Tag Archives: conflict of interest

NBC News reports: New documents detail more than a dozen conflicts of interest Postmaster General Louis DeJoy faced because of his and his family’s investments in a number of companies closely tied to the U.S. Postal Service. Amid ethical concerns and criticism, DeJoy initially recused himself from decision-making related to those companies, fully divesting himself of them under public pressure …

Just in from the watchdog group CREW: Private prisons, payday lenders, fossil fuel companies, and dozens of other special interests have learned one important truth about influence in the age of Trump: If you want to gain favor with the president and his administration, it doesn’t hurt to hold lavish events at the properties he still owns and profits from. …

From the Hollywood Reporter: MSNBC said on Wednesday that it gave Saturday morning show host Hugh Hewitt a “verbal warning” after learning a day earlier that he helped broker a meeting between EPA administrator Scott Pruitt and lawyers representing a California water district, which the network said is a “violation” of the company’s standards. The revelation came from a batch …

The Hill reports: President Trump on Monday criticized the suggestion that he has obstructed justice in the Russia investigation, saying he is simply “fighting back.” Trump’s tweet comes after a federal judge last week pushed back against prosecutors handling the case of former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort. Trump has repeatedly referring to the probe into Russian election meddling and …

Politico reports: Vice President Mike Pence is headlining a Wednesday evening fundraiser for a 2018 candidate he knows well — his brother, Greg. The vice president will host a donor event for Greg Pence at the Trump International Hotel in Washington. Greg Pence, a businessman and Marine veteran, is running for Indiana 6th Congressional District, which Mike Pence held prior …

The Palm Beach Post reports: Sarah Palin will keynote the Palm Beach County Republican Party’s annual Lincoln Day fundraising dinner on Friday at Mar-a-Lago, the party announced today. There’s no word yet on whether the venue’s owner, President Donald Trump, will be in town this weekend to possibly drop in on the dinner. “Surprise guests are always welcome,” says a …

McClatchy reports: Donald Trump isn’t the only Trump with potential conflicts of interest in the White House. Ivanka Trump — a senior White House adviser who is doing everything from lobbying the Senate on tax policy to representing her father at a G20 summit of world leaders — will pull in more than $1 million a year from the family …

CNBC reports: Soon after the Republican National Committee came under pressure for paying legal bills for President Donald Trump and his eldest son in the special counsel’s Russia probe, it started covering expenses for the president’s re-election campaign. The RNC is using campaign funds to pay Trump’s company more than $37,000 a month in rent, and to pay thousands of …

The Associated Press reports: Payday lenders got regulators to rethink rules on how closely to vet borrowers. E-cigarette makers got a delay in federal oversight of many vaping products. Candy makers praised a decision to hold off on more stringent labeling standards. And title insurers declared “victory” for getting changes that benefited them in the tax overhaul. What do all …

The Associated Press reports: Donald Trump Jr. said that any talk of his family profiting from his father’s presidency is “nonsense” as he embarked on a trip to India that has raised ethical concerns about using the name of the American president to promote international business ventures. The eldest son of President Donald Trump, who is in India to meet …

The Washington Post reports: The president’s eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., is making what’s been dubbed an unofficial visit to India to promote his family’s real estate projects there. But he’s also planning to deliver a foreign policy speech on Indo-Pacific relations at an event with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi Beginning Tuesday, the junior Trump will have a full …

Politico reports: The Trump administration’s top public health official bought shares in a tobacco company one month into her leadership of the agency charged with reducing tobacco use — the leading cause of preventable disease and death and an issue she had long championed. The stock was one of about a dozen new investments that Brenda Fitzgerald, director of the …

The Washington Post reports: For the second year in a row, the Kuwaiti embassy will hold a large National Day celebration at President Trump’s hotel in downtown Washington. An invitation obtained by The Washington Post said the event is scheduled to be held in the hotel ballroom the evening of Feb. 26. A source familiar with the plans, speaking on …

The International Business Times reports: Financial disclosure documents released Friday by the Office of Government Ethics shed new light on President Trump’s finances, even as he refuses to release his tax returns. The documents show that Trump owes hundreds of millions of dollars to major financial institutions — some with business before Trump’s administration. According to section 8 of the …

The Associated Press reports: A company that owns buildings with Donald Trump and the family of Jared Kushner is a finalist for a $1.7 billion contract to build the FBI’s new headquarters. Vornado Realty Trust is one of three finalists to build a replacement for the bureau’s current headquarters on Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington D.C., the massive J. Edgar Hoover …

Politico reports: Dozens of House and Senate Democrats plan to sue President Donald Trump in the coming weeks, claiming he is breaking the law by refusing to relinquish ownership of his sprawling real-estate empire while it continues to profit from business with foreign governments. The lawsuit follows months of threats from Democratic lawmakers that Trump, by refusing to sell off …

Metro reports: Joining a lineup of stores yanking the first daughter’s namesake clothing and shoe line for women, Burlington Coat Factory is no longer selling Ivanka Trump’s brand. On Friday, the discount retailer’s website did not display any stock of her clothing or accessories, Business Insider reported. Last Tuesday, Burlington had 13 Trump items for sale, according to Shannon Coulter, …

Business Insider reports: Sears’ and Kmart’s websites no longer sell products from the Trump Home line, which is owned by the Trump Organization. As of Friday, a search for Trump Home items on both retailers’ sites yielded no results, except items sold by third-party sellers. “As part of the company’s initiative to optimize its online product assortment, we constantly refine …

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 — …

Speaking to Fox & Friends panelists from the White House briefing room, this morning Propaganda Minister Kellyanne Conway urged American’s to “go buy Ivanka’s stuff.” She then declared that she would personally be buying Ivanka products. Fox host Steve Deacy agreed, noting, “There is that hashtag #BuyIvanka right now.” Don’t hold your breath for Republicans to object. “Go buy Ivanka’s …