Why Aren't Donald Trump's Epic Conflicts of Interest Illegal?

It's paying off, bigly.

Trump Hotel in Washington Saw Strong Profit in First Four Months of 2017

Donald Trump’s hotel in Washington, D.C., raised its rates in the months after he became president from what it had planned to charge, helping the facility to outperform the company’s expectations, new financial documents show.

From January to April, the average daily room rate was $660.28 compared with $495.91 for comparable hotels, according to the documents. The hotel had projected its average daily rate would be $416.

The hotel made a profit of nearly $2 million during that time period after paying rent and other expenses, despite budgeting for an expected $2.1 million loss.

 

I bet after Trump is done the laws will be changed for future presidents. No one past ever thought it would be possible to have someone like Trump as the president.

 

I think that there are several state AGs who are taking Trump to court over the emoluments clause, which is at least a start.

 

At this point, is that still a question?

 

Trump was telling the truth when he said he could shoot someone in broad day light on fifth avenue and his base would not stop voting for him, he really knows his supporters.

 

The General Services Administration removed Trump hotel data from its website. You can read it here.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news...ccidentally/?tid=sm_tw&utm_term=.88c0ee8f53b7

 

Because even though he is rich it wouldn't be fair to him to be punished for having global interests.

 

Where is the conflict of interest? Making money is a conflict of interest?

 

yes, money going to trump from foreign and domestic interest through his businesses are conflict of interest

basic concept

 

All the report says is the hotel made money.

 

charge more than market

was expecting a 2M loss, but ended up with a 2M profit, a 4M turn-round in a quarter

inherently problematic and full of conflicts --- this is why you don't mix personal business and government service

 

He didn't force anyone to stay there. If it was in a blind trust people would still know its a Trump property

 

So... I am far left leaning and not politically aligned with Trump whatsoever... but I do work for him. I can tell you from the inside that these numbers are not accurate and are taken out of context.

 

Yes that would still be problematic but in this case it isn't even a blind trust. The Trump companies including the hotel are still run by his son. Consider all of the complaints made about the Clinton Foundation where the Clintons didn't even actually get the money. In this case the Trumps are actually making money while the head of the family is also the head of state.

 

Exactly. It shouldn't be hard for those that condemned the Clinton Foundation to speak out strongly against these kinds of acts by Trump and his clan.

 

I have never criticised the Clinton foundation.

Y'all are missing the point. All the hotel did was make money. There is nothing in that report to suggest it made money cause of him being President.

Its still a business and there is nothing wrong with making money

 

Most office holders put their holdings into blind trust or divest to remove the possibility of impropiety. You're right though that correlation might not mean causation in the case of a Trump owned property in DC suddenly making a lot of money but at the same time this is a pretty strong correlation.

 

I don't disagree Trump could end speculation or suspicion by just following tradition and establishing a blind trust. Honesty the only thing preventing it is his massive ego.

I know I seem to be a Trump supporter but really issues like this he is just challenging standard protocol and until he is proven to do something illegal its nothing more than that

 

More conflict of interest. Does American even care anymore?

Trump gets millions from golf members. CEOs and lobbyists get access to president

Dozens of lobbyists, contractors and others who make their living influencing the government pay President Trump’s companies for membership in his private golf clubs, a status that can put them in close contact with the president, a USA TODAY investigation found.

Members of the clubs Trump has visited most often as president — in Florida, New Jersey and Virginia — include at least 50 executives whose companies hold federal contracts and 21 lobbyists and trade group officials. Two-thirds played on one of the 58 days the president was there, according to scores they posted online.

Because membership lists at Trump’s clubs are secret, the public has until now been unable to assess the conflicts they could create. USA TODAY found the names of 4,500 members by reviewing social media and a public website golfers use to track their handicaps, then researched and contacted hundreds to determine whether they had business with the government.

The review shows that, 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. It is a view of the president available to few other Americans.

 

I wonder what excuses trump's fans will use now. Hillary did it? Don't think that'll work in this instance.