XPost: alt.fan.rush-limbaugh, soc.retirement, talk.politics.misc
XPost: talk.politics.guns, alt.atheism

This just isn't good enough for a modern day Republican Presidential
candidate. Trump is lazy and didn't work hard enough at self enrichment
while in the White House. Perhaps he'll be like most convicts and learn valuable lessons on practicing crime while he's behind bars.

President Trump’s legacy of corruption, four years and 3,700 conflicts of interest later.

Trump ran as the “law and order” candidate who would “drain the swamp” in Washington, D.C. Instead he did the opposite, using his power as the
President to boost his own profits through frequent visits to his hotels and golf courses, relentless promotion of his properties, and countless other interactions between the Trump Organization and the government. By keeping these properties, Trump provided corporate lobbyists, foreign actors, special interests and anyone else seeking political clout a way to gain access to his administration. Trump opened the presidency up for business, and for four years, influence was for sale.

Since Trump’s inauguration, CREW researchers meticulously tracked these conflicts of interest resulting from interactions between the Trump Organization and the government, or those trying to influence it. CREW’s tracking is rigorous but by no means comprehensive. There are likely
hundreds, perhaps even thousands more conflicts that we have no way of
knowing about. Four years and more than 3,700 conflicts of interest later, there is absolutely no doubt that Trump tried at every turn to use the presidency to benefit his bottom line.

Weeks after President Trump swore he’d have no involvement with his
businesses as president, he decided to pay one a visit, traveling to Mar-a- Lago for the first weekend in February 2017. The ambassadors of Switzerland, Hungary, Afghanistan, Italy, Denmark, Peru, Colombia, and Sweden had the same idea that weekend.

That first visit was a harbinger of what would become near-constant practice over the next four years, where foreign officials, special interest groups,
and others would gain access to the president and his administration through payments to businesses he still profited from in office.

After campaigning on the promise that he wouldn’t have time to leave the
White House or play golf, President Trump visited his properties 547 times while in office, paying 145 visits to Mar-a-Lago, 328 visits to his golf courses, and 33 visits to the Trump hotel in Washington. He often brought
other senior government officials along, sending a message to his administration and those who would like to curry favor with it that his properties are open to their business.



Trump promoted his properties by conducting official business there. He held
a press conference at Trump Tower, signed four executive orders at his Bedminster resort, and hosted eight heads of state at Mar-a-Lago. When he couldn’t promote his businesses and run the government at the same time, he opted to promote his businesses over doing his job. In November, for example, he signed out of a G-20 summit to visit his Virginia golf course.

Trump wasn’t alone: 346 executive branch officials made 993 visits to Trump properties during Trump’s term, most often patronizing the president’s DC hotel. Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner paid the greatest number of visits to Trump properties, 78 and 55, respectively. Vice President Pence visited
Trump’s businesses 33 times while in office, including going to his DC hotel
22 times.




Trump administration officials often mingled with special interests and
foreign officials at Trump properties, rewarding them with access for their patronage. Special interest groups likely spent more than $13 million at
Trump properties, and 47 Trump officials attended at least one of these
events at a Trump property, giving businesses access to power while enriching the president.

President Trump’s visits to his properties also sent a message to Republicans in Congress that paying their own visits to Trump properties was a way to ingratiate themselves with his administration. Many took the hint: 143
members of Congress made 361 visits to Trump businesses. Sen. Lindsey Graham made the greatest number of visits, with 28, followed by Rep. Matt Gaetz, who went to one 22 times, and Sen. Rand Paul and Rep. Kevin McCarthy, who visited
a Trump property 20 and eighteen times respectively.




Trump properties’ inextricable connection to the president made them a part
of the Republican Party fundraising apparatus, with 69 members of Congress attending a political event at a Trump property over the last four years. Another 18 White House officials went to one or more, including President Trump, 32 times, and Vice President Pence on 16 occasions.

Foreign officials also patronized Trump properties: CREW tracked 150
officials from 77 foreign governments that visited a Trump property during Trump’s term — many of whom visited to attend an event hosted or sponsored by
a foreign government or connected entity. Once again, Trump administration officials rewarded foreign interests for patronizing their boss. Twenty Trump officials attended a foreign government group’s event at a Trump property
over the last four years.
Title: “Top 10 foreign representatives visiting Trump properties.” Country flags are listed next to names: "#1 Turkey, 15 visits; #2 Japan, 11 visits; #
3 Canada, 9 visits; #4 India, 8 visits; #5 Romania, 7 visits; #6 Brazil, 6 visits; #7 European Union, 6 visits; #8 Hungary, 6 visits; #9 China, 4
visits; #10, Germany, 4 visits"




Often, visits to Trump properties coincided with White House access. Most recently, seven Michigan state legislators visited the Trump hotel, where
some toasted Dom Perignon after meeting with the president at the White
House. During the Trump administration, 80 state officials visited Trump properties, including nineteen governors.

Special interests and foreign officials have also gotten White House access while patronizing Trump properties. Five special interest groups, including
the American Petroleum Institute, have had White House meetings concurrent
with a Trump hotel event. Romanian President Klaus Iohannis had breakfast at Trump’s hotel the day before meeting with the president for a news conference at the White House.


In the past four years special interest groups, foreign governments, and political groups together held more than 250 events at 14 Trump properties, likely resulting in tens of millions of dollars of revenue for the Trump Organization. President Trump’s properties offer these groups unbridled
access to the nation’s most powerful policy makers. Many of these events have been attended by high ranking government officials, and sometimes even the President himself. In all, special interest groups have hosted 142 events, political groups have hosted 100, and foreign governments or foreign government-sponsored groups have hosted another 13.
Title: "Breakdown of events at Trump properties". Graphic of a square of $'s, 142 $'s in light pink representing 142 special interest events, 100 $'s in
blue representing 100 political events, and 13 $'s in pale yellow
representing 13 foreign government or foreign government sponsored events.



More here:

https://www.citizensforethics.org/reports-investigations/crew- reports/president-trump-legacy-corruption-3700-conflicts-interest/

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)