Tag: unethical

Comey was not the only official to resist Trump entreaties

The following article by James Hohmann with Breanne Deppisch was posted on the Washington Post website May 23, 2017:

THE BIG IDEA: James Comey was not alone. Even Donald Trump’s own pick for director of national intelligence, former Republican Sen. Dan Coats, refused to comply with a request by the president to push back against the FBI investigation into possible coordination between his campaign and the Russian government.

Trump also reached out to Adm. Mike Rogers, the director of the National Security Agency. He pressed both men to publicly deny the existence of any evidence of collusion during the 2016 election. Each saw the president’s entreaty as inappropriate. Continue reading “Comey was not the only official to resist Trump entreaties”

A Fine Line

The following article by Joseph P. Williams was posted on the U.S. News and World Report website May 19, 2017:

Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images

Since taking office just over four months ago, President Donald Trump has made good on his campaign promise to shake up Washington, but, critics say, not necessarily in a good way.

From his refusal to divest of his real-estate empire to last week’s firing of a top law-enforcement official investigating alleged White House ties to Moscow, the former celebrity businessman has smashed political norms, ignored important governmental traditions and crossed bright-red lines designed to curb the power of the nation’s chief executive. Continue reading “A Fine Line”

d In a Beijing ballroom, Kushner family pushes $500,000 ‘investor visa’ to wealthy Chinese

The following article by Emily Rauhala and William Wan was posted on the Washington Post website May 6, 2017:

The event was hosted by the Chinese company Qiaowai, which connects U.S. companies with Chinese investors. (Emily Rauhala/The Washington Post)

BEIJING — The Kushner family came to the United States as refugees, worked hard and made it big — and if you invest in Kushner properties, so can you.

That was the message delivered Saturday by White House senior adviser Jared Kushner’s sister Nicole Kushner Meyer to a ballroom full of wealthy Chinese investors in Beijing.

Over several hours of slide shows and presentations, representatives from the Kushner family business urged Chinese citizens gathered at a Ritz-Carlton hotel to consider investing hundreds of thousands of dollars in a New Jersey luxury apartment complex that would help them secure what’s known as an investor visa. Continue reading “d In a Beijing ballroom, Kushner family pushes $500,000 ‘investor visa’ to wealthy Chinese”

The Trump Administration’s Dangerous Indifference to Corruption

The following article by Trevor Sutton was posted on the Center for American Progress Action Fund’s website April 24, 2017:

The Trump administration has already received extensive scrutiny for its unprecedented disregard for long-standing norms on transparency and the avoidance of conflicts of interest—most recently in connection with its refusal to disclose White House visitor logs.1 Yet the questionable ethics of the president and his appointees are only one part of the story of the Republican Party’s hostility to open and accountable government. Since President Donald Trump assumed office, the White House and Republicans in Congress have sent a clear message that the United States has little interest in fighting corruption and promoting good governance beyond America’s borders. This message has taken the form of cuts to foreign aid programs; repeal of transparency requirements for the oil and gas industry; disregard for multilateral anti-corruption initiatives; and open skepticism of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977, or FCPA. Cumulatively, these actions constitute a sharp reversal from the policies of previous administrations—one that threatens to sow instability and undermine America’s national security interests across the globe. Continue reading “The Trump Administration’s Dangerous Indifference to Corruption”

Ivanka Trump firm accused of exploiting White House for profit

The following article by Kevin McCoy was posted on the USA Today website March 21, 2017:

A San Francisco clothing company is accusing Ivanka Trump’s company of improperly leveraging the power of the White House for private profit.

Employees of Ivanka Trump Marks LLC have promoted the company “by exploiting the power and prestige of the White House for personal gain,” including “piggy-backing promotion” of the firm’s products at governmental events, according to a lawsuit filed last week in California Superior Court. Continue reading “Ivanka Trump firm accused of exploiting White House for profit”

Americans think President Trump’s conflicts of interest are unethical: poll

The following article by Matthew Rozsa was posted on the Salon website February 23, 2017:

More than half of registered voters say Trump is either breaking the law or simply being unethical

President Trump at a White House news conference Wednesday. (Saul Loeb / AFP/Getty Images)

President Donald Trump’s conflicts of interest appear to be resonating with Americans, despite White House counselor Kellyanne Conway’s claims that “people don’t care” about matters like his unreleased tax returns.

More than a quarter of registered voters — 28 percent — believe Trump has done something illegal, while an additional 25 percent believe he has behaved unethically but not illegally, according to a new McClatchy-Marist Poll. By contrast, only 42 percent of poll respondents think Trump has done nothing wrong, with 6 percent saying they’re unsure. Continue reading “Americans think President Trump’s conflicts of interest are unethical: poll”

The DeVos Dynasty: A Family of Extremists

The following article by Catherine Brown and Ulrich Boser was posted on the Center for American Progress website January 23, 2017:

Photo: AP/Carolyn Kaster

On Tuesday, Betsy DeVos appeared in front of the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions to be considered for the country’s next secretary of education. In her hearing, DeVos tried to present herself as a run-of-the-mill school advocate and a thoughtful visionary who uses a research-based approach to improving schools and enhancing children’s wellbeing. But a closer look at DeVos’s background—and the transcript from Tuesday night’s hearing—shows that she instead represents an extremist, right-wing perspective. Continue reading “The DeVos Dynasty: A Family of Extremists”