Trump's Conflicts of Interest and Profiting from the Presidency
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This is a continuation of another thread on Don Jr.–-
1. Trump has not divested himself from his company. He is imply handing over day-to-day management to his sons. Does anyone think that they never discuss business? Even if they did not, Trump ran his company since getting out of business school. He knows it intimately and knows which of his policies will be good for it and which will be bad, even if he is not sitting in the CEO chair.
2. Trump gets free publicity for his properties every time he visits them. He has been to Camp David only once. They raised the initiation fee at Mar-a-Lago from $200,000 to $300,000 after he was elected. The Trump Hotel is now the place to stay for lobbyists and foreign governments who want to curry favor with the White House. (Drain that Swamp!)
3. While nothing has been proven, it appears that Kushner has been using his position in the administration to contact foreign bankers seeking financing of the skyscraper elephant at 666 6th Ave in NYC, which carries a 1.5 billion dollar mortgage. His sister used his name and position in the White House to promote a real estate deal in China.
4. Ivanka wears her own clothing, jewelry and shoes to major public events that get wide television coverage, garnering free publicity for her brand. I'll even let the Kelly Ann Conway infomercial slide, because I don't think that was done with malice.
5. When Trump considers any legislation that affects real-estate prices, tax reform or the economy, he cannot help but consider how it will affect his own company.
The President and Vice President are exempt from federal prosecution of violation of ethics laws, but that does not mean that he should blatantly ignore ethical guideline. We don't ask much, just that he follow the example of the previous 44 presidents.
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I don't think Trump has actually ran his company in a very long time. He is a failed businessman several times over. I believe the actual running of the company was taken away from him a long time ago and he is merely the spokesman. He claims to have a "real estate" empire but he doesn't actually own much. He just lends his name to the buildings because people are fooled into thinking his name is synonymous with luxury.
That being said, your point remains. He is in a position to enrich himself although it's not that different from what Congress does. They routinely engage in insider trading which isn't illegal in Congress. They all leave Congress as millionaires.