the most corrupt in history. Trump has not even taken office and there are
already numerous serious questions of ethics being raised.
First, we have Trump saying that the President can have no conflicts of
interest.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/fact-checker/wp/2016/11/
23/trumps-claim-that-the-president-cant-have-a-conflict-of-interest/
President-elect Donald Trump will enter office with an astonishing array of
> business projects, loans and business deals around the globe. Reports
> have raised
>
<http://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/21/business/with-a-meeting-trump-renewed-a-british-wind-farm-fight.html>
questions
> about those potential conflicts – Trump acknowledged that he recently
> encouraged British politician Nigel Farage to oppose offshore wind farms
> that might affect the view from one of his Scottish golf courses — but
> Trump shrugged off any potential problems.
>
> “The law’s totally on my side, meaning, the president can’t have a
> conflict of interest,” he said.
>
What does that say to those who work under him?
Trump has repeatedly cancelled a Press Conference to explain how he will
insulate himself as President from his numerous businesses.
Trump Cancels Press Conference To Address Conflict-Of-Interest Issues
<https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=3&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwjP1MeD6YrRAhUKzWMKHblyACIQFggoMAI&url=http%3A%2F%2Ftalkingpointsmemo.com%2Flivewire%2Ftrump-cancels-conflict-of-interest-press-conference&usg=AFQjCNEUS73b-kRJDGWpn60QCNEKbUH2fw&sig2=04JJLIZQORPItvvhHJCVPA&bvm=bv.142059868,d.cGc>
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/trump-cancels-
conflict-of-interest-press-conference
President-elect Donald Trump has canceled plans to hold a press conference
> this week to discuss how intends to handle his businesses when taking over
> the White House, Bloomberg News reported Monday.
>
<https://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2016-12-12/trump-said-to-postpone-announcement-on-future-of-his-businesses>
Trump
> spokeswoman Hope Hicks confirmed to CNN
> <https://twitter.com/brianstelter/status/808452385207185408> that the
> "announcement" was being rescheduled for next month.
>
> Unnamed Trump transition team officials told Bloomberg the press
> conference, originally scheduled for Thursday, was being nixed because
> Trump needed more time due to the attention he has had to give to filling
> his cabinet. They said that some sort of announcement would still be made
> before Inauguration Day January 20, according to Bloomgberg.
>
Then we have one of his top advisers, Newt Gingrich, saying the ethics
rules need to be changed exclusively for him because he is so rich.
http://www.politico.com/blogs/donald-trump-administration/20
16/12/newt-gingrich-trump-ethics-laws-congress-232828
Newt Gingrich has a take on how Donald Trump can keep from running afoul of
> U.S. ethics laws: Change the ethics laws.
> Trump is currently grappling with how to sufficiently disentangle himself
> from his multibillion-dollar business to avoid conflicts of interest with
> his incoming administration, and the president-elect has already pushed
> back a promised announcement of an ethics firewall.
> Gingrich, the former speaker of the House and one-time potential running
> mate for Trump, says Trump should push Congress for legislation that
> accounts for a billionaire.
> “We’ve never seen this kind of wealth in the White House, and so
> traditional rules don’t work,” Gingrich said Monday during an appearance
>
<http://thedianerehmshow.org/shows/2016-12-19/ongoing-questions-about-how-donald-trump-will-deal-with-business-conflicts-of-interest-as-president>
on
> NPR’s "The Diane Rehm Show" about the president-elect’s business interests.
> “We’re going to have to think up a whole new approach.”
Then Gingrich said that if anyone in Trump's administration is convicted of
violating ethics laws, Trump can simply pardon them.
The GSA, Government Services Administration has said that Trump must sell
his interest in his new Washington Hotel
Democrats: Agency says Trump must sell stake in Washington hotel
<https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=3&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwib8tLh7IrRAhWLiFQKHbTQB5oQFggqMAI&url=http%3A%2F%2Fmoney.cnn.com%2F2016%2F12%2F14%2Fnews%2Fcompanies%2Ftrump-washington-hotel-democrats%2Findex.html%3Feref%3Dmrss_igoogle_business&usg=AFQjCNHu_JplwQYYo6ElPVOqxByNWYKw5A&sig2=cuRnhOuBgw2KazY-mIQxRw>
> House Democrats say they have been told by a federal agency that
> President-elect Donald Trump must sell his stake in a luxury Washington
> hotel. Trump's lawyers and transition team are scrambling to resolve the
> conflict issues surrounding the hotel before Trump takes office.
> The lease, signed by Trump two years before he launched his campaign, says
> that no elected official can be party to the agreement. Because Trump will
> oversee the GSA as president, his election puts him in the extraordinary
> position of being both landlord and tenant.
> Representative Elijah Cummings of Maryland, the top Democrat on the
> committee, said the Democrats were told last week by a GSA deputy
> commissioner that "Mr. Trump must divest himself not only of managerial
> control, but of all ownership interest as well."
This week news came out that Trump executives pressured officials at the
Kuwaiti Embassy to change their party from the Four Seasons Hotel to
Trump's new Washington Hotel.
Under political pressure, Kuwait cancels major event at Four Seasons,
switches to Trump’s D.C. hotelhttps://thinkprogress.org/
under-political-pressure-kuwait-cancels-major-event-at-
four-seasons-switches-to-trumps-d-c-1f204315d513
>
> The Embassy of Kuwait allegedly cancelled a contract with a Washington,
> D.C. hotel days after the presidential election, citing political pressure
> to hold its National Day celebration at the Trump International Hotel
> instead.
>
A source tells ThinkProgress that the Kuwaiti embassy, which has regularly
> held the event at the Four Seasons in Georgetown, abruptly canceled its
> reservation after members of the Trump Organization pressured the
> ambassador to hold the event at the hotel owned by the president-elect. The
> source, who has direct knowledge of the arrangements between the hotels and
> the embassy, spoke to ThinkProgress on the condition of anonymity because
> the individual was not authorized to speak publicly. ThinkProgress was also
> able to review documentary evidence confirming the source’s account.
Then we have his sons, Donald Jr. and Erik trying to sell access to
President Trump for $500,000 a pop.
Access to Donald Trump, for $500,000: Pitfalls for Presidents’ Families
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/20/us/politics/donald-
trump-family-charity-opening-day-foundation.html?_r=0
> The invitation made an extraordinary offer: Donors willing to write a
> check for $500,000 to $1 million would be granted access to Donald J.
> Trump <http://www.nytimes.com/topic/person/donald-trump?inline=nyt-per> the
> day after he is sworn in as president, along with the opportunity to
> participate in a multiday hunting or fishing trip with his oldest sons,
> Donald Jr. and Eric.
>
> But on Tuesday, the Trump Organization put out a statement
>
<https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/3244495-2016-12-20-Statement-From-the-Transition-Office.html>
distancing
> the family from the fund-raiser, saying the event had “not been approved or
> pursued by the Trump family,” even though legal documents show
>
<https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/3244494-2016-12-20-Opening-Day-BUSINESS-ORGANIZATIONS.html>
that
> Eric Trump served on the board of directors of the recently formed charity
> behind it, the Opening Day Foundation. The event is still scheduled, but
> references to the hunting trip have been removed, and Eric Trump said late
> Tuesday that neither he nor his brother would attend.
>
In the weeks since Mr. Trump’s election, three of his four adult children,
> who are serving on his transition committee, have been a near-constant
> presence
>
<https://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/04/us/politics/trump-family-ivanka-donald-jr.html>
> One or more of them have participated in a meeting with the
> <https://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/19/us/politics/ivanka-trump-shinzo-abe.html>
> prime
>
<https://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/19/us/politics/ivanka-trump-shinzo-abe.html>
> of Japan
>
<https://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/19/us/politics/ivanka-trump-shinzo-abe.html>
> joined in on a phone call with the president of Argentina, and sat at the
> conference table where Mr. Trump met with leaders
> <https://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/14/technology/trump-tech-summit.html> of
> major technology companies. Donald Jr. also played a role in choosing Mr.
> Trump’s nominee for secretary of the interior
>
<https://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/13/us/politics/donald-trump-ryan-zinke-interior-secretary.html>
> .
>
We have his daughter Ivanka, who is still actively involved in running his
busineesses, sitting in on a meeting with the first foreign leader he met.
Ivanka Trump’s Presence at Meeting With Japan’s Leader Raises Questions
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/19/us/politics/ivanka-trump-shinzo-abe.html
The potential for conflicts of interest between President-elect Donald J.
> Trump <http://www.nytimes.com/topic/person/donald-trump?inline=nyt-per> and
> his family’s business ventures emerged again Thursday evening, when a
> photograph was distributed that showed his daughter Ivanka at a meeting
> between Mr. Trump and the prime minister of Japan
>
<http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/international/countriesandterritories/japan/index.html?inline=nyt-geo>
> .
>
> News reporters were not allowed to attend the session
> <http://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/17/world/asia/shinzo-abe-donald-trump.html>
> Mr. Trump’s first with a foreign head of government, and no summary was
> provided about what was discussed. A separate photograph was distributed —
> press photographers were not allowed to cover the event — showing that
> Jared Kushner, Ms. Trump’s husband, was present for at least part of the
> gathering.
>
> Ms. Trump will be among the members of the president-elect’s family who
> will be placed in charge of Mr. Trump’s business enterprises, which include
> an international chain of hotels <https://www.trumphotels.com/> with
> operations in Latin America, Europe and North America.
>
> She serves as vice president for development and acquisitions at the Trump
> Organization, and the company’s website says
> <http://www.trump.com/the-next-generation/ivanka-trump/> one of her
> “primary focuses has been to bring the Trump Hotel brand to global markets.”
>
And then we had the spectacle of Ivanka Trump hawking her jewelry after an
appearance with her father, the President-Elect on 60 Minutes.
Ivanka Trump’s ‘60 Minutes’ Appearance Used To Hawk $10K Bracelets
http://deadline.com/2016/11/ivanka-trump-60-minutes-bracelet-1201854623/
And Trump had the nerve to call Hillary Clinton "Crooked Hillary"!