Tag: kleptocracy

Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner Engaged in ‘Unethical’ Helicopter Use: Report

The following article by Chris Sosa was posted on the AlterNet website November 8, 2017:

The couple used a privately owned aircraft for a vacation in Vermont.

Credit: Mark Wilson/Getty Images

Unnamed officials told Newsweek that President Donald Trump’s daughter Ivanka and husband Jared Kushner used a helicopter owned by a Trump business for a personal vacation. Their use of the private aircraft “blurs the line” between the White House and the Trump family’s personal business interests, according to the officials, and appears to be unethical.

Former President George W. Bush’s ethics chief Richard Painter explained to Newsweek that taxpayers were probably shouldering a portion of the couple’s vacation bill. Continue reading “Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner Engaged in ‘Unethical’ Helicopter Use: Report”

Top Mnuchin aide’s private jet flight to Palm Beach was legal, but legal ‘does not always equate to wise,’ watchdog finds

The following article by Lisa Rein was posted on the Washington Post website November 1, 2017:

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin on Capitol Hill (Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images)

On his way to lunch with President Trump at the White House on a Thursday in March, a major GOP political contributor and hedge fund billionaire named Nelson Peltz stopped by Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin’s office to say hello to him and his chief of staff, Eli Miller.

Miller mentioned to Peltz that he was flying to Palm Beach, Fla., that night to visit his in-laws. Peltz said he was traveling there, too, and offered him a ride in his private jet. After getting a green light from Treasury’s ethics official, Miller accepted the ride, working and emailing on the flight while Peltz slept.

With a slew of senior Trump administration officials under scrutiny for their use of luxury air travel, the propriety of this trip came under investigation by the Treasury Department’s inspector general. Continue reading “Top Mnuchin aide’s private jet flight to Palm Beach was legal, but legal ‘does not always equate to wise,’ watchdog finds”

Trump administration’s zeal to peel back regulations is leading us to another era of robber barons

The following article by Jermi Suri was posted on the Conversation website October 11, 2017:

Credit: Library of Congress

The Trump administration has a clear economic objective: deregulate. Loosening regulations on industries, the White House believes, will lead to faster growth and more jobs. This is the stated reason for pulling the U.S. from the international climate accord, and the economic justification for seeking to rescind the EPA Clean Power Plan that limits carbon emissions from plants.

But an examination of history shows that government regulations are not always harmful to industry; they often help business. Indeed, government regulation is as central to the growth of the American economy as markets and dollars. Continue reading “Trump administration’s zeal to peel back regulations is leading us to another era of robber barons”

Hedge fund billionaire flew top Mnuchin aide on private jet to Palm Beach

The following article by Damian Paletta and Tom Hamburger was posted on the Washington Post website October 3, 2017:

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin. (Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg)

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin’s top aide flew on a hedge fund billionaire’s private jet to Palm Beach, Fla., several months ago, people familiar with the trip said, the latest example of senior Trump administration officials using luxury air travel even though it often raises red flags with ethics officials.

Eli Miller, Mnuchin’s chief of staff, flew with Nelson Peltz, a founding partner of New York-based Trian Fund Management, on the trip. Peltz is an activist shareholder who has sought a board seat at Procter & Gamble, seeking to shake up management. He has spoken glowingly about Trump’s proposal to slash tax rates on businesses and the wealthy, which is something designed in large part by senior Treasury officials. Continue reading “Hedge fund billionaire flew top Mnuchin aide on private jet to Palm Beach”

Fancy dinners, far-flung speeches: Calendars detail EPA chief’s close ties to industry

The following article by Brady Dennis and Juliet EIlperin was posted on the Washington Post website October 3, 2017:

Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt shakes hands with miners during an April visit to a Consol Pennsylvania Coal Co. mine in Sycamore, Pa. (Gene J. Puskar/AP)

During his seven months in office, Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt has filled his days meeting with executives from many of the companies he regulates, while all but sidestepping environmental and public health groups. But the face time with industry representatives has extended well beyond his Washington office.

On April 26, for example, Pruitt had lunch with executives from Southern, one of the nation’s biggest coal-burning utilities. They dined at Equinox, a restaurant near the White House, where the baby-carrot-and-red-beet salad with shrimp runs $28. Later that day, Pruitt met with senior leaders at Alliance Resource Partners, a major coal-mining operation, for a dinner at BLT Prime, a steakhouse in the Trump International Hotel, just across from EPA headquarters. Continue reading “Fancy dinners, far-flung speeches: Calendars detail EPA chief’s close ties to industry”

Trump moves to dismiss congressional Emoluments Clause lawsuit

The following article by Max Greenwood was posted on the Hill website September 15, 2017:

© Getty Images

President Trump has moved to dismiss a lawsuit filed by more than 200 Democratic lawmakers alleging that the president has violated a constitutional prohibition on taking gifts from foreign governments.

In a filing in D.C. District Court on Friday first highlighted by BuzzFeed News, government attorneys accused lawmakers of trying to circumvent the legislative process by turning to the courts because of their inability to pass legislation declaring Trump in violation of the Emoluments Clause, which bars the president from accepting gifts or other benefits from foreign leaders.

“None of the bills has come to a vote, nor has the President done anything to prevent Congress from holding a vote,” the motion to dismiss reads. Continue reading “Trump moves to dismiss congressional Emoluments Clause lawsuit”

Taxpayers billed $1,092 for an official’s two-night stay at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club

The following article by Drew Harwell and Amy Brittain was posted on the Washington Post website September 15, 2017:

The Washington Post has obtained a March 2017 receipt for a two-night stay at Mar-a-Lago. Here’s why it matters. (Video: Bastien Inzaurralde/Photo: Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post)

Given the number of high-profile presidential events at Mar-a-Lago, questions about who pays for meals and rooms have generally gone unanswered. When Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe visited in February, the White House made a point of saying that Abe would stay at the club free of charge as a personal guest of Trump.

The March invoice was provided to the advocacy group by the Coast Guard in response to a broader Freedom of Information Act request seeking records on the agency’s expenses related to Trump-affiliated properties. The Coast Guard FOIA office searched the agency’s credit card payment records, which led it to the invoice, according to an explanation provided by the agency. Continue reading “Taxpayers billed $1,092 for an official’s two-night stay at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club”

Treasury Secretary Mnuchin asked for government jet for honeymoon

The following article by Henry C. Jackson and Josh Dawsey was posted on the Politico website September 13, 2017:

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and his wife Louise Linton traveled to Scotland, France and Italy after their late-June wedding. | Mandegl Ngan/AFP/Getty Images

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin asked for a military jet to take him and his wife, actress Louise Linton, on their European honeymoon earlier this summer, the Treasury Department confirmed on Wednesday.

ABC News, citing anonymous sources, first reported that Mnuchin put the request in writing and that it led to an “inquiry” by the Treasury Department’s Office of Inspector General.

Mnuchin and Linton traveled to Scotland, France and Italy after their late-June wedding. The request for a military plane was eventually deemed unnecessary after further consideration. Continue reading “Treasury Secretary Mnuchin asked for government jet for honeymoon”

Congress gives Trump a pass on releasing his tax returns

The following editorial by the Washington Post’s Editorial Board was posted on their website September 9, 2017:

Credit: Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call file photo

IT’S UNDERSTANDABLE why Donald Trump has felt no compunction about refusing to release his tax returns. After all, he got elected president despite breaking his promise to release his IRS filings, thus thumbing his nose at a tradition that had been followed by every major-party candidate for four decades. Keeping the information under wraps also appears to be an effective way of stymieing questions about whether there are potential conflicts of interest posed by his private business empire. What doesn’t make sense is that Congress lets him get away with this, particularly since it soon will be debating an overhaul of tax policy. Shouldn’t elected representatives know how President Trump might benefit and what interests are really being served?

Unfortunately but predictably, an effort that would have forced release of Mr. Trump’s tax information was shut down last week by House Republicans. In a party-line vote Thursday, the House Ways and Means Committee rejected a resolution that would have directed the Treasury Department to turn over the tax returns of Mr. Trump and his many businesses. A law enacted in 1924 after the Teapot Dome scandal allows the Way and Means Committee, along with the Senate Committee on Finance and the Joint Committee on Taxation, to request tax information for review in a closed session with possible public disclosure. Continue reading “Congress gives Trump a pass on releasing his tax returns”

GOP leaders prevent votes to ban federal spending at Trump businesses

The following article by Cristina Marcos was posted on the Hill website September 6, 2017:

Credit: Greg Nash

House GOP leaders won’t be allowing votes this week on Democratic proposals to prevent taxpayer funds from benefiting businesses owned by President Trump.

Multiple Democrats had filed amendments to a government spending package set to be considered on the House floor this week to ensure the president is not personally enriched by the federal government.

Reps. Steve Cohen (D-Tenn.) and Ted Lieu (D-Calif.), who are among the fiercest critics of the president, proposed measures to prohibit federal funds from being used to enter contracts with or spend money at Trump-owned businesses.

Rep. Adam Schiff (Calif.), the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, also submitted an amendment prohibiting the Secret Service from spending money at entities owned or operated by Trump. Continue reading “GOP leaders prevent votes to ban federal spending at Trump businesses”