Political Money Report 12/15/16 - Trump's plan doesn't solve his conflict of interest problems & foreign companies expect to benefit from Trump

Trump’s plan to retain business ownership does not solve his conflict of interest problems

December 15, 2016

A NOTE FROM FRED

President-elect Trump’s plan to retain ownership of his business empire and turn over its management to his sons does not solve his conflict of interest problems, according to a letter sent by the Office of Government Ethics. A bipartisan group of governance experts took the same position in a letter sent to Trump last week urging him to divest his assets to a true blind trust managed by an independent trustee, with no family involvement, as every president for the last four decades has done. Senator Elizabeth Warren today announced that she and Senate colleagues will be introducing a bill when Congress returns in January to require the president and VP to divest their assets into a blind trust managed by an independent trustee. Democracy 21 and other reform groups strongly support this bill.

Trump Organization pulls out of hotel in Rio as Brazil investigates, says the New York Times. A Brazil federal prosecutor opened a criminal investigation into two Trump hotels over claims that pension managers were being bribed to invest money into the projects. In a statement yesterday, Democracy 21 said, "The Brazilian criminal investigation involving a Trump enterprise illustrates the myriad kind of problems that could arise between Trump’s owned business empire and foreign governments." Read more

"Foreign business partners expect to benefit from ties to Donald Trump," says the Wall St Journal. Some said they hope to build new projects under the Trump brand as they expect the value of their deals to rise after Trump becomes president. "Nearly all of Mr. Trump’s company’s new deals in recent years have been with foreign developers who pay Mr. Trump millions of dollars for the right to use his name and, in some cases, for his company to manage hotels." Read more

There's confusion over the legality of Trump renting his DC hotel from the government, says the Washington Post. Congressional Democrats said GSA officials told them the hotel's lease bars elected officials from benefiting from the lease agreement. But GSA officials said, "We can make no definitive statement at this time about what would constitute a breach of the agreement, and to do so now would be premature." Read more

"Oil, gas and coal industries are amassing power throughout Washington," says the Washington Post. Favorite individuals of the oil and gas industries have been nominated to lead the Energy and Interior Departments and the EPA. "The industry may expect favorable treatment from the Trump administration and congressional Republicans after heavily supporting their campaigns." Read more

Incoming Energy Secretary Rick Perry has ties to the oil company invovled in the Standing Rock protests, says Open Secrets. The CEO behind the company trying to build the controversial Dakota Access Pipeline gave $6 million to Perry's failed presidential bid last year. Perry also serves on the company's board. Read more

The FEC has become a "forgotten tool" in Trump's promise to "drain the swamp," says the Center for Public Integrity. No one in the Trump transition team has contacted the six commissioners. Meanwhile, Trump chose former FEC chairman Don McGahn, "a preeminent enemy of campaign finance regulations" as the top White House lawyer. The FEC "heads into 2017 even more marginalized than ever before." Read more

2016 FACT OF THE DAY

A new Demos study on voters in the 2016 election found that millionaires made up 17% of donors, even though they account for only 3% of the population. 42% of Clinton’s money and 27% of Trump’s money came from millionaires. Read more

IN THE STATES

OR: The Portland City Council voted to create a new public financing system for eligible candidates for mayor, city commissioner and auditor. The plan is modeled after New York City's small-donor matching system. Read more

NC: Recently filed tax returns from Carolina Rising, a 501(c)(4) group, show that the group raised and spent almost $5 million in 2014 to support Thom Tillis' Senate bid, according to Open Secrets. This "heightens concerns that the group was using nonprofit status as a vehicle for political spending in 2014, using funds given by secret donors." Read more

MT: Montana Rep. Ryan Zinke, Trump's pick for interior secretary, is new to Washington, but has already collected over $10.5 million in campaign contributions, says Open Secrets. He has received strong support from conservative PACs and the oil and gas industry. Read more

By: Fred Wertheimer (@FredWertheimer) & Kathryn Beard (@KathrynBeard)

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