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Conflicts of Interest

The Oxford Dictionary defines a conflict of interest as "a situation in which the concerns or aims of two different parties are incompatible" or "a situation in which a person is in a position to derive personal benefit from actions or decisions made in their official capacity."

Trump has many businesses, investments, and business relationships that create conflicts of interest for him as president. He has refused to eliminate those financial entanglements. He has also refused to disclose his taxes, as all modern presidents and presidential candidates have done. This makes it impossible to know whether actions he is taking as president are being done in service of the U.S., or for his own financial gain (or the gain of those close to him, such as his family).

The Constitution has a provision known as the Emoluments Clause, which bans payments from foreign powers. This was intended by the framers to prevent U.S. officials from being corrupted by gifts or payments. Trump's businesses receive payments from foreign powers. 

See also Corruption.

Timeline

2001.06Trump sells the 45th floor of Trump World Tower to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for $4.5 million dollars. nydailynews.com (See also Trump Business, Saudi Arabia)
Trump was paid at least $5.7 million by the Saudi government since 2001.
2014Donald Trump discloses investments of between $100,000 and $250,000 in Carrier Corporation's parent company, United Technologies. wsj.com (See also Carrier Corporation Jobs Deal)
2015.02.15Jared Kushner’s family says it won’t buy Marlins if Jeffrey Loria, a major donor to Trump's campaign, becomes ambassador to France. washingtonpost.com (See also First 100 Days, Jared Kushner, Reince Priebus, Rex Tillerson)
2016.01Trump sells bonds issued by Carrier Corporation’s parent company, United Technologies. His presidential transition team does not provide documentation of the sale. huffingtonpost.com (See also Carrier Corporation Jobs Deal)
2016.05Trump discloses his stake in Energy Transfer Partners, builder of the disputed Dakota access pipeline. Trump also owns a stake in Phillips 66, an energy company that would control 25 percent of the pipeline once completed. csmonitor.com (See also Native Americans)
2016.06.26One month before Election Day, Jared Kushner’s real estate company finalized a $285 million loan as part of a refinancing package for its property near Times Square in Manhattan, just as the lender - Deutsche Bank - was working to settle money laundering cases against them, which then were settled shortly thereafter. washingtonpost.com (See also Jared Kushner, 2016 Election, Corruption)
2016.06.26There are four countries noticeably missing from the list of countries impacted by the Muslim Travel Ban: Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates - all of which are in the same region, and they're home to large Muslim populations, but they also all do business with Donald Trump. bloomberg.com (See also Muslim Immigration Ban, Trump Business)
2016.07.16The Trump campaign works behind the scenes to ensure the new Republican platform won’t call for giving arms to Ukraine to fight Russian and rebel forces, contradicting Republican foreign policy leaders. washingtonpost.com (See also Ukraine, 2016 Campaign, Russia)
2016.08.03Where once Trump demanded tougher U.S. response to Russian aggression, after hiring Paul Manafort, the GOP nominee's views change and he now says he can live with a Russian Crimea. politico.com (See also Ukraine, Reversals)
2016.09.14New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman is investigating the Trump Foundation over suspected improper political donation. bbc.com (See also Donald J. Trump Foundation, Trump University)
2016.09.23Officials are concerned that Trump foreign policy advisor, Carter Page, has spoken with the Kremlin about lifting economic sanctions on Russia. cnbc.com (See also 2016 Campaign, Russia, Russian Meddling in Election)
2016.09.29Trump’s company secretly conducted business in Cuba in 1998, in violation of the U.S. embargo against Cuba. newsweek.com (See also Cuba, Trump Business)
2016.10Donald Trump Jr. attends a meeting in Paris to discuss the Syrian conflict and possible U.S.–Russian cooperation in the region and was likely paid at least $50,000 for this appearance. wsj.com (See also Donald Trump Jr., Syria, Russia)
2016.10.26Trump’s financial disclosure forms show he invested between $500,000 and $1m in Energy Transfer Partners, operators of the Dakota Access Pipeline, a further $500,000 and $1m in Phillips 66 (Which has a 25% stake in the project once completed), and its CEO donated $100,000 to his campaign theguardian.com (See also Dakota Access Pipeline, Native Americans)
2016.11.09Trump's victory forces the U.S. to confront a series of never-seen-before entanglements over his business, debts, and rocky financial history. washingtonpost.com (See also The Trump Organization)
2016.11.10Trump’s kids to run businesses via "blind trust," Trump attorney says. His three children will run it. politico.com (See also The Trump Organization)
2016.11.11Donald Trump’s questionable "blind trust" setup gets murkier as his adult children join his presidential transition team. washingtonpost.com (See also The Trump Organization, Presidential Transition)
2016.11.12Trump's conflicts of interest take White House into uncharted territory and with his children running his company and working on his transition team little prevents the president-elect’s political and business careers from bleeding into each other. theguardian.com (See also The Trump Organization, Co)
2016.11.13There are few safeguards to prevent a president from pursuing his business interests from the Oval Office. theatlantic.com (See also The Trump Organization)
2016.11.14Eric Trump helps arrange a phone call between Trump and Argentine President Mauricio Macri, after which Trump’s Argentine partner makes new effort to promote stalled plan. washingtonpost.com (See also Eric Trump, Argentina, Nepotism, Presidential Transition)
2016.11.14Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD) requests hearing into Trump's conflicts of interest. vox.com (See also The Trump Organization, Presidential Transition)
2016.11.16Ivanka Trump's jewelry company used the future first daughter's "60 Minutes" appearance Sunday to promote a high-end bracelet from her fashion line raising conflict of interest questions. money.cnn.com (See also Ivanka Trump, Presidential Transition)
2016.11.16Trump campaigned as a champion of coal miners but is close to choosing Wilbur Ross, who owned a West Virginia mine where 12 coal miners died on in 2006, to be his Commerce Secretary. thenation.com (See also Wilbur Ross, Department of Commerce)
2016.11.17Trump offers ex-general and anti-Islamist Michael Flynn national security advisor post, which does not require Senate confirmation. nytimes.com (See also Turkey, Russia, Muslim Immigration Ban, Muslim Registry, Michael Flynn, Presidential Transition)
2016.11.18Trump's top adviser Jared Kushner's brother, Josh, founds the health care startup Oscar, which makes money on the state exchanges for individual insurance established by the Affordable Care Act. huffingtonpost.com (See also Jared Kushner, Affordable Care Act)
2016.11.21Trump denies asking Argentine President for help with construction permits. npr.org (See also Argentina, Presidential Transition)
2016.11.21Trump's kids are his closest advisors. fortune.com (See also Donald Trump Jr, Eric Trump, Ivanka Trump, Jared Kushner)
2016.11.22Trump joined by daughter Ivanka on call with Argentine President Mauricio Macri. reuters.com (See also Argentina, Ivanka Trump)
2016.11.23Breitbart investor's company Cambridge Analytica, which claims Steve Bannon as a board member, is in talks to win two lucrative contracts to boost White House policy messaging and to expand sales for the Trump organization. independent.co.uk (See also Steve Bannon)
2016.11.23Donald Trump Jr. held talks on Syria with Russia supporters. wsj.com (See also Donald Trump Jr, Nepotism, Russia, Syria, Trump Relationship with Russia)
2016.11.25Concerns are raised over Trump owning stocks in company building Dakota Access Pipeline. cnbc.com (See also Dakota Access Pipeline, Presidential Transition)
2016.11.29What you need to know about Commerce Secretary pick Wilbur Ross, Trump's billionaire pal and major supporter. forbes.com (See also Wilbur Ross, Department of Commerce)
2016.12.02A source close to Puzder tells Bloomberg BNA that conflicts of interest aren't an issue because 94 percent of CKE's 2,500-some units are franchised. bna.com (See also Andrew Puzder, Department of Labor)
2016.12.02Mnuchin steps down from boards of CIT Groups Inc and Sears Holding Corp effective immediately to prepare for Treasury Secretary nomination. latimes.com (See also Steven Mnuchin, Department of the Treasury)
2016.12.02The Trump Winery, given to Eric Trump by his father, petitions the Labor Department for six H2 visas, which permit U.S. employers to hire foreigners for seasonal jobs. Trump oversees the Labor Department. washingtonpost.com (See also Eric Trump)
2016.12.02Trump administration to choose among president-elect's adviser, Steven Roth, and friend, Larry Silverstein, for next FBI headquarters, a $2 billion project. washingtonpost.com (See also FBI)
2016.12.04Ivanka Trump sits in on Trump's first meeting with a foreign leader, Minister Shinzo Abe of Japan, as she is negotiating a Japanese business deal with a company owned in part by the Japanese government. nytimes.com (See also Ivanka Trump, Japan, The Trump Organization)
2016.12.12Trump names Goldman Sachs CEO Gary Cohn as pick for Director of National Economic Council. wsj.com (See also Hypocrisy, Presidential Transition, National Economic Council, Gary Cohn)
Records show Trump is indebted to Goldman Sachs for millions.
2016.12.13Tillerson visited the White House repeatedly to make sure ExxonMobil's competitors didn't gain an edge in the way Russia sanctions were enforced. bloomberg.com (See also Rex Tillerson, Russia, Department of State)
2016.12.13What is the Russian Order of Friendship and why does Rex Tillerson have one? washingtonpost.com (See also Rex Tillerson, Russia, Department of State)
2016.12.14Billions of dollars are at stake for ExxonMobil in one of Trump's biggest foreign policy decisions in the next few years and Tillerson's ties to Russia and oil are potentially huge conflicts of interest. vox.com (See also Rex Tillerson, Russia, Department of State)
2016.12.16Eric Trump cancels an auction for his foundation that offered the winning bidders coffee with his sister Ivanka Trump. nytimes.com (See also Eric Trump, Ivanka Trump)
2016.12.16Investigation reveals Trump paid $12.5 million to his own businesses during race—an unprecedented amount. money.cnn.com
2016.12.16Wilbur Ross has made a fortune in steel — and soon after the inauguration, the Commerce Department will make five decisions about steel trade that will affect his firms. propublica.org (See also Wilbur Ross, Department of Commerce)
2016.12.21Critics say the Trump team's "half-blind" trust for conflicts of interest could allow Trump or members of his administration to continue to draw income from their businesses — and even peek in on how their companies are faring, falling short of what ethics watchdogs demand. politico.com (See also The Trump Organization)
2016.12.21Wilbur Ross, U.S. Trump’s pick for commerce secretary, intends to step down as Bank of Cyprus vice chairman to work for Trump, but the private equity firm that bears his name isn’t planning to sell it. bloomberg.com (See also Wilbur Ross, Department of Commerce)
2016.12.22Trump pick for Health Secretary traded stock in medical companies while sponsoring legislation affecting those companies wsj.com (See also Tom Price, Department of Health and Human Services)
2016.12.22Trump will appoint members of the National Labor Relations Board, the agency that regulates labor practices at his hotels. npr.org (See also Blue-Collar Workers, Trump Business)
2016.12.23Democrats on Capitol Hill press for access to tax returns from Rex Tillerson, Donald Trump’s Secretary of State nominee. wsj.com (See also Rex Tillerson, Department of State)
2017Many Trump cabinet nominees have made political contributions to lawmakers voting on their appointments. opensecrets.org (See also Trump Cabinet)
2017.01.03Ethics watchdogs say it may not even be possible for Trump avoid being influenced by his conflicts of interest theatlantic.com (See also The Trump Organization)
Even if he thinks he won’t
2017.01.06Trump's businesses owe $1.8 billion to more than 150 different institutions, raising huge conflict-of-interest questions. independent.co.uk (See also Trump Business)
2017.01.07A top ethics official has warned against plans to confirm Trump's cabinet choices before background examinations are complete. washingtonpost.com (See also Trump Cabinet)
2017.01.07A top ethics official warns that plans to confirm Trump's Cabinet choices before background checks are complete is unprecedented. washingtonpost.com (See also Trump Cabinet)
2017.01.07As Jared Kushner prepares for a White House role, his undisclosed talks with a secretive Chinese company highlight potential conflicts of interest. nytimes.com (See also Jared Kushner, China)
2017.01.08Former Obama Ethics Czar posts an old letter from Mitch McConnell to Harry Reid demanding "Financial disclosures must be complete... prior to hearings being scheduled." twitter.com (See also Trump Cabinet)
2017.01.09Jared Kushner is all but running foreign policy during Trump's transition while serving as CEO of his family business. vox.com (See also Jared Kushner, China, Israel)
2017.01.09Trump's son-in-law and real estate investor, Jared Kushner, announces he will sell many of his assets to avoid potential conflicts of interest, but ethics lawyers question how meaningful that divestiture will be because he plans to sell them to his brother or to a family trust controlled by his mother. nytimes.com (See also Jared Kushner)
2017.01.10Eric Trump resigns from his foundation, which will run in his absence without his name attached. washingtonpost.com (See also Eric Trump)
2017.01.10Trump's cabinet nominees donated money to senators responsible for reviewing their appointments. wsj.com (See also Jeff Sessions, Trump Cabinet, Tom Price, Mike Pompeo, Dan Coats, Mike Mulvaney)
2017.01.11Both of Trump's joint fundraising committees are called out by the FEC for transgressions that include accepting large donations from anonymous sources. opensecrets.org (See also 2016 Campaign)
2017.01.11Norm Eisen, former special counsel to President Obama: Trump's business arrangements violate the bipartisan consensus about ethics for the presidency. pbs.org (See also The Trump Organization)
2017.01.11Remarks of U.S. Office of Government Ethics Director, Walter M. Schaub, Jr., to the Brookings Institute regarding his concerns about Trump's plans for his business while in office, as well as those of a number of his cabinet nominees. documentcloud.org
2017.01.11Rex Tillerson's controversial foreign ties are likely to be a focus of his confirmation hearing before the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations. theatlantic.com (See also Rex Tillerson, Department of State)
2017.01.11Trump announces that his two eldest sons, Donald Jr. and Eric Trump, will control his sprawling real estate business. forbes.com (See also Donald Trump Jr, Eric Trump, The Trump Organization)
2017.01.11Trump choses not to take a path that would free himself and his administration from battles over conflicts of interest and the appearance of acting to enrich himself. washingtonpost.com (See also The Trump Organization)
2017.01.12Ben Carson, in a confirmation hearing, declines to rule out HUD grants to Trump properties. npr.org (See also Department of Housing and Urban Development, Ben Carson)
2017.01.12Despite Senator Elizabeth Warren's repeated questions Ben Carson refuses to promise that no housing funds will benefit Trump. Carson is also accused of plagiarizing his opening remarks. theguardian.com (See also Ben Carson, Department of Housing and Urban Development, Plagiarism)
2017.01.13Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah), Chairman of the GOP-led House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, sends a letter to the head of the independent federal ethics office that is viewed as a veiled threat to the OGE budget unless he changes his criticism of Trump's plan to separate from his business interests. washingtonpost.com (See also The Trump Organization)
2017.01.15White House chief of staff warned the director of the Office of Government Ethics on Sunday to "be careful" about criticizing Trump's handling of his business conflicts. washingtonpost.com (See also Reince Priebus, Unprecedented Actions)
2017.01.16Donald Trump's businesses owe $1.8 billion to more than 150 different institutions, new study suggests. independent.co.uk
2017.01.17Ethics paperwork still missing for Trump's billionaire Cabinet picks. cnn.com (See also Federal Departments, Trump Cabinet)
2017.01.17Rebecca Leber: Tillerson only intends to stay away from State decisions benefiting Exxon for one year. twitter.com (See also Rex Tillerson, Trump Cabinet)
2017.01.18The Trump administration served a retraction request to CNN for a factual story regarding Tom Price profiting from trading stock in health-related companies that he was also sponsoring and advocating legislation. washingtonpost.com (See also Tom Price, Department of Health and Human Services, Attempts to Discredit Media)
2017.01.20ACLU has filed a Freedom of information Act request with the Office of Government Ethics regarding Trump's Conflicts of Interest. action.aclu.org
2017.01.20Betsy DeVos refuses to give up estimated $5-25 million financial stake in "brain performance" company Neurocore, whose legitimacy has been questioned by experts. nytimes.com (See also Betsy DeVos, Department of Education, Education, People with Disabilities, Americans with Disabilities)
2017.01.20From the moment he is sworn in Trump may be in violation of a lease with the federal government. nytimes.com
2017.01.20No evidence that Trump has transferred controls of his companies as he promised he'd do by inauguration. propublica.org
2017.01.20Trump continues to fall short on his promise to resign from his companies in Florida, Delaware and New York. propublica.org (See also First 100 Days, The Trump Organization)
2017.01.20Trump's golf course tweets congratulations for him becoming president after Trump's lawyer had previously promised that no company social media accounts would reference his office. washingtonpost.com (See also First 100 Days, Trump Business)
2017.01.20White House website touts Melania Trump’s modeling and jewelry line on QVC (and later removes reference). washingtonpost.com (See also Melania Trump)
2017.01.21Justice department rules Trump has special hiring authority and therefore is not violating an anti-nepotism law in hiring his daughter's husband as an advisor. washingtonpost.com (See also Jared Kushner, Nepotism)
2017.01.22A team of prominent constitutional scholars, Supreme Court litigators and former White House ethics lawyers intends to file a lawsuit Monday morning alleging that President Trump is violating the Constitution by allowing his hotels and other business operations to accept payments from foreign governments. nytimes.com (See also Lawsuits, Constitutional Issues)
2017.01.22Group will sue Trump in federal court over payments he's receiving from foreign governments, arguing his refusal to divest from his businesses is unconstitutional. thehill.com
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2017.01.22Trump won’t release his tax returns because people don’t care and they voted for him, but 74 percent of Americans want him to do so. washingtonpost.com (See also Trump Taxes, False Statements)
2017.01.24Trump approves construction of both the Keystone XL and Dakota Access pipelines. npr.org (See also Environment, Native Americans, Canada)
2017.01.24Trump resigns as director of four Scottish golf firms. theguardian.com
2017.01.24Trump resurrects Keystone and DAPL. Trump has invested in Energy Transfer Partners the partner behind Dakota Access. theguardian.com (See also First 100 Days, Dakota Access Pipeline, Keystone XL Pipeline, Climate Change, NAFTA, Native Americans)
2017.01.24Trump signs executive orders to advance construction on the Keystone XL and Dakota Access pipelines. cnbc.com (See also First 100 Days, Keystone XL Pipeline, Dakota Access Pipeline, Native Americans)
2017.01.25At least three of Donald Trump's foreign business partners received VIP treatment during the inauguration, meeting with his sons, staying at Trump hotel, and mingling with lawmakers and other guests on the Capitol Hill stairs. m.motherjones.com (See also First 100 Days)
2017.01.25Goldman Sachs pays Trump's lead economic adviser $100 million. thehill.com (See also First 100 Days, Hypocrisy, Gary Cohn, National Economic Council)
2017.01.25Trump Hotels to triple US properties in defiance of 'no new deals' pledge. theguardian.com (See also The Trump Organization, Eric Trump, Trump Business)
2017.01.25Why Trump flouting decades-old norms of antitrust by directly speaking with the executives and troubling observers propublica.org (See also First 100 Days)
2017.01.26In sudden change, the American Chamber of Commerce in Canada switches meeting location, opting to rent event space at a Trump hotel. washingtonpost.com
The U.S. Chamber’s Canada-based chapter says that the decision was not political and that the newly opened Vancouver tower filled an immediate need.
2017.01.26Trump has installed a new leader for the General Services Administration who has to decide whether to evict him from his Washington hotel. politico.com (See also First 100 Days, General Services Administration)
2017.01.27Igor Sechin allegedly offered former Donald Trump ally Carter Page the brokerage of a 19% stake in Rosneft in exchange for the lifting of US sanctions. businessinsider.com (See also First 100 Days, Russia, Russian Meddling in Election)
2017.01.27Trump's immigration ban excludes countries where he has done business or pursued potential deals. bloomberg.com (See also Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Azerbaijan, Muslim Immigration Ban)
2017.01.28The executive action targets seven majority-Muslim countries, but not six others where the president's private businesses are engaged. npr.org (See also First 100 Days, Muslim Immigration Ban, Muslims, Trump Business)
2017.01.30Biomedical company officials say Tom Price was offered their stock at a discount, contrary to his congressional testimony. wsj.com (See also First 100 Days, Tom Price, Department of Health and Human Services)
2017.01.31Trump picks Gorsuch for Supreme Court with his sons sitting in the front row during the announcement. politico.com (See also First 100 Days, Supreme Court)
2017.02.01An ad from the hotel might give some people the impression that the White House is right next door. washingtonpost.com (See also First 100 Days, The Trump Organization)
2017.02.01Democrats ask Pentagon to explain 2015 payment Flynn received from Russia, suggesting it may have violated the Constitution’s emoluments clause. washingtonpost.com (See also First 100 Days, Russia, Department of Defense, Michael Flynn)
2017.02.02Ivanka Trump seeks ways to promote women in the workforce during D.C. soiree with business leaders. politico.com (See also Ivanka Trump, Women, Jobs)
2017.02.02Public-interest advocacy groups say the White House appears to be deliberately structuring Trump's growing roster of business-focused advisory groups in order to avoid becoming subject to a federal transparency law that requires such meetings be formally announced in advance and open to the public. politico.com (See also First 100 Days)
"We're very concerned about a larger pattern into which these meetings seem to fit," says a former ethics czar.
2017.02.02Trump promotes his TV show at the National Prayer Breakfast. theatlantic.com (See also Narcissism)
2017.02.03Ivanka Trump said she’d give up management of her businesses but hasn’t filed paperwork propublica.org (See also Ivanka Trump)
2017.02.03Ivanka Trump's products at Neiman Marcus are no longer online. fortune.com (See also Ivanka Trump)
2017.02.03Nordstrom Inc. will stop selling the controversial Ivanka Trump brand this season, a move that follows boycott threats and concerns about the first daughter’s conflicts of interest. bloomberg.com (See also Ivanka Trump)
2017.02.03Trump is getting payments from foreign governments and we have no idea what they are. washingtonpost.com (See also First 100 Days)
2017.02.03Trump will spend Saturday and Sunday nights attending private events where his presence, and the attendant press coverage of the president, stand to directly benefit the properties’ bottom lines. huffingtonpost.com (See also First 100 Days, The Trump Organization)
2017.02.03Trump's trust documents reveal he is the beneficiary and remains closely tied to his business despite promises he would not exploit the Oval Office for his personal gain. nytimes.com (See also Trump Business)
2017.02.04Using a rarely invoked law that gives Congress the power to reverse regulations within 60 legislative days with a simple majority, the Republican-controlled Congress nullifies a measure intended to curb the venting of gas wells on federal lands, and begins rolling back other regulations, including one enacted to limit damage that coal mines cause to streams. nytimes.com (See also First 100 Days, Energy, Environment, Rex Tillerson)
2017.02.06TIME magazine outlines case for impeachment of Trump for violating emoluments clause of Constitution. time.com (See also Unpresidential Behavior, Corruption)
2017.02.07The US military is looking to lease space in Trump Tower to maintain necessary proximity with the 'nuclear football.' cnn.com (See also First 100 Days)
2017.02.08Trump rips Nordstrom for dropping daughter Ivanka’s clothing line. thehill.com (See also Ivanka Trump)
2017.02.08Trump tweets on personal and POTUS accounts: "My daughter Ivanka has been treated so unfairly by @Nordstrom. She is a great person -- always pushing me to do the right thing! Terrible!" twitter.com (See also Ivanka Trump)
2017.02.09Citizens for responsibility and ethics in Washington files ethics complaints against Conway. citizensforethics.org (See also First 100 Days, Ivanka Trump)
2017.02.09Deutsche Bank is Trump’s largest lender and while the troubled bank has settled several of the charges against it, it’s still undergoing scrutiny by the Justice Department and other federal regulators and remains a conflict of interest. propublica.org (See also First 100 Days)
2017.02.09Jason Chaffetz and Elijah E. Cummings send letter to U.S. Office of Government Ethics regarding Kellyanne Conway's apparent ethics violation when she endorsed Ivanka Trump's products during an interview acting as Counselor to the President and requesting a recommendation of appropriate actions. oversight.house.gov
2017.02.09Kellyanne Conway 'counseled' after breaking ethics rules regarding public officials using their positions for the endorsement or private gain of people around them after plugging Ivanka Trump merchandise on Fox News. money.cnn.com (See also First 100 Days, Ivanka Trump)
2017.02.09Kellyanne Conway may have violated federal ethics rules on Thursday by urging people to buy fashion products marketed by Ivanka Trump, legal experts said. nytimes.com (See also First 100 Days, Ivanka Trump)
2017.02.09Nadler on House Judiciary Committee files a resolution of inquiry into Trump. countable.us (See also Unpresidential Behavior)
2017.02.09Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) filed a “resolution of inquiry,” a tactic used to force presidents and executive-branch agencies to share records with Congress, to force House debate on Trump’s alleged business conflicts and Russia ties. washingtonpost.com (See also First 100 Days, Russia)
2017.02.09TJ Maxx and Marshalls ask employees to throw away Ivanka Trump signage. teenvogue.com (See also First 100 Days, Ivanka Trump)
2017.02.09Trump's golf date at his Mar-A-Lago resort with Japanese Prime Minister Abe raises ethical concerns. nbcnews.com (See also First 100 Days, Japan)
2017.02.09White House rebukes Kellyanne Conway for promoting Ivanka Trump products. theguardian.com (See also First 100 Days, Ivanka Trump)
2017.02.10Trump’s watered-down ethics rules let a lobbyist, Geoff Burr, help run the Department of Labor. In justifying this, the Trump administration cited a non-existent ethics rule. propublica.org (See also Department of Labor, First 100 Days, Ethics)
2017.02.10US investigators say they have corroborated some of the communications detailed in a 35-page dossier on Trump's relationship with Russia compiled by a former British intelligence agent. cnn.com (See also First 100 Days, Russia)
2017.02.12Sears, Kmart join other retailers in dropping Trump-branded items. washingtonpost.com (See also First 100 Days)
2017.02.13Rep. Kevin Brady (R., Texas), chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, brushed aside Democrats’ calls for a committee inquiry into President Trump’s taxes and conflicts of interest. blogs.wsj.com (See also First 100 Days)
2017.02.14Ways and Means Dems tweet: “By a vote of 23-15, Republicans just voted to not request President Trump's tax returns from the Treasury Department.” twitter.com (See also First 100 Days)
2017.02.15Trump as POTUS reverses course on One China and suddenly, after more than 10 years of delays, China grants Trump trademarks in their country. twitter.com (See also China)
2017.02.16Deutsche Bank looks for evidence of whether loans to Trump were underpinned by guarantees from Moscow after Trump declares his intent to run for President. theguardian.com (See also Department of Justice, Ivanka Trump, Jared Kushner, Russia, The Trump Organization)
2017.02.16Trump's call to complain to Lockheed about F-35 jet costs in early January occurred with Boeing CEO in the room listening. bloomberg.com (See also Assaults on Government)
2017.02.21Richmond CA becomes the first city in the U.S. to call upon congress to impeach Trump after the City Council unanimously approves Trump impeachment resolution. abc7news.com (See also First 100 Days)
2017.02.26Philip Bilden withdraws from nomination as Secretary of the Navy to avoid conflicts of interest. nytimes.com (See also Trump Cabinet, Rejected or Withdrawn Appointments)
2017.03.01Lindsay Graham says he wants to require all 2020 presidential candidates to release their tax returns, including Trump if he runs for re-election. politico.com (See also First 100 Days, Trump Taxes)
2017.03.03Most of the steel for the Keystone XL and the Dakota Access pipeline projects appears to have been manufactured in Canada by a subsidiary of the Russian steel giant Evraz, not in America as directed in Trump's February 16 executive order. ecowatch.com (See also Keystone XL Pipeline, Dakota Access Pipeline)
2017.03.03Reps. Mark Sanford (R-S.C.) and Walter Jones (R-N.C.) join Democratic house members in signing a letter urging the chairmen of the House Ways and Means Committee and Senate Finance Committee to ask for copies of Trump's tax documents from the last decade. thehill.com
2017.03.03The Trump campaign's national-security policy representative for the Republican National Convention, J.D. Gordon, admits that he pushed to alter an amendment to the GOP's draft policy on Ukraine at the Republican National Convention last year to further align it with President Donald Trump's views. businessinsider.com (See also Russia, Ukraine, Jeff Sessions)
2017.03.03The hiring of three former lobbyists to work in the White House raises questions about how the Trump administration is enforcing the president’s own executive order on ethics. propublica.org (See also First 100 Days)
2017.03.04Trump sons plan new hotel chain that would extend the company’s reach into dozens of cities, including locations where the Trumps made connections during their White House bid. washingtonpost.com (See also Eric Trump, Trump Business, Donald Trump Jr)
2017.03.05Trump reverses pledge to use U.S. Steel for Keystone Pipeline instead deciding to buy the steel from a Russian Billionaire Oligarch with close ties to Putin. huffingtonpost.com (See also Russia, First 100 Days, Keystone XL Pipeline, Dakota Access Pipeline, Trade, Promises vs Actions)
2017.03.08Ethics groups ask U.S. attorney in New York to investigate Trump for possible violations of the emoluments cause of the Constitution. washingtonpost.com (See also Trump Business)
2017.03.08Senators Warren, Carper and Cummings write to the White House Counsel asking for clarification on Jared Kushner’s compliance with conflict-of-interest laws. medium.com (See also First 100 Days, Jared Kushner)
2017.03.09Experts: IRS is extremely unlikely to leak Trump's income taxes. nytimes.com (See also Trump Taxes, Trump Relationship with Russia)
2017.03.10Trump's former national security adviser, Michael Flynn, who was fired from his White House job last month, retroactively registers with the Justice Department as a foreign agent who received over $500,000 for lobbying for Turkey. bigstory.ap.org (See also First 100 Days, Michael Flynn)
2017.03.13A hotel in Azerbaijan that Trump helped build appears to be a corrupt operation engineered by oligarchs tied to Iran’s Revolutionary Guard. newyorker.com (See also The Trump Organization, Ivanka Trump, Iran, Azerbaijan, Corruption)
2017.03.13Jared Kushner set to get $400 Million from Chinese Firm investing in tower. bloomberg.com (See also Jared Kushner, China)
2017.03.13Trump's hotel in Azerbaijan is linked with corruption and Iran's Revolutionary Guard. newyorker.com (See also Trump Business, First 100 Days, Iran)
2017.03.14The White House says Trump earned more than $150 million in income and paid $38 million in taxes in 2005 in response to questions about the coming publication of his 2005 tax return by Rachel Maddow on MSNBC. cnn.com (See also First 100 Days, Taxes)
2017.03.21Ivanka Trump gets taxpayer-funded office in West Wing, access to classified information, but has no official role in U.S. government. newsweek.com (See also Ivanka Trump)
2017.06.13Since Trump won the Republican nomination, the majority of his companies' real estate sales are to secretive shell companies that obscure the buyers' identities. usatoday.com (See also Corruption, Unpresidential Behavior, Donald Trump Jr, Eric Trump, Legal Activity)
Profits from sales of those properties flow through a trust run by Trump's sons. Trump is the sole beneficiary of the trust and can withdraw cash at any time.
2017.06.14Nearly 200 Democratic members of Congress agreed to file a lawsuit Wednesday against Trump alleging that by retaining interests in a global business empire he has violated constitutional restrictions on taking gifts and benefits from foreign leaders. washingtonpost.com (See also Legal Activity, Lawsuits)
2017.06.14The special counsel overseeing the investigation into Russia’s role in the 2016 election is interviewing senior intelligence officials as part of a widening probe that now includes an examination of whether Trump attempted to obstruct justice. washingtonpost.com (See also Legal Activity, Russian Meddling in Election, Constitutional Issues, Corruption, Trump Relationship with Russia)
2017.06.15A recent NSA memo documents a phone call in which Trump pressured agency chief Admiral Mike Rogers to state publicly that there is no evidence of collusion between his campaign and Russia. newsweek.com (See also Corruption, Legal Activity, Russian Meddling in Election, Trump Relationship with Russia)
2017.06.15Paul Manafort is at the center of an FBI investigation into ties between Trump’s team and the Russians, but that hasn’t stopped him from doing business with international figures and companies, partly by claiming continued access to Trump. politico.com (See also Corruption, Russia, Trump Relationship with Russia, Legal Activity, China, Foreign Policy)
2017.06.16By rolling back Obama-era policies that allowed more private business investment in Cuba, Trump undermines a growth area for his hotel and resort competitors who have raced in recent years to establish a foothold in a lucrative new market. washingtonpost.com (See also Foreign Policy, Eric Trump, Cuba)
2017.06.17In the feud among nations in the Persian Gulf, Trump has supported those with which he does business, criticizing Qatar, differing sharply from the positions of the Pentagon and State Department. nytimes.com (See also Corruption, Saudi Arabia, Foreign Policy, Rex Tillerson, Department of State)
2017.06.20Trump’s budget calls for sharply reducing funding for programs that shelter the poor and combat homelessness — with a notable exception: It leaves intact a type of federal housing subsidy that is paid directly to private landlords like Trump himself. washingtonpost.com (See also Department of Housing and Urban Development, Housing)
2017.06.21The Trump International Hotel will be the location of a June 28 major-donor event, raising ethics questions as Turmp uses his presidency and candidacy to enrich himself. apnews.com (See also Unpresidential Behavior)
2017.06.27A consulting firm led by Paul Manafort, retroactively filed forms Tuesday showing that his firm received $17.1 million over two years from a political party that dominated Ukraine before its leader fled to Russia in 2014. washingtonpost.com (See also Corruption, Russia, Trump Relationship with Russia, 2016 Campaign, Russian Meddling in Election)
2017.06.27Trump lawyer's firm steered tens of millions of dollars from Christian donations to his family members. theguardian.com (See also Legal Activity, Corruption)
Documents obtained by the Guardian reveal Jay Sekulow approved plans to push people to give to his Christian nonprofit, which then paid big sums to his family
2017.06.29The Trump administration has appointed an activist who led a campaign to restrict bathroom access for transgender students to the office of Gender Equality and Women's Empowerment in the US Agency for International Development. buzzfeed.com (See also LGBTQIA, Trump Cabinet)
2017.07.10A few months before Trump encouraged Saudi Arabia and others to blockade Qatar, the real estate business owned by the family of his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, sought, and failed to get, a substantial investment from one of the Gulf State country’s wealthiest and most politically influential figures. bloomberg.com (See also Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Jared Kushner)
2017.07.10Trump’s advisers recruited two businessmen who profited from military contracting to devise alternatives to the Pentagon’s plan to send thousands of additional troops to Afghanistan. nytimes.com (See also Steve Bannon, Jared Kushner, James Mattis, Department of Defense, Afghanistan, H.R. McMaster)
2017.07.11Trump is aggressively scaling back government regulations out of public view and often by political appointees with deep industry ties and potential conflicts. propublica.org (See also Environmental Protection Agency, Department of Energy, Department of Defense, Department of Homeland Security, Department of Housing and Urban Development, Department of Education, Corruption)
2017.07.12The State Department spent more than $15,000 to book 19 rooms at the new Trump hotel in Vancouver when members of Trump’s family headlined the grand opening of the tower in late February. washingtonpost.com (See also Corruption)
2017.07.19The U.S. government is paying more than $130,000 a month to lease space in Trump Tower for the military office that supports the White House, even though Donald Trump hasn’t spent a night at the New York skyscraper since becoming president. wsj.com
2017.07.20Trump can legally continue to funnel funds from donors back into his own businesses, which has amounted to about $600,000 spent at Trump-owned properties in just the first six months of his presidency. wired.com (See also Trump Business)
2017.07.20Trump personally met with Jessie Liu, the current deputy general counsel for the Treasury Department and who Trump tapped to be the next US attorney for the District of Columbia -- a move that sharply departs from past practice and is at odds with the understood custom of insulating US attorneys from political influence. cnn.com (See also Legal Issues, Unprecedented Actions)
2017.07.21Jared Kushner's status as a top aide to President Donald Trump was used to lure Chinese investors to his family's New Jersey development, even after his family's company apologized for mentioning his name during a sales pitch in May. cnn.com (See also Jared Kushner, China)
2017.07.21Some of President Trump’s lawyers are exploring ways to limit or undercut special counsel Robert S. Mueller III’s Russia investigation, building a case against what they allege are his conflicts of interest and discussing the president’s authority to grant pardons to aides, family members and even himself. washingtonpost.com (See also Unprecedented Actions, Legal Activity, Trump Relationship with Russia)
2017.08.02Kushner Cos., the New York property development business owned by the family of White House senior adviser Jared Kushner, has been subpoenaed by New York federal prosecutors regarding its use of an investment-for-immigration program, according to people familiar with the matter. wsj.com (See also Legal Activity, Jared Kushner)
2017.08.03The Secret Service has vacated its command post inside Trump Tower in Manhattan following a dispute between the government and President Trump’s company over the terms of a lease for the space. washingtonpost.com (See also Unprecedented Actions, The Trump Organization)
2017.08.04Investigators working for the special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III, recently asked the White House for documents related to the former national security adviser Michael T. Flynn, and have questioned witnesses about whether he was secretly paid by the Turkish government during the final months of the presidential campaign. nytimes.com (See also Michael Flynn, Corruption, 2016 Campaign)
2017.08.07Since Trump’s election, the Trump International Hotel has emerged as a Republican Party power center - a profit-making venture with the name of the U.S. president in its gold signage, where every cup of coffee served, every fundraiser scheduled, every filet mignon ordered feeds the revenue of Trump's private business. washingtonpost.com (See also Corruption)
2017.08.07When Trump ordered federal agencies to form teams to dismantle government regulations, those teams often turned to people with deep industry ties. nytimes.com (See also Assaults on Government, Corruption)
The Times and ProPublica identify more possible conflicts among appointees, as Democrats in Congress demand greater transparency from the White House.
2017.08.10Donald Trump’s company turned a $1.97 million profit at its opulent Trump International Hotel so far in 2017, dramatically beating its expectations and giving the first hard numbers to critics who charge that Trump is profiting from his presidency. washingtonpost.com (See also Trump Business, The Trump Organization)
The Trump Organization had projected that it would lose $2.1 million during the first four months of 2017.
2017.08.18Carl Icahn’s role as a special regulatory adviser to Donald Trump has ended after questions were raised about potential conflicts of interest with his business dealings in oil refining and insurance. bloomberg.com
2017.08.20An expanding number of organizations that had planned to hold galas at the president’s Florida resort - Mar-a-Lago - are deciding to raise money elsewhere. nytimes.com (See also Unpresidential Behavior, Racism, Nationalism, Anti-Semitism)
2017.08.21Republican committees have paid nearly $1.3 million to Trump-owned entities this year. washingtonpost.com (See also Unpresidential Behavior)
2017.08.21U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin’s wife Louise Linton boasted of flying on a government plane with her husband to Kentucky on Monday and then named the numerous fashion brands she wore on the trip in an unusual social media post. washingtonpost.com (See also Steven Mnuchin)
2017.08.25The White House on Friday announced a new round of sanctions against Venezuela that explicitly exempt the U.S. arm of the country’s state-owned oil company, Citgo, which donated six-figure sums to Trump’s inauguration and recently hired former Trump officials to lobby for that exemption. thedailybeast.com (See also Corruption, Foreign Policy)
2017.09.06Due to Donald Trump's clubs and memberships, for the first time in U.S. history, wealthy people with interests before the government have a chance for close and confidential access to the president as a result of payments that enrich him personally. usatoday.com (See also Corruption, Trump Business)
2017.09.11A major construction company owned by the Chinese government was hired to work on the latest Trump golf club development in Dubai despite a pledge from Donald Trump that his family business would not engage in any transactions with foreign government entities while he serves as president. mcclatchydc.com (See also Corruption, China)
2017.09.13The Justice Department is preventing Senate investigators from interviewing two top FBI officials who could provide first-hand testimony over the firing of former FBI Director James Comey. cnn.com (See also Corruption, Unprecedented Actions)
2017.09.13The U.S. Office of Government Ethics has quietly reversed its own internal policy prohibiting anonymous donations from lobbyists to White House staffers who have legal defense funds, enabling Donald Trump’s aides to raise the money they need to pay attorneys as the Russia probe expands — but raises the potential for hidden conflicts of interest or other ethics trouble. politico.com (See also Russia, Legal Issues, Corruption)
2017.09.15During a trip to Mar-a-Lago in March, the government paid the Trump-owned club to reserve at least one bedroom for two nights the full price of $546 each; this is taxpayers enriching Donald Trump when government officials stay at his properties. washingtonpost.com (See also Legal Issues, Corruption)
2017.09.15The Trump administration on Friday escalated a battle with government ethics groups by declining, even in the face of a federal court order from the Justice Department, to release the identities of individuals visiting with President Trump at his family’s Mar-a-Lago resort. nytimes.com (See also Legal Issues, Department of Justice, Corruption)
2017.09.28Donald Trump could cut his tax bills by more than $1.1 billion, including saving tens of millions of dollars in a single year, under his proposed tax changes. nytimes.com (See also Trump Taxes, Trump Business)
2017.10.13Donald Trump and Republican leaders have positioned a proposed repeal of the estate tax as a way to help farmers, ranchers and small business owners, but Steven Mnuchin, the Treasury secretary, offered a significant concession about who would benefit the most if the so-called death tax disappears: the rich. nytimes.com (See also False Statements, Department of the Treasury, Steven Mnuchin)
2017.10.19Donald Trump has reportedly conducted interviews for at least two of the potential candidates for U.S. attorney general positions in New York, an unusual move for a president, which has raised eyebrows, leaving critics worried of potential conflicts of interest, as U.S. attorney generals are supposed to operate independently from the president. thehill.com (See also Legal Issues)
2017.10.21Donald Trump plans to spend at least $430,000 of his personal funds to help cover the mounting legal costs incurred by White House staff and campaign aides related to the ongoing investigations of Russian meddling in last year’s election. washingtonpost.com (See also Legal Activity, Russian Meddling in Election)
2017.10.29More than 50% of Donald Trump's nominees to federal agencies have ties to the industries they're supposed to regulate. thedailybeast.com (See also Unprecedented Actions, Federal Departments)
2017.10.30The Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority cancelled the highly disputed $300 million contract awarded to Whitefish Energy, a tiny American company tasked with restoring power to the still storm-ravaged island. npr.org (See also Department of the Interior, Ryan Zinke, Unprecedented Actions)
2017.10.30Trump’s eldest son, Donald Jr., is expected to launch two residential projects in India for the Trump Organization in the coming weeks, continuing the family’s promotion of the Trump empire despite concerns over the president’s potential conflicts of interest with foreign governments, and a vow early on there would be “no new foreign deals” during Trump’s tenure as president. washingtonpost.com (See also Trump Business, Donald Trump Jr)
2017.11.01Senator Patty Murray assailed Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, saying her husband broke pledge to end political contributions. washingtonpost.com (See also Betsy DeVos, Department of Education, Corruption)
2017.11.02Donald Trump has installed at least five people who have been members of his clubs (meaning: they pay money to his company) to senior roles in his administration, from Robin Bernstein and Callista Gingrich, the nation’s new ambassador to the Vatican, to Adolfo Marzol, a member of the Trump National Golf Club in suburban Washington, who serves as a senior adviser at the Department of Housing and Urban Development. usatoday.com (See also Corruption, Department of Housing and Urban Development, Trump Business)
2017.11.05Wilbur Ross, the commerce secretary, retained investments in a shipping firm with business ties to Russian President Vladimir V. Putin’s inner circle. nytimes.com (See also Russia, Trump Relationship with Russia)
2017.11.08Activist investor Carl Icahn has been subpoenaed the the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York over his role as an unpaid adviser to Donald Trump on deregulation. axios.com (See also Unprecedented Actions)
At issue is Icahn's advocacy for changes to a federal bio-fuels program that would have benefited CVR Energy, in which Icahn holds an 82% ownership stake.
2017.11.08An investigation reveals Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross has financial ties to 36 previously undisclosed ships that are spread among at least nine companies, along with the Russia-tied company — Navigator Holdings Ltd. — Ross has a financial interest in at least 75 ships, most of which move oil and gas products across the globe. apmreports.org (See also Wilbur Ross, Department of Commerce, Corruption, Russia)
The value of those ships stands to grow as Ross negotiates trade deals on behalf of the U.S. and advises on U.S. infrastructure policy, and one fund linked to Ross was still buying and selling ships after Ross was confirmed as Commerce secretary.
2017.11.08Donald Trump promoted his New Jersey golf course during speech to South Korea parliament despite having been criticized for abusing his power to promote his personal business. washingtonpost.com (See also Unpresidential Behavior)
2017.11.08The U.S. Department of Justice has told AT&T that it would be required to sell CNN as a condition of approval for its proposed $85 billion acquisition of Time Warner, adding that AT&T is opposed to such a divestiture, and is prepared to take the Trump Administration to court. axios.com (See also Fascism, Unprecedented Actions, Jeff Sessions, Department of Justice, Legal Issues)
2017.11.10An attorney whose accounting firm helped clients avoid paying billions in taxes, and whose firm had to pay more than $100 million in penalties for a tax shelter scheme, is poised to take control of the Internal Revenue Service. thedailybeast.com (See also Unprecedented Actions)
2017.11.13Donald Trump Jr. exchanged private messages with WikiLeaks during the presidential campaign at the same time the website was publishing hacked emails from Democratic officials. washingtonpost.com (See also 2016 Campaign, Legal Issues, Donald Trump Jr)
2017.11.13One of Donald Trump’s most controversial judicial nominees did not disclose on publicly available congressional documents that he is married to a senior lawyer in the White House Counsel’s Office. nytimes.com (See also Corruption, Legal Issues, False Statements)
When Brett J. Talley was asked to name family members who might be a conflict of interest, he did not mention that his wife is Ann Donaldson, the White House counsel’s chief of staff, Donald McGahn.
2017.11.14The State Department has hired a private Russian company co-founded by Vladimir Putin's former KGB boss through a $2.8 million no-bid contract, to guard the US Embassy in Moscow. nytimes.com (See also Trump Relationship with Russia, Russia, Corruption)
2017.11.20A examination of public records reveals that there are at least 20 families, joined by either blood or marriage, in which multiple members hold some federal post or appointment. including the family of some of Trump’s most prominent campaign supporters and agency officials, such as Rudy Giuliani’s son, Seb Gorka’s wife, and Eric Trump’s brother-in-law. thedailybeast.com (See also Nepotism)
2017.11.29Donald Trump lied when he said that he won't benefit from the proposed GOP tax plan, when in fact, Trump and his family could save more than $1 billion. nbcnews.com (See also False Statements, Unpresidential Behavior)
2017.11.29Twenty-three Trump businesses including his Mar-a-Lago Club must retain records after they receive subpoenas from the attorneys general in Maryland and the District of Columbia as part of a lawsuit accusing the president of profiting from his office. bloomberg.com (See also Legal Issues, Legal Activity, Trump Business)
2017.11.30Donald Trump over the summer repeatedly urged senior Senate Republicans, including the chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, to end the panel’s investigation into Russia’s interference in the 2016 election. nytimes.com (See also Russian Meddling in Election, Russia, Legal Issues, 2016 Election)
2017.12.04A construction company owned in part by the governments of Saudi Arabia and South Korea plans to build a Trump-branded luxury resort development in Indonesia despite a vow from Donald Trump that his family business would not make any deals with foreign government entities while he serves as president. mcclatchydc.com (See also Trump Business, Saudi Arabia, False Statements)
2017.12.12Following reports that Wilbur Ross vastly overvalued his wealth and failed to disclose his holdings in a Russian shipping company partly owned by Vladimir Putin’s son-in-law, whose long relationship with Donald Trump has been tested by the disclosures, is facing scrutiny by European lawmakers over allegations that he engaged in insider trading related to his 2014 sale of shares in the Bank of Ireland. motherjones.com (See also Wilbur Ross, Department of Commerce, False Statements, Corruption, Criminality)
2017.12.13Donald Trump’s nominee to oversee the Environmental Protection Agency’s chemical safety division withdrew his name from consideration for the post in the face of mounting opposition, due to his studies which often bolstered safety claims by manufacturers of pesticides, flame retardants and other products listed as possible public health hazards. nytimes.com (See also False Statements, Rejected or Withdrawn Appointments, Environmental Protection Agency, Scott Pruitt)
2017.12.14This website is designed to track how Trump and his family are in position to profit directly from his role as president, as it tracks payments to Trump properties from Trump-related entities and beyond. opensecrets.org (See also Fact-Checking Resources, Corruption, Trump Business)
2017.12.15A new provision not in the tax bill passed by the House or the Senate was inserted into the final bill during reconciliation negotiations between Republicans from both chambers. designed to offer a special tax cut to LLCs with few employees and large amounts of depreciable property assets, namely buildings: rent generating apartment and office buildings. ibtimes.com (See also Trump Taxes, Trump Business, Jared Kushner, Ivanka Trump)
The Trump organization and the Kushners, and top GOP lawmakers writing the tax bill collectively have tens of millions of dollars of ownership stakes in real-estate-related LLCs.
2017.12.21Donald Trump insisted for months that he wouldn't benefit from the tax bill, but now that it has been signed into law, his press secretary has finally admitted he will. msnbc.com (See also False Statements, Reversals, Economy, Corruption)
2017.12.22Donald Trump is in Florida for a prolonged visit at Mar-A-Lago, as he has now visited his own properties over 100 times as President. cnn.com (See also Corruption, False Statements)
2017.12.22Donald Trump would save about $11 million on his taxes, if the new Republican tax overhaul were applied to his 2005 tax return, roughly a 30 percent cut, while also saving another $4.4 million on his eventual estate tax bill. nytimes.com (See also Economy, Corruption)
2017.12.23The Trump administration moved to renew leases for a copper and nickel mining operation on the border of Minnesota’s Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, reversing a decision made by Barack Obama, marking a win for the Chilean mining firm belonging to the family of billionaire Andrónico Luksic, who rents a home to Ivanka Trump and her husband, Jared Kushner, in Washington. washingtonpost.com (See also Department of the Interior, Ryan Zinke, Reversals, Ivanka Trump, Jared Kushner, Corruption)
2017.12.24Donald Trump kicked off his holiday weekend at Mar-a-Lago Friday night at a dinner where he told friends, "You all just got a lot richer," referencing the sweeping tax overhaul he signed into law hours earlier. cbsnews.com (See also Unpresidential Behavior, Trump Taxes)
2017.12.26Donald 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. cnn.com (See also Corruption, False Statements)
2018.01.07Last May, Jared Kushner accompanied President Trump, his father-in-law, on the pair’s first diplomatic trip to Israel, part of Mr. Kushner’s White House assignment to achieve peace in the Middle East, just after his family real estate company received a roughly $30 million investment from Menora Mivtachim, an insurer that is one of Israel’s largest financial institutions, according to a Menora executive. nytimes.com (See also Corruption, Jared Kushner, Ivanka Trump, Israel)
2018.01.09The Trump administration has waived part of the punishment for five megabanks whose affiliates were convicted and fined for manipulating global interest rates, one of which is Deutsche Bank — which is owed at least $130 million by President Donald Trump and his business empire, and has also been fined for its role in a Russian money laundering scheme. ibtimes.com (See also Economy, Assaults on Government, Corruption, Russia)
2018.01.09The Trump administration said Tuesday it wouldn't allow oil drilling off the coast of Florida, abruptly reversing course under pressure from Republican Gov. Rick Scott, during a meeting with Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke. nbcnews.com (See also Reversals, Department of the Interior, Ryan Zinke, Environment)
2018.01.10Donald Trump’s companies sold more than $35 million in real estate in 2017, mostly to secretive shell companies that obscure buyers’ identities, continuing a dramatic shift in his customers' behavior that began during the election. usatoday.com (See also Trump Business, Corruption)
2018.01.12A company that once had financial ties to Education Secretary Betsy DeVos was one of two firms selected Thursday by the Education Department to help the agency collect overdue student loans, potentially worth hundreds of millions of dollars. washingtonpost.com (See also Betsy DeVos, Department of Education)
Performant Financial Corp. was one of two firms selected Thursday by the U.S. Department of Education to help the agency collect overdue student loans. The deal with could be worth hundreds of millions of dollars.
2018.01.15Sixty-four trade groups, foreign governments, Republican candidates and others stayed at or held events at properties linked to Donald Trump during his first year in office, representing "unprecedented conflicts of interest" because Trump has not divested from properties he owns or that carry his name. reuters.com (See also Donald Trump Jr, Eric Trump)
2018.01.19A year into Donald Trump’s presidency, records show five of his top staffers still have not secured final approval of their financial reports — disclosures that are required by law to ensure Americans that these senior officials aren’t personally benefiting from their White House jobs. mcclatchydc.com (See also Administration Errors, Ivanka Trump, Jared Kushner)
2018.01.24Instead of helping consumers (as the head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau), Mick Mulvaney, who has accepted donations from payday lenders, is now delaying the implementation of payday lending rules. npr.org (See also Mick Mulvaney, Reversals, Corruption)
2018.01.25A case accusing Mr. Trump of violating the Constitution’s emoluments clauses, which prevent a president from accepting government-bestowed benefits either at home or abroad, appeared to inch forward during a lengthy hearing before a federal judge in Maryland. nytimes.com (See also Corruption, Unprecedented Actions, Legal Activity)
2018.01.29Donald Trump is seeking to parlay his first State of the Union address on Tuesday into cash for his reelection campaign by offering supporters a chance to see their name flashed on the screen during a broadcast of the speech. washingtonpost.com (See also Unpresidential Behavior, Corruption)
2018.01.31Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson allowed his son to help organize an agency “listening tour” in Baltimore last summer despite warnings from department lawyers that doing so risked violating federal ethics rules, according to internal documents. washingtonpost.com (See also Ben Carson, Department of Housing and Urban Development)
2018.01.31The director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention resigned on Wednesday, in the middle of the nation’s worst flu epidemic in nearly a decade, because of her troubling financial investments in tobacco and health care companies that posed potential conflicts of interest. nytimes.com (See also Resignations and Dismissals, Department of Health and Human Services)
2018.02.15Last April, the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, Ajit Pai, led the charge for his agency to approve rules allowing television broadcasters to greatly increase the number of stations they own, enabling Sinclair Broadcasting to move forward on a blockbuster $3.9 billion deal to buy Tribune Media — a deal those new rules made possible, but the top internal watchdog for the F.C.C. opened an investigation into whether Mr. Pai and his aides had improperly pushed for the rule changes and whether they had timed them to benefit Sinclair. nytimes.com (See also Corruption)
2018.02.16After less than 13 months, more than 40 percent of the people Trump originally picked for Cabinet-level jobs have faced ethical or other controversies. washingtonpost.com (See also Administration Errors, Trump Cabinet, Corruption, Tom Price, Ryan Zinke, Steven Mnuchin, John Kelly, Jeff Sessions, Ben Carson)
2018.02.19The president’s eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., is making what has been dubbed an unofficial visit to India to promote his family’s real estate projects, but he’s also planning to deliver a foreign policy speech on Indo-Pacific relations at an event with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. washingtonpost.com (See also Donald Trump Jr, Nepotism, Trump Business)
2018.02.23Soon after the Republican National Committee came under pressure for paying legal bills for Donald Trump and his eldest son in the special counsel's Russia probe, it started covering expenses for the president's re-election campaign. cnbc.com (See also Russian Meddling in Election)
The RNC has spent more than $290,000 since September on rent for Trump's campaign and salary for Vice President Mike Pence's nephew.
2018.02.24An ethics watchdog group has asked the Interior Department’s Inspector General to investigate Zinke over an alleged violation of a federal conflict of interest law after reports surfaced that he assisted a Montana–based gun manufacturer and vendor of which he is a shareholder. splinternews.com (See also Department of the Interior, Ryan Zinke)
2018.02.26The Trump Organization announced that it donated the profits from “foreign government patronage” at its hotels last year to the U.S. Treasury, but declined to identify those foreign customers or the amount of the contribution. washingtonpost.com (See also Trump Business, Department of the Treasury)
2018.02.27Department of Housing and Urban Development officials spent $31,000 on a new dining room set for Secretary Ben Carson’s office in late 2017 — just as the White House circulated its plans to slash HUD’s programs for the homeless, elderly and poor, according to federal procurement records. nytimes.com (See also Department of Housing and Urban Development, Corruption, Ben Carson)
The purchase of the custom hardwood table, chairs and hutch came a month after a top agency staff member filed a whistle-blower complaint charging Mr. Carson’s wife, Candy Carson, with pressuring department officials to find money for the expensive redecoration of his offices, even if it meant circumventing the law.
2018.02.28In 2017, Jared Kushner met multiple times in the White House with leaders of at least two financial institutions that subsequently made large loans to Mr. Kushner’s family real estate business, in which Mr. Kushner retains an interest. nytimes.com (See also Jared Kushner, Corruption)
Apollo, the private equity firm, and Citigroup made large loans last year to the family real estate business of Jared Kushner, Donald Trump’s senior adviser.
2018.03.02Billionaire investor and longtime Trump confidant Carl Icahn dumped $31.3 million of stock in a company heavily dependent on steel last week, just days before Trump announced plans to impose steep tariffs on steel imports. thinkprogress.org (See also Corruption, Economy)
2018.03.02Jared Kushner's firm made a direct pitch to Qatar’s minister of finance in April 2017 in an attempt to secure investment for his signature 666 Fifth Avenue property in NYC, and after being rebuffed, Kushner provided critical support to a Middle Eastern diplomatic row that culminated in a blockade of Qatar. theintercept.com (See also Jared Kushner, Corruption, Foreign Policy)
2018.03.02William G. Otis, one of Donald Trump's picks for a seat on the body that sets policy used to punish 70,000 federal criminals every year has publicly called to abolish that agency, the U.S. Sentencing Commission, and has a history of making racially charged remarks about crime. npr.org (See also Assaults on Government, Racism)
2018.03.06Secretary of Transportation Elaine Chao admitted that Donald Trump personally asked House Speaker Paul Ryan to block funding for New York City's badly needed Gateway project. nymag.com (See also Unpresidential Behavior, Department of Transportation, Elaine Chao)
2018.03.07A key aide to Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt has been granted permission to make extra money moonlighting for private clients whose identities are being kept secret. apnews.com (See also Corruption, Scott Pruitt, Environmental Protection Agency)
2018.03.08A week after his inauguration, Donald Trump signed an executive order that bars former lobbyists, lawyers and others from participating in any matter they lobbied or otherwise worked on for private clients within two years before going to work for the government, but records show Trump's top lawyer has issued at least 24 ethics waivers to key administration officials at the White House and executive branch agencies. cnbc.com (See also Reversals, Hypocrisy, Corruption, Don McGahn)
2018.03.12Donald Trump Jr. has a previously undisclosed business relationship with a longtime hunting buddy who helped raise millions of dollars for his father’s 2016 presidential campaign and has had special access to top government officials since the election. apnews.com (See also Corruption, Donald Trump Jr, Department of the Interior, Ryan Zinke)
2018.03.12Qatari officials gathered evidence of what they claim is illicit influence by the United Arab Emirates on Jared Kushner and other Trump associates, including details of secret meetings, but decided not to give the information to special counsel Robert Mueller for fear of harming relations with the Trump administration nbcnews.com (See also Jared Kushner, Russian Meddling in Election, Trump Relationship with Russia, Foreign Policy)
2018.03.12White House adviser Ivanka Trump receives more than $1 million each year from her family’s business that develops luxury resorts across the globe, sometimes with help from foreign governments, but her continued relationship with the Trump Organization creates countless potential conflicts of interest as she represents President Donald Trump at meetings with world leaders and lobbies U.S. lawmakers. mcclatchydc.com (See also Ivanka Trump, Trump Business, Corruption)
2018.03.16A new U.S. advisory board created to help rewrite federal rules for importing the heads and hides of African elephants, lions and rhinos is stacked with trophy hunters, including some members with direct ties to Donald Trump and his family. apnews.com (See also Ryan Zinke, Department of the Interior, Corruption)
2018.03.16Attorney General Jeff Sessions fired former FBI deputy director Andrew Mc­Cabe, a little more than 24 hours before McCabe was set to retire — a move that McCabe alleged was an attempt to slander him and undermine the ongoing special counsel investigation into the Trump campaign. washingtonpost.com (See also 2016 Campaign, Jeff Sessions, Department of Justice, Resignations and Dismissals)
2018.03.20The Republican National Committee spent roughly $271,000 at Donald Trump’s private businesses in February, according to documents filed Tuesday evening. washingtonpost.com (See also Trump Business, Corruption)
2018.03.28A federal judge ruled that the District of Columbia and Maryland may proceed with a lawsuit against Donald Trump alleging that Trump’s business dealings have violated the Constitution’s ban on receiving improper “emoluments,” or payments, from individual states and foreign governments. washingtonpost.com (See also Legal Activity, Trump Business)
2018.03.29Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt leased a Washington apartment owned by a lobbyist friend last year under terms that allowed him to pay $50 a night for a single bedroom -- but only on the nights when he actually slept there. bloomberg.com (See also Environmental Protection Agency, Scott Pruitt, Corruption)
Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt’s lease at a Washington apartment owned by a lobbyist friend allowed him to pay $50 a night for a single bedroom, but only on the nights when he actually slept there.
2018.03.29For much of his first year in Washington, Trump’s EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt occupied prime real estate in a townhouse near the U.S. Capitol that is co-owned by the wife of a top energy lobbyist. abcnews.go.com (See also Scott Pruitt, Environmental Protection Agency)
2018.04.02Scott Pruitt, the E.P.A. chief, was using an apartment partly owned by the wife of the chairman of the lobbying firm while its client sought the agency’s sign off on a pipeline project... which was then approved. nytimes.com (See also Scott Pruitt, Environmental Protection Agency, Corruption)
2018.04.09Lawyers representing Donald Trump’s company last month wrote directly to the president of Panama, asking him to intervene in a legal fight over the Trump International Hotel in the capital — and warning that the case could have “repercussions” for Panama’s reputation. washingtonpost.com (See also Trump Business, Corruption, Legal Issues)
2018.04.12A former Secret Service agent, with a background investigating the Gambino crime family, Pasquale Perrotta, is serving as the chief of security for Scott Pruitt, the administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, has clashed — at least once physically — with top E.P.A. officials who challenged Mr. Pruitt’s spending, and has steered at least one E.P.A. security contract to a business associate. nytimes.com (See also Scott Pruitt, Environmental Protection Agency, Corruption)
2018.04.12Judges on a federal appeals court panel appeared hesitant to overrule Donald Trump and install the deputy director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau as the agency's temporary leader, but two of the three judges from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit indicated they had a problem with the person Trump selected to take the position, Mick Mulvaney, because he also heads the White House Office of Management and Budget. latimes.com (See also Mick Mulvaney, Legal Issues)
2018.04.23The Republican National Committee spent more than $224,000 at Donald Trump’s private Mar-a-Lago club in March, according to newly filed FEC reports - far and away the largest amount the RNC has spent there. thedailybeast.com (See also Corruption, Unprecedented Actions, Unpresidential Behavior)
2018.04.24Scott Pruitt, the administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, faces nearly a dozen federal inquiries into his travel expenses, security practices and other issues. nytimes.com (See also Scott Pruitt, Environmental Protection Agency, Corruption)
2018.04.26Donald Trump hinted that he may get more deeply involved in the management of his Justice Department — which is overseeing a special counsel probe into possible Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election — in a freewheeling and defiant phone interview with Fox and Friends. washingtonpost.com (See also Department of Justice, Legal Activity, Corruption, Russian Meddling in Election)
2018.04.30The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has granted a financial hardship waiver to an oil refinery owned by billionaire Carl Icahn, a former adviser to Donald Trump, exempting the Oklahoma facility from requirements under a federal biofuels law, according to two industry sources briefed on the matter, so they can avoid tens of millions of dollars in costs. reuters.com (See also Corruption, Environmental Protection Agency, Scott Pruitt)
2018.04.30The intercession of a well-connected Florida doctor, as a member of Mar-a-Lago has infuriated those overseeing the $16B contract Department of Veterans Affairs project. politico.com (See also Corruption, Department of Veterans Affairs, David Shulkin)
2018.05.01A trip to Morocco by Environmental Protection Agency chief Scott Pruitt last December was partly arranged by a longtime friend and lobbyist, who then won a $40,000/month contract with the Moroccan government. washingtonpost.com (See also Scott Pruitt, Environmental Protection Agency, Corruption)
2018.05.03As a state senator in Oklahoma 15 years ago, Mr. Pruitt bought a home in the state capital with a registered lobbyist who was pushing for changes to the state’s workers’ compensation rules — changes that Mr. Pruitt championed in the legislature, while Mr. Pruitt never publicly disclosed his financial relationship with the lobbyist, who, like Mr. Pruitt, lived in the home when in Oklahoma City on business. nytimes.com (See also Scott Pruitt, Environmental Protection Agency, Corruption)
2018.05.13Members of a special team at the Education Department that had been investigating widespread abuses by for-profit colleges have been marginalized, reassigned or instructed to focus on other matters, effectively killing investigations into possibly fraudulent activities at several large for-profit colleges where top hires of Betsy DeVos, the education secretary, had previously worked. nytimes.com (See also Corruption, Betsy DeVos, Department of Education)
2018.05.14Donald Trump personally will profit from a new Trump Indonesian resort project that will get $500 million in Chinese loans in a deal sealed just days before before his tweet ordering help for Chinese government owned cellphone maker ZTE. huffingtonpost.com (See also China, Trump Business, Reversals, Corruption)
2018.05.17The company controlled by the family of the White House adviser Jared Kushner is close to receiving a bailout of its troubled flagship building by a company with financial ties to the government of Qatar. nytimes.com (See also Jared Kushner, Corruption)
The deal is likely to raise further concerns about Jared Kushner’s dual role as a White House point person on the Middle East and a continuing stakeholder in the family’s company. Mr. Kushner in February lost his top-secret security clearance amid concerns that foreign governments could attempt to gain influence with the White House by doing business with his firm. In January, The Times reported that his firm last year received a $30 million investment from Menora Mivtachim, a large Israeli insurer, just a few days before Mr. Kushner flew to Israel for his first diplomatic trip to the region.
2018.05.18President Trump has personally pushed U.S. Postmaster General Megan Brennan to double the rate the Postal Service charges Amazon.com and other firms to ship packages. washingtonpost.com (See also Unpresidential Behavior, Fascism)
Brennan has so far resisted Trump’s demand, explaining in multiple conversations occurring this year and last that these arrangements are bound by contracts and must be reviewed by a regulatory commission. She has told the president that the Amazon relationship is beneficial for the Postal Service and gave him a set of slides that showed the variety of companies, in addition to Amazon, that also partner for deliveries.
2018.05.21Donald Trump went beyond his usual tactics of suggesting wrongdoing and political bias by those investigating him, and crossed over into applying overt presidential pressure on the Justice Department to do his bidding. nytimes.com (See also Fascism, Legal Issues, Department of Justice)
Legal experts said President Trump’s promise of intervention had little precedent, and could force a clash between the sitting president and his Justice Department.
2018.05.30Ivanka Trump abruptly left a conference call about a coming fitness event after receiving questions about her company’s trademarks in China and her father’s exercise regimen. nytimes.com (See also China, Trump Business, Ivanka Trump)
2018.06.05Three months after Scott Pruitt was sworn in as head of the Environmental Protection Agency, his scheduler emailed the CEO of the fast-food company Chick-fil-A, asking for a job for his wife, Marlyn. washingtonpost.com (See also Corruption, Environmental Protection Agency, Scott Pruitt)
2018.06.11A federal judge sharply criticized the Justice Department’s argument that Donald Trump’s financial interest in his company’s hotel in downtown Washington is constitutional, a sign that the judge may soon rule against the president in a historic case that could head to the Supreme Court. nytimes.com (See also Legal Activity, Supreme Court)
2018.06.11Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner, the president’s daughter and son-in-law, brought in at least $82 million in outside income while serving as senior White House advisers during 2017, according to financial disclosure forms, which ethics experts have warned could create extraordinary potential conflicts of interests. washingtonpost.com (See also Ivanka Trump, Jared Kushner)
2018.06.13Environmental Protection Agency chief Scott Pruitt last year had a top aide help contact Republican donors who might offer his wife a job, eventually securing her a position at a conservative political group that has backed him for years, according to multiple individuals familiar with the matter. washingtonpost.com (See also Corruption, Scott Pruitt, Environmental Protection Agency, Nepotism)
2018.06.14A major construction company owned by the Chinese government was awarded another contract this week to work on the Trump golf club development in Dubai, further raising questions about potential conflicts of interest between Donald Trump's presidency and his vast real estate empire. mcclatchydc.com (See also Trump Business, China)
2018.06.15Senior staff members at the Environmental Protection Agency frequently felt pressured by Scott Pruitt, the administrator, to help in personal matters and obtain special favors for his family, according to interviews with four current and former E.P.A. officials who served as top political aides to Mr. Pruitt. nytimes.com (See also Environmental Protection Agency, Scott Pruitt, Corruption)
2018.06.18The Senate voted to reinstate tough penalties on ZTE, a Chinese telecom company accused of violating American sanctions, in a sharp rebuke of the Trump administration’s handling of the matter that almost ensures a rare showdown between Republican lawmakers and the White House. nytimes.com (See also Department of Commerce, China, Reversals)
2018.06.18Wilbur Ross lied when he confirmed in writing to the federal Office of Government Ethics that he had divested his multiple portfolios, revealing dozens of conflicts of interest. forbes.com (See also Wilbur Ross, Corruption, Russia, Department of Commerce)
2018.06.19A foundation established by Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke and headed by his wife is playing a key role in a real-estate deal backed by the chairman of Halliburton, the oil-services giant that stands to benefit from any of the Interior Department’s decisions to open public lands for oil exploration or change standards for drilling. politico.com (See also Ryan Zinke, Department of the Interior, Corruption, Nepotism, Environment)
2018.06.24Scott Pruitt, the head of the Environmental Protection Agency, discussed hiring a friend of a lobbyist family that owned a condominium he was renting for $50 a night, newly released emails suggest, and that the lobbyist’s client interests that had not previously been disclosed, suggesting a closer relationship between the lobbyist, J. Steven Hart, and the agency than previously known. nytimes.com (See also Scott Pruitt, Environmental Protection Agency, Corruption)
2018.06.27Donald Trump never sold his companies or moved his assets into blind trusts or broadly held investments, unlike every President since Watergate, so this graphic explores how and when he makes money when groups pay his companies. projects.propublica.org (See also Fact-Checking Resources, Unpresidential Behavior, Trump Business)
2018.06.27Donald Trump’s pick to run the IRS, tax lawyer Chuck Rettig, owns properties at the Trump International Hotel Waikiki and Tower, which had not been previously disclosed. politico.com (See also Trump Business)
2018.06.28Justice Anthony Kennedy's son, Justin, was the global head of real estate capital markets at Deutsche Bank, helping loan Donald Trump more than $1 billion at a time when other banks were wary of doing business with him. nytimes.com (See also Supreme Court, Trump Business)
2018.07.02Since her husband took office, Melania Trump has earned six figures from an unusual deal with a photo agency in which major media organizations have indirectly paid the Trump family despite a requirement that the photos be used only in positive coverage. nbcnews.com (See also Assaults on Civil Liberties, Melania Trump)
2018.07.06Nearly all of the $706,000 in donations made by the Donald J. Trump Foundation in Palm Beach County since 2008 went to charities that hosted lavish fundraisers at Mar-a-Lago — the president’s highest-profile business in the county. mypalmbeachpost.com (See also Trump Business, Corruption)
2018.07.09Donald Trump enacted tariffs on $34 billion worth of Chinese goods, affecting hundreds of products from boats to medical devices and auto parts, but the clothing industry was mostly spared from the tariffs, meaning Ivanka Trump’s foreign-made products for her fashion line will be unaffected. huffingtonpost.com (See also Nepotism, Trump Business, China, Trade, Ivanka Trump)
2018.07.09Some members of Donald Trump's exclusive Florida clubs appear to have been invited to an Air Force One tour last year, according to an invitation which was cross-checked with records received through a Freedom of Information Act request. buzzfeed.com (See also Trump Business, Corruption)
2018.07.09Some members of Donald Trump's exclusive Florida clubs appear to have been invited to an Air Force One tour last year, according to an invitation, which was cross-checked with records received through a Freedom of Information Act request. buzzfeed.com (See also Trump Business, Corruption)
2018.07.11The Senate voted 51-48 on Wednesday to confirm Brian Benczkowski as an assistant attorney general at the Justice Department, ending an 18-month delay in which its Criminal Division operated without a permanent leader, despite his legal work for a Russian bank. npr.org (See also Russia, Department of Justice, Jeff Sessions)
2018.07.16Tracking the President’s Visits to Trump Properties. nytimes.com (See also Trump Business, Fact-Checking Resources)
2018.07.17Donald Trump’s Turnberry firm was paid more than £50,000 by his own government to cover the accommodation bill for his weekend stay at his loss-making resort, paying himself from US tax dollars for his stay at his resort. scotsman.com (See also Trump Business)
2018.07.18The Interior Department’s internal watchdog has launched a full investigation into a real estate deal involving a foundation established by Ryan Zinke and developers including Halliburton Chairman David Lesar, which will focus on whether Zinke violated conflict of interest laws. politico.com (See also Ryan Zinke, Department of the Interior, Corruption)
2018.07.25A federal judge on Wednesday once against rejected Donald Trump's efforts to get a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of his financial ties to his Washington, DC, hotel dismissed. buzzfeednews.com (See also Legal Activity, Trump Business)
The District of Columbia and the state of Maryland sued Trump last year, claiming he had violated the Foreign and Domestic Emoluments Clauses of the US Constitution by refusing to give up his interest in the Trump International Hotel in DC and then profiting from the business of foreign, state, and local governments.
2018.08.03After two years of decline, revenue from room rentals at the Trump International Hotel went up 13 percent in the first three months of 2018, due to a last-minute visit to New York by the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia. washingtonpost.com (See also Trump Business, Corruption)
2018.08.07Peter O'Rourke is one-third of an informal council that is exerting sweeping influence on the VA from Mar-a-Lago, Donald Trump’s private club in Palm Beach, none of whom have ever served in the U.S. military or government. propublica.org (See also Unprecedented Actions, Department of Veterans Affairs)
2018.08.13According to the White House top lawyer, it is “in the public interest” for Bill Shine, the new communications director, to be excused from federal ethics laws so he can meet with Fox News. thedailybeast.com (See also Corruption)
Including Bill Shine and Larry Kudlow, the White House has granted a total of 20 waivers to provisions of various federal ethics laws since Trump took office.
2018.08.13There’s an under-the-radar perk being offered to staffers in President Donald Trump’s administration — discounts on Trump-branded merchandise sold at his Bedminster, New Jersey, golf club, ranging from 15 percent off of any merchandise sold in the store, to 70 percent off clearance items. politico.com (See also Unprecedented Actions, Trump Business)
2018.08.19As a corporate lawyer, William L. Wehrum worked for the better part of a decade to weaken air pollution rules by fighting the Environmental Protection Agency in court on behalf of chemical manufacturers, refineries, oil drillers and coal-burning power plants, but he is about to deliver one of the biggest victories yet for his industry clients — this time from inside the Trump administration as the government’s top air pollution official, as Donald Trump is expected to propose a vast rollback of regulations on emissions from coal plants, including many owned by members of a coal... nytimes.com (See also Environmental Protection Agency, Corruption)
2018.10.16Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke was the subject of 14 separate government investigations, but that number could soon be zero because he has fired the Department of the Interior’s acting inspector general, who did not know about this until it was reported in the press, and will be replaced by a Republican lawyer who worked on the Trump campaign and will likely be able to fill the role without needing to go through Senate confirmation. outsideonline.com (See also Corruption, Department of the Interior, Ryan Zinke)
2018.10.28Trump’s Corruption: The Definitive List: Donald Trump, his family and more than a few of his appointees are using his presidency to enrich themselves, spending taxpayer dollars for their own benefit, accepting sweetheart deals from foreigners, and they are harnessing the power of the federal government on behalf of their businesses. nytimes.com (See also Corruption, Trump Business, Donald Trump Jr, Jared Kushner)
2018.10.30The Interior Department’s Office of Inspector General has referred one of its probes into the conduct of Secretary Ryan Zinke to the Justice Department for further investigation. washingtonpost.com (See also Department of the Interior, Ryan Zinke, Corruption)
2018.11.02A federal judge in Maryland ordered evidence-gathering to begin in a lawsuit accusing Donald Trump of violating the Constitution by maintaining a financial interest in his company’s Washington hotel. nytimes.com (See also Legal Activity, Trump Business)
The plaintiffs are seeking records that could illuminate potential conflicts of interest between Mr. Trump and foreign leaders or state officials who patronize Trump International Hotel, blocks from the White House.
2018.11.10Campaigns and PACs spent at least $3.2 million at Trump-owned and branded properties throughout the two-year midterm election cycle, while no single group spent more than the Republican National Committee, which spent at least $1.2 million at the properties since the start of 2017. cnn.com (See also Trump Business, Corruption)
2018.11.15Donald Trump intends to nominate luxury handbag designer, and Mar-a-Lago member, Lana Marks as the new ambassador to South Africa, almost two years after the last ambassador left under Barack Obama. reuters.com (See also Racism, Corruption, Department of State)
The nomination comes at a time of frayed relations between the two countries after a tweet in August in which Trump asked his secretary of state to study South African “land and farm seizures."
U.S. Office of Government Ethics 18 U.S. Code § 216 - Penalties and injunctions law.cornell.edu
Prior Provisions A prior section 216, acts June 25, 1948, ch. 645, 62 Stat. 695, § 216, formerly § 221, amended Aug. 21, 1958, Pub. L. 85–699, title VII, § 702(a)–(c), 72 Stat. 698; Aug. 18, 1959, Pub...
U.S. Office of Government Ethics | 18 U.S.C. § 208: Acts affecting a personal financial interest oge.gov
The basic criminal conflict of interest statute, prohibits an executive branch employee from participating personally personally and substantially in a particular Government matter that will affect his own financial interests, as well as...

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