Trump Corruption

The Hill reports: The Office of Government Ethic’s website has been down for several hours on Thursday after it reported a surge in contacts from members of the public. The office tweeted that the “website, phone system and email system are receiving an extraordinary volume of contacts from citizens about recent events.” While the office didn’t offer a reason for …

CNN reports: Kellyanne Conway, a top adviser to President Donald Trump, was “counseled” after promoting Ivanka Trump’s clothing and accessory brand during an interview from the White House Thursday morning. “Kellyanne has been counseled,” White House press secretary Sean Spicer said during his daily briefing. “She’s been counseled on that subject.” Conway, in a Fox News interview from the White …

Raw Story reports: Norm Eisen, former White House ethics and transparency czar, asserted on Thursday that Trump adviser Kellyanne Conway had broken federal regulations by promoting Ivanka Trump’s brand on the air.  Eisen accused Conway of breaking §2635.702, which forbids “use of public office for private gain.” “By doing this ad — I have never seen anything like it — …

Raw Story reports: Norm Eisen, co-founder of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, has offered to help Nordstrom and other companies sue President Donald Trump for improperly using his executive position to hurt their businesses. In a tweet on Wednesday, Trump blasted Nordstrom for dropping his daughter Ivanka’s line of products. “My daughter Ivanka has been treated so unfairly …

Business Insider reports: President Donald Trump lashed out at Nordstrom on Wednesday for dropping his daughter’s fashion line. “My daughter Ivanka has been treated so unfairly by Nordstrom,” Trump tweeted. “She is a great person — always pushing me to do the right thing! Terrible!” Nordstrom said last week that the brand’s declining sales led to its decision. “Each year …

Politico reports: A federal judge has ordered a golf club owned by President Donald Trump to refund nearly $6 million to members who said Trump’s team essentially confiscated refundable deposits after taking over the country club in 2012 U.S. District Court Judge Kenneth A. Marra ruled that the Trump National Jupiter Golf Club violated the contracts with members by retaining …

Politico reports: An electrical contractor is suing President Donald Trump’s Washington hotel for $2 million over what the contractor contends are unpaid bills for “nonstop” work performed to open the luxury lodging at the Old Post Office Building last year. The suit filed in D.C. Superior Court by Laurel, Maryland-based AES Electrical, also known as Freestate Electrical, contends that the …

CNN Money reports: President Donald Trump says he has resigned from positions in hundreds of business entities, according to a document provided to CNN by the Trump Organization. The text of the 19-page letter reads: “I, Donald J. Trump, hereby resign from each and every office and position I hold” in more than 400 entities listed on the following pages. …

Mediaite reports: According to documents obtained by House Democrats from the General Services Administration, the much-discussed Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C. fell well below its revenue projections in its first two months of operation. Per the docs provided to the Democrats, the hotel pulled in revenue of $1.3 million in September and $2.8 million in October. The projections for …

Newsweek reports: A group of American lawyers and researchers said it will file a lawsuit alleging that U.S. President Donald Trump is violating the constitution by illegally accepting payments from foreign governments. Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), which describes itself as a non-profit legal watchdog group that aims to hold public officials accountable for their actions, said …

The Washington Post reports: Visitors to the newly revamped White House website get more than a simple rundown of first lady Melania Trump’s charitable works and interests — they also get a list of her magazine cover appearances and details on her jewelry line at QVC. Trump’s biography starts with traditional details such as her date of birth in her …

Via press release from the ACLU: The American Civil Liberties Union has taken legal action seeking documents on conflicts of interest and violations of the Constitution and federal law posed by President Trump’s and his family’s business interests. The organization also released a Seven-Point Plan laying out how it intends to challenge other Trump policies and protect the Constitution. The efforts are made possible by the organization’s new Constitution Defense Fund, …

The New York Times reports: American law enforcement and intelligence agencies are examining intercepted communications and financial transactions as part of a broad investigation into possible links between Russian officials and associates of President-elect Donald J. Trump, including his former campaign chairman Paul Manafort, current and former senior American officials said. The continuing counterintelligence investigation means that Mr. Trump will …

Raw Story reports: Incoming White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer took time out of his first official press conference on Thursday to “encourage” people to visit Donald Trump’s Washington, D.C. hotel. Although Trump has said that he has turned his business over to his sons, he reportedly made a visit to the Trump International Hotel on Wednesday. At Spicer’s press …

But it’s still not completely over: Days before President-elect Donald Trump is set to take the oath to uphold the Constitution, he has followed through on a more painful obligation: coughing up $25 million to settle litigation over his defunct Trump University real estate seminar program. Trump University — now known as the Trump Entrepreneur Initiative — transferred the funds …

Salon reports: President-elect Donald Trump’s choice for secretary of Health and Human Services, Rep. Tom Price of Georgia, introduced legislation last year that would help a biotech company only days after he purchased stock in it. Less than a week after buying between $1,001 and $15,000 of shares in Zimmer Biomet, Price introduced a bill known as the HIP Act. …

The Washington Post reports: Airplanes belonging to Donald Trump’s businesses will be inspected over the next four years by employees of the Federal Aviation Administration that he will lead. Disputes over Trump’s trademark registrations could be reviewed by judges appointed by his hand-picked commerce secretary. His Department of Housing and Urban Development could reverse its past opposition to a potentially …

President-Elect Donald Elizondo Mountain Dew Camacho today committed an outright corporate endorsement, urging his followers to buy L.L. Bean products after the company’s heiress was found to have made an illegal campaign donation. The Associated Press reported last week: L.L. Bean heiress Linda Bean made excessive contributions to a political action committee she bankrolled to support Republican President-elect Donald Trump, …

Law Newz reports: Earlier today, Donald Trump held a press conference, where his attorney, Sheri Dillon, spoke regarding Trump’s business interests. As LawNewz.com noted, Dillon is a partner at the law firm Morgan Lewis & Bokius. Using the services of the firm makes sense for Trump, as Morgan Lewis is a world-renowned organization. In fact, just last year, Chambers and …

It looks like Pam Bondi is getting her reward for refusing to investigate Trump University three days after Hair Furor gifted her campaign with $25,000. The Tampa Bay Times reports: Immediately after Donald Trump was elected president, one Florida name was floated above the rest for a job in his administration: Attorney General Pam Bondi. About two weeks out from …