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-- 2016 --
June 29: In covering a story, a media outlet
is not finding guilt. It is simply reporting the news that [for example] a
lawsuit has been filed against Mr. Trump, and ideally putting the complaint in
context. Unproven allegations are just that - unproven, and should be identified
that way. ... Proof comes later, at trial. But the November election will
come well before any trial. And while Mr. Trump is presumed innocent, we are
permitted — no, we are obligated — to analyze [a] case’s viability ....
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/lisa-bloom/why-the-new-child-rape-ca_b_10619944.html
-- 2017 --
January 11: Trump Vows to Donate Hotel
Profits to U.S. Treasury
His tax attorney Sheri Dillon, speaking to reporters as Trump stood alongside,
asserted that the Constitution’s emoluments clause, which bans acceptance of
gifts from foreign leaders, does not apply to hotel guests making “value for
value” payments for staying in the hotels.
“Just like with conflicts of interest, he wants to do more than what the
Constitution requires,” she said. “So President-elect Trump has decided, and we
are announcing today, that he is going to voluntarily donate all profits from
foreign government payments made to his hotels to the United States Treasury.
This way it is the American people who will profit.”
According to the Treasury Department, such donations or bequests based on
“patriotism” have been permitted since 1843. “Citizens who wish to make a
general donation to the U.S. government may send contributions to a specific
account called 'Gifts to the United States,'" the department’s
website says. “Money deposited into this account is for general use by the
federal government and can be available for budget needs. These contributions
are considered an unconditional gift to the government.”
https://www.govexec.com/management/2017/01/trumps-vow-donate-hotel-profits-would-f/134509/
January 24: What the emoluments lawsuit
against Trump is all about
An organization of top American legal scholars (including former White House
lawyers)
filed a lawsuit against US president Donald Trump on Monday, January 23,
claiming the freshly inaugurated head of state has already violated the
Constitution by allowing representatives of foreign governments to pay for
accommodations in Trump International hotels.
https://qz.com/892679/what-the-emoluments-lawsuit-against-trump-is-all-about/
February 9: A lawsuit is ... pending in federal court in New York,
alleging that Mr. Trump is violating the Constitution by accepting payment from
foreign governments at his hotels and golf courses around the world. It is one
of dozens of lawsuits filed against him in recent weeks.
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/09/us/politics/kellyanne-conway-ivanka-trump-ethics.html
February 9: Campaigners fear Trump
resolution could hit coffers of poor countries
Move would sweep away regulations designed to prevent US extraction firms from
making secret payments to access natural resources abroad
https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2017/feb/09/trump-draft-executive-order-coffers-poor-countries-equatorial-guinea-cardin-lugar-amendment
May 11: [Regarding the number
of lawsuits filed against Trump and his administration] This is not normal, and
the way the courts are responding is the way I think we want the courts to
respond, which is adhering to the rule of law,” said Deepak Gupta, counsel for
the plaintiffs in the emoluments suit.
“What’s unusual is the amount of legal problems being generated by the administration.”
The Boston Globe reported last week that Trump has been sued 134
times in federal court since taking office, nearly three times as many as his
three predecessors.
http://thehill.com/regulation/332858-lawsuits-piling-up-against-trump
May 16: In January,
Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), a government
watchdog group, filed a lawsuit claiming Trump violates the [emoluments] clause because he is
accepting payments from foreign governments through his business empire. ... But
the federal government ruled in March that the hotel is not violating its lease,
despite a clause that says no government official can be a party to it. The GSA
determined that the financial trusts and legal arrangements that Trump set up to
manage his businesses have
ensured that he will not get any money from the hotel while he is in office.
http://www.cnn.com/2017/05/16/politics/trump-hotel-projection/index.html
May 24: Trump Failing to Track Foreign Cash
at His Hotels
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/white-house/trump-failing-track-foreign-cash-his-hotels-n764061
June 12:
D.C. & Maryland AGs Sue Trump for Constitutional Violations
https://oag.dc.gov/release/dc-maryland-ags-sue-trump-constitutional
July 6:
No other president in the nation’s history entered office with a business
portfolio anything like Trump’s sprawling web of hotels,
restaurants, loans, real estate properties, branded merchandise, licensing
agreements, and more. And no president has done so little to separate himself
from his private financial holdings—Trump has refused to liquidate his assets or
place them in a blind trust,
insisting, disingenuously, that “the president can’t have a conflict of
interest.”
https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2017/07/here-are-the-4-lawsuits-that-could-force-trump-to-release-his-taxes/
October 17:
The obscure [Emoluments] provision of the Constitution is an issue because Trump refused to
sell his business holdings before the inauguration. Instead, he placed his
assets in
a trust and handed the reins of the Trump Organization to his two oldest
sons, Don Jr. and Eric.
The terms of the trust make it so Trump can technically
withdraw cash payments from his businesses any time he wants. He can also
dissolve the trust when he leaves office -- so if his businesses do well, he'll
ultimately profit.
http://money.cnn.com/2017/10/17/news/trump-crew-emoluments-ethics/index.html?iid=ob_article_footer_expansion
-- 2018 --
January 11: Trump promised to donate profits
from foreign governments to the Treasury. House Democrats want proof
https://www.cnbc.com/2018/01/11/democrats-want-proof-trump-donated-profits-from-foreign-governments.html
February 13: Trump's Biggest Potential
Conflict Of Interest Is Hiding In Plain Sight
The largest American office of China's largest bank sits on the 20th
floor of Trump Tower, six levels below the desk where Donald Trump built an
empire and wrested a presidency. It's hard to get a glimpse inside. There do not
appear to be any public photos of the office, the bank doesn't welcome visitors,
and a man guards the elevators downstairs--one of the perks of forking over an
estimated $2 million a year for the space.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/danalexander/2018/02/13/trump-conflicts-of-interest-tenants-donald-business-organization-real-estate-assets-pay/#2e0adcc248f9
February 24: Emoluments suit vs. Trump now
personal as well as official
Attorneys general of Maryland and the District of Columbia on Friday expanded
their lawsuit accusing President Donald Trump of accepting gifts from foreign
and state governments, suing him not only as president but in his personal
capacity as a businessman.
Legal experts say the move takes the “emoluments” clause of the Constitution
into uncharted legal waters, since it has been interpreted as only applying to
presidents in their official capacity.
https://www.apnews.com/9e7a82829d2d4ce58388478ae9ddfb55/Emoluments-suit-vs.-Trump-now-personal-as-well-as-official
March 12: Ivanka Trump never cut ties with
the Trump Organization. That’s turned into a problem.
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 business that has continued to develop luxury resorts across the
globe during the Trump presidency.
https://www.mcclatchydc.com/news/politics-government/white-house/article204578309.html
April 18: Trump Org ‘Gifts’ Treasury $150K
in Foreign Government ‘Emoluments’
Trump Org. donated more than $150,000 in profits to the Treasury to avoid
conflict with the emoluments clause, but that's far less than they took in,
according to public records.
https://www.thedailybeast.com/trump-org-gifts-treasury-dollar150k-in-foreign-government-emoluments
May 3: President
Donald Trump is asking a federal judge in Maryland to dismiss a lawsuit that
argues that Trump's acceptance of payments from foreign and state governments at
his Washington hotel violates the Constitution.
A private lawyer for the president wrote in court papers this week that the suit
should be tossed because the president cannot be sued in the matter either as an
individual or in his official capacity.
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/politics/bs-md-emoluments-suit-20180503-story.html
May 10: This week, new information surfaces
about payments made to President Donald Trump’s personal attorney Michael Cohen,
Qatar purchases a $6.5 million apartment in New York’s Trump Tower, and a look
at how much money is being spent by political insiders at President Trump’s
private club in South Florida.
https://sunlightfoundation.com/2018/05/10/this-week-in-conflicts-payments-to-cohen-qatar-buys-an-apartment-in-trump-tower-and-more-political-spending-at-mar-a-lago/
May 10: Trump wants foreign countries to pay
more for U.S. drugs
President Donald Trump on Friday is expected to suggest using trade negotiations
to convince foreign countries to increase what they pay for prescription drugs
made in the U.S., according to sources.
Trump previously has said that lower prices paid in Canada, South Korea and a
number of European countries devalue the research and development costs of
producing new therapies in the U.S. He said the payment practice was akin to
"global freeloading."
http://www.modernhealthcare.com/article/20180510/NEWS/180519999
May 15: Is China Straight-Up Bribing Donald
Trump?
The president suddenly softens on
a Chinese business after Beijing bankrolls a Trump Organization project.
https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2018/05/is-china-straight-up-bribing-donald-trump-zte
May 24: The Trump Organization Says It's
'Not Practical' to Comply With the Emoluments Clause
The president’s business tells lawmakers it is too difficult to track all its
foreign revenue in accordance with constitutional requirements, and it hasn’t
asked Congress for a permission slip.
https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2017/05/trumps-company-isnt-tracking-all-the-money-it-gets-from-foreign-governments/527997/
June 10: Justice Department: Trump Can Take
Payments From Foreign Governments
The
Department of Justice is trying to persuade a federal judge to throw out a
lawsuit claiming that President Donald Trump is violating the Constitution by
accepting payments from foreign governments without congressional approval.
A Friday filing in U.S. District Court in Manhattan represents the first
legitimate response from the Trump Administration to a number of suits that
insist that the President has significant
conflicts of interest within his real estate empire since taking office.
http://time.com/4805091/donald-trump-travel-ban-justice-department/
June 27: Watchdog group finds more spending
at Trump properties by foreign governments, political groups
https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/watchdog-group-finds-spending-trump-properties-foreign-governments/story?id=56201919
Undated CREW Summary:
District court proceedings
Trump filed a
motion to dismiss on June 9, 2017.[20]
on the grounds that the plaintiffs had no right to sue[21]
and that the described conduct was not illegal.[22]
A response to the motion to dismiss was filed on August 4, 2017, with a DOJ
reply due by September 22, 2017.[23]
A full answer from DOJ lawyers to the facts alleged in the complaint was due on
August 11, 2017.[24]
Oral arguments were expected October 18, 2017.[25]
On December 21, 2017, the motion to dismiss was granted; Judge
George B. Daniels held that plaintiffs lacked
standing.[14]
Appeal
CREW plans to appeal the dismissal of the suit
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CREW_v._Trump
Update:
On February 18, 2018, Plaintiff’s
appealed.
Update: On April
24, 2018, Plaintiff’s filed a brief
with the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.
https://www.citizensforethics.org/lawsuit/crew-v-donald-j-trump/
July 25: Court: Emoluments Clause Applies To
Trump And His Hotel Profits
A landmark case arguing that Trump has violated the Constitution by accepting
foreign government money is going forward.
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/trump-emoluments-clause_us_5b58bbb5e4b0de86f492ca16
September 28:
Judge Denies Trump’s Request to Dismiss Emoluments Lawsuit
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/28/us/politics/trump-emoluments-democrats-lawsuit.html
September 28: U.S. court lets Congress
members sue Trump over foreign payments
The lawsuit, filed in June 2017, is the third constitutional challenge to
Trump’s business interests while in office, but it is notable because the
plaintiffs are themselves members of Congress.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-court-emoluments/u-s-court-lets-congress-members-sue-trump-over-foreign-payments-idUSKCN1M82S0?ref=patrick.net
October 19: Nadler & Blumenthal Demand
President Trump Fully Disclose Saudi Government Payments his Businesses Have
Accepted During his Presidency
Trump’s acceptance of foreign government payments violates the Constitution’s
Foreign Emoluments Clause
https://nadler.house.gov/press-release/nadler-blumenthal-demand-president-trump-fully-disclose-saudi-government-payments-his
-- 2019 --
-- 2020 --
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