing a rewrite of state campaign finance laws that could replace provisions of a government ethics overhaul that lawmakers recently repealed.”
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