Latest news with #CitizensforResponsibilityandEthics
New Indian Express
26-07-2025
- Business
- New Indian Express
Trump's trip to Scotland as his new golf course opens blurs politics and family's business
Trump family's new golf course has tee times for sale Trump went to Scotland to play his Turnberry course during his first term in 2018 while en route to a meeting in Finland with Russian President Vladimir Putin. But this trip comes as the new golf course is already actively selling tee times. 'We're at a point where the Trump administration is so intertwined with the Trump business that he doesn't seem to see much of a difference,' said Jordan Libowitz, vice president for the ethics watchdog organization Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington. 'It's as if the White House were almost an arm of the Trump Organization.' During his first term, the Trump Organization signed an ethics pact barring deals with foreign companies. An ethics frameworks for Trump's second term allows them. Trump's assets are in a trust run by his children, who are also handling day-to-day operations of the Trump Organization while he's in the White House. The company has inked many recent, lucrative foreign agreements involving golf courses, including plans to build luxury developments in Qatar and Vietnam, even as the administration negotiates tariff rates for those countries and around the globe. Trump's first Aberdeen course sparked legal battles Trump's existing Aberdeenshire course, meanwhile, has a history nearly as rocky as the area's cliffs. It has struggled to turn a profit and was found by Scottish conservation authorities to have partially destroyed nearby sand dunes. Trump's company also was ordered to cover the Scottish government's legal costs after the course unsuccessfully sued over the construction of a nearby wind farm, arguing in part that it hurt golfers' views. And the development was part of the massive civil case, which accused Trump of inflating his wealth to secure loans and make business deals. Trump's company's initial plans for his first Aberdeen-area course called for a luxury hotel and nearby housing. His company received permission to build 500 houses, but Trump suggested he'd be allowed to build five times as many and borrowed against their values without actually building any homes, the lawsuit alleged. Judge Arthur Engoron found Trump liable last year and ordered his company to pay $355 million in fines — a judgment that has grown with interest to more than $510 million as Trump appeals. Golfers-in-chief Family financial interests aside, Trump isn't the first sitting US president to golf in Scotland. That was Dwight D. Eisenhower, who played in Turnberry in 1959. George W. Bush visited the famed course at Gleneagles in 2005 but didn't play. Many historians trace golf back to Scotland in the Middle Ages. Among the earliest known references to game was a Scottish Parliament resolution in 1457 that tried to ban it, along with soccer, because of fears both were distracting men from practicing archery — then considered vital to national defense. The first US president to golf regularly was William Howard Taft, who served from 1909 to 1913 and ignored warnings from his predecessor, Teddy Roosevelt, that playing too much would make it seem like he wasn't working hard enough. Woodrow Wilson played nearly every day but Sundays, and even had the Secret Service paint his golf balls red so he could practice in the snow, said Mike Trostel, director of the World Golf Hall of Fame. Warren G. Harding trained his dog Laddie Boy to fetch golf balls while he practiced. Lyndon B. Johnson's swing was sometimes described as looking like a man trying to kill a rattlesnake. Bill Clinton, who liked to joke that he was the only president whose game improved while in office, restored a putting green on the White House's South Lawn. It was originally installed by Eisenhower, who was such an avid user that he left cleat marks in the wooden floors of the Oval Office by the door leading out to it. Bush stopped golfing after the start of the Iraq war in 2003 because of the optics. Barack Obama had a golf simulator installed in the White House that Trump upgraded during his first term, Trostel said. John F. Kennedy largely hid his love of the game as president, but he played on Harvard's golf team and nearly made a hole-in-one at California's renowned Cypress Point Golf Club just before the 1960 Democratic National Convention. 'I'd say, between President Trump and President John F. Kennedy, those are two of the most skilled golfers we've had in the White House,' Trostel said. Trump, Trostel said, has a handicap index — how many strokes above par a golfer is likely to score — of a very strong 2.5, though he's not posted an official round with the US Golf Association since 2021. That's better than Joe Biden's handicap of 6.7, which also might be outdated, and Obama, who once described his own handicap as an 'honest 13.' The White House claims Trump as a championship-level golfer but said he plays with no handicap.
Indianapolis Star
23-05-2025
- Business
- Indianapolis Star
One Big, Beautiful Bill to help the rich, hurt the poor and explode the deficit
America's status as an aristocratic oligarchy arrived in the form of a dumbly-named piece of legislation — the 'Big, Beautiful Bill' — that was passed in the early morning hours by House Republicans who wouldn't spit on poor people if they were on fire. President Donald Trump, architect of the bill's embarrassingly stupid name, and his billionaire donors and cabinet members, along with the whole of the GOP, fully showed their tuchuses with this massive domestic-policy bill. It helps the rich. It balloons the deficit Republicans claim to care so deeply about, to the tune of $3.3 trillion over the next decade. And it hurts the poor, cutting billions from Medicaid, Medicare and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program that many rely on as a lifeline. It's the clearest expression yet from this administration that it cares only about adding comfort to the comfortable while further afflicting the afflicted, pulling the curtain back on the faux-populism of Trump's MAGA con. As if eager to throw a middle finger at the non-rich Americans who will be hurt if this bill or anything close to it becomes law, the Trump administration accepted a 'free' flying-palace jet from Qatar on May 21, the day before the bill passed the House. That jet will get about $1 billion in upgrades and become Air Force One, allowing the president to fly in opulence while, according to the Congressional Budget Office, more than 7 million Americans previously covered by Medicaid are put on the road to being uninsured. Hicks: Why tariffs lead to recession, even after Trump caved to China And on May 22 — in the wake of the bill's early-morning passage through the House — President Trump is scheduled to host an exclusive dinner at one of his golf resorts in Virginia, hosting 220 people who invested nearly $400 million in his bafflingly corrupt cryptocurrency venture. Donald Sherman, executive director and chief counsel of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, told USA TODAY: 'This is one of the most blatant and appalling instances of selling access to the presidency I've ever seen.' And guess who isn't invited to the fancy dinner? The same people who won't get to fly on the fancy plane, or benefit from the Republican Party's fancy new legislation. Crystal FitzSimons, president of the Food Research & Action Center, a national advocacy group focused on poverty-related hunger, said in a statement: 'Slashing SNAP by nearly 30 percent is not a cost-savings. By cutting funding for our nation's most effective anti-hunger program, this bill has opened the door for millions of older adults skipping meals to afford medication, because they were unable to find a job within the new three-month time limit. Millions of parents will be left to make impossible choices between paying rent and buying groceries, and millions of children could lose direct access to free school meals that fuel their health and learning.' Briggs: Jim Banks would let Trump commit any crime you can imagine I'm sure Trump or one of the assorted billionaires who surround him would respond to that, but they're probably heading out to the golf resort to celebrate the millions Trump is making on his $TRUMP meme coin. A luxury jet, a private dinner where the average seat costs about $1 million, and a big, fat-cat backhand to the face of regular Americans. That's the Republican Party, folks. The sweeping bill they passed through the House at the crack of dawn on May 22 tells you exactly who they are and how much concern they have for people who aren't lining their pockets. Welcome to the aristocratic oligarchy. We're now on the outside looking in.
Yahoo
15-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Trump's Business Ties in the Middle East Are Drawing New Scrutiny
President Donald Trump has kicked off his first major foreign trip of his second term with a tour of the Middle East — a region where his family's business interests have rapidly expanded. The timing and destination are drawing renewed scrutiny over potential conflicts of interest. Trump's itinerary includes stops in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates — all countries with Trump-branded properties or high-value real estate projects in development, including hotels and golf resorts worth billions. The visit has drawn criticism from Democratic leaders, including Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, who described it from the Senate floor on Wednesday as resembling 'a private business venture.' He cited, in particular, Trump's use of a $400 million luxury Boeing 747 provided by Qatar. Schumer, of course, isn't the only one to have criticized this move‚ which went viral. Ethics watchdogs have also flagged potential issues. Meghan Faulkner, communications director at Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics, says there's 'no question' that the jet could be interpreted as a form of foreign influence. 'It raises concerns about whether a country could be receiving special access, benefits, or favorable treatment because of a gift like that,' she tells Katie Couric Media. With these overlapping interests in play, Trump's Middle East tour is reviving questions about the intersection of his public duties and private ventures, which was a frequent topic of conversation during his first time. Here's a closer look at the business ties behind the headlines — and why they're drawing attention now. The Trump Organization's ties to the Middle East began during Trump's first term, with the 2017 Trump International Golf Club opening in Dubai. A second course is reportedly in the works, though its development has faced delays. That hasn't slowed the pace of new ventures: Just a week before President Trump's scheduled visits to Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, his son Eric Trump announced a $5.5 billion project to build an 80-story hotel and residential tower in the region, calling it a development that would 'redefine luxury.' Beyond real estate and golf, Eric and his business partner, Zach Witkoff — the son of Steve Witkoff, President Trump's special envoy to the Middle East — recently announced a major cryptocurrency deal with a venture fund backed by the government of Abu Dhabi, the wealthiest emirate in the UAE. The fund plans to invest $2 billion through a digital currency issued by World Liberty Financial, the Trump family's crypto enterprise. In Saudi Arabia, the Trump Organization has inked branding agreements for two significant real estate developments: a Trump Tower in the capital, Riyadh, and a $530 million residential high-rise in the coastal city of Jeddah. Announced just weeks after Trump's reelection, the deals don't involve any financial investment from the Trump family business, but they are expected to generate millions in licensing fees for the use of the Trump name. Last month, the Trump Organization announced a new golf resort and real estate development in Qatar called the Trump International Golf Club & Villas. According to The New York Times, the 18-hole course will be built in partnership with Qatari Diar, a real estate company established by the country's sovereign wealth fund and chaired by a government minister. In Oman, the Trump family has partnered with Dar Global on a hotel and golf resort project being developed on state-owned land. According to the Times, the Omani government will receive a share of the project's revenues — a financial arrangement that further blurs the lines between Trump's private interests and his role on the world stage. The Trump Organization's expanding business ventures in the Middle East — along with the president's merchandise and media enterprises in the U.S. — are once again sounding the alarm about potential violations of the U.S. Constitution's Foreign Emoluments Clause. This essentially prohibits presidents from accepting payments or gifts from foreign governments without congressional approval. Despite these concerns, the Republican-led Congress has so far taken no formal action to address them during Trump's time in office. 'The Emoluments Clause is intended to prevent a president from using the power of the office for personal financial gain,' Hans Noel, Ph.D., a political scientist and professor at Georgetown University, tells us. 'While no illegality has been definitively established, Trump's actions — and those of his family — arguably conflict with the spirit of the law.' That concern isn't theoretical. During Trump's first term, his businesses reportedly received $7.8 million from 20 foreign governments, according to a congressional report released by Democrats last year. But government watchdogs estimate the true total was closer to $13.6 million, and they warn that, with Trump back in office and his business expanding abroad, those figures could climb even higher in his second term. 'Much of our system to prevent this kind of corruption has depended on presidents voluntarily doing the right thing — honoring the Constitution without being forced to,' says Faulkner. Historian Douglas Brinkley told The Washington Post that Trump's approach to blurring the lines between public office and personal gain could eclipse anything seen in modern presidential history, calling his actions a 'wrecking ball to convention and norms.' Typically, public officials work hard to avoid not just actual corruption but even the appearance of it. While not legally mandated by the Constitution or federal law, many presidents have chosen to divest from or place their assets in a blind trust — like Jimmy Carter and George W. Bush — before taking office to prevent any real or perceived conflicts of interest. 'It was about the principle, the optics,' says Dr. Noel. Trump, however, broke from this tradition in both his first and second terms. Upon taking office in 2017, he pledged to keep his private financial interests separate from his public role. Initially, he appeared to make gestures in that direction — turning over day-to-day management of the Trump Organization to his sons and selling off individual stock holdings ahead of his 2016 campaign. However, he did not divest from the business itself; instead, he retained full ownership and continued to profit from its operations. Over time, the line between his public duties and private interests became increasingly blurred. Ethics watchdogs documented more than 3,400 potential conflicts of interest during his first term alone. 'Trump's case is different,' says Dr. Noel. 'What sets it apart is that it's all happening so openly. Corruption is typically thought of as hidden — backroom deals, secret favors. But here, it's out in the open, which, paradoxically, makes it seem almost normal, even though the concerns remain very real.' Other presidents have also faced scrutiny over potential conflicts of interest tied to foreign business connections. House Republicans, for instance, launched extensive investigations into whether President Joe Biden was involved in his son Hunter Biden's overseas ventures, including business ties to Chinese investors and a board position at a Ukrainian energy company during the time Biden was overseeing U.S. policy on Ukraine. While the probes raised ethical questions about Hunter's activities, they never uncovered direct evidence implicating the then-president in any wrongdoing. What sets Trump apart in his second term, however, is the scale and visibility of his family's business activities — and the degree to which they overlap with his official duties. 'This reflects two broader trends,' says Dr. Noel. 'First, a growing number of ways for outside interests to influence the president. And second, a pattern of the president acting as though the rules simply don't apply. If these trends continue unchecked, it's a deeply concerning situation.' The post Trump's Business Ties in the Middle East Are Drawing New Scrutiny appeared first on Katie Couric Media.
New York Times
12-03-2025
- Business
- New York Times
Trump Appointee Filmed Influencer Videos on the Job
The same day the Office of Personnel Management informed hundreds of employees, including about 20 involved in the communications division, that they were being laid off, the department's top spokeswoman posted an Instagram video she filmed in her office showing off her outfit with the caption: 'a moment for mixed patterns.' On the day O.P.M. sent a memo to all federal department and agency heads asking for lists of underperforming employees to terminate, she flaunted a 'work look' that included a purple skirt that her followers could also purchase, retailing at $475. She would get a commission if they used her link. The spokeswoman, McLaurine Pinover, is not the only member of the Trump administration to have used her federal office to promote outside business interests, but former agency officials and ethics watchdogs say that the timing and content of the videos were both unlawful and especially tone-deaf. Government watchdogs say the videos, coming from the spokeswoman of the agency driving the layoffs of thousands of federal workers, exemplify a widespread disregard for government ethics across the Trump administration. 'It's illegal for a public employee to promote a private company in their government office,' said Donald Sherman, the executive director and chief counsel for Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, a government watchdog group. 'On its own, maybe it would qualify as small potatoes, but context matters,' Mr. Sherman added. 'In the context of a president and an administration that are routinely engaged in profiteering and using the office of the presidency for financial gain, in the context of someone who owns a private company, Elon Musk, coming into the administration and dismantling the government as he has, and in the context of O.P.M. being central to the administration's attack on civil servants who actually want to be there to work for the American public, an O.P.M. political appointee engaging in this conduct is egregious.' Though presidents are legally exempt from certain conflict of interest laws, President Trump has not divested from many business interests, some of which involve real estate deals with foreign governments that could influence his diplomatic decisions. Mr. Musk, the tech billionaire whom Mr. Trump deputized to slash the federal government, continues to pursue federal contracts for his private businesses. And on Tuesday, the day news of Ms. Pinover's Instagram account broke, Mr. Trump made a show of purchasing a red Model S from Tesla, of which Mr. Musk is chief executive, on the White House grounds, just a day after the company's stock crashed. Ms. Pinover's short videos, each four to nine seconds, featured her in her office, lightheartedly modeling her clothes, applying makeup, working at her desk and occasionally blowing a kiss to the camera. They also included links to the clothes that would give her a commission from fans' purchases. The existence of Ms. Pinover's accounts was first reported by CNN. The Instagram account has since been deleted, while the account that would supply commissions, ShopMy, has been wiped clean, save for Ms. Pinover's name and picture and an invitation to 'Shop my looks!' In a statement, Ms. Pinover said she never made any money from the fashion videos. 'While I was battling breast cancer as a new mom, I felt so unlike myself. I turned to social media shortly after as a personal outlet,' she wrote. 'I never made any income and with only about 800 followers, I'm surprised the so-called 'newspaper of record' finds this newsworthy. My focus remains on serving the American people at O.P.M.' Whether she actually profited off the enterprise is irrelevant, Mr. Sherman said. The purpose of the account was to promote the clothing. Ms. Pinover took on her role in the Trump administration in January, but her Instagram account — and the start of her fashion influencer videos — predated that job. Before she joined the Trump administration, she worked as a senior director for the Herald Group, a communications and advocacy firm, starting in August 2023. Before that, Ms. Pinover was a spokeswoman for Republicans on the House Foreign Affairs Committee. Former O.P.M. employees said that Ms. Pinover should have been warned against pursuing supplementary income streams, particularly on government property, as part of a standard ethics briefing employees receive when joining the agency. It was not immediately clear if Ms. Pinover had been explicitly warned against such activity when she started the job. White House representatives did not immediately respond to a request for comment. 'Use of public property to film one's 'fashion influencer' videos should raise lots of ethical questions about how seriously the Trump administration is taking their oaths,' said Viet Tran, the deputy communications director of O.P.M. during the Biden administration, a political appointment. 'Whether it's Trump hawking Teslas on the South Lawn, SpaceX employees meddling in competitor contracts at F.A.A., or using your government offices for personal enrichment, it looks awful all around.'
Yahoo
11-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
US judge says Musk's DOGE must release records on operations run in 'secrecy'
By Nate Raymond (Reuters) -A federal judge on Monday ordered the government-downsizing team created by U.S. President Donald Trump and spearheaded by billionaire Elon Musk to make public records concerning its operations, which he said had been run in "unusual secrecy." U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper in Washington sided with the government watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in finding that the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) was likely an agency subject to the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). See for yourself — The Yodel is the go-to source for daily news, entertainment and feel-good stories. By signing up, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy. The ruling, the first of its kind, marked an early victory for advocates seeking to force DOGE to become more transparent about its role in the mass firings being conducted in the federal workforce and the dismantling of government agencies by the Republican president's administration. The Trump administration had argued that DOGE as an arm of the Executive Office of the President was not subject to FOIA, a law that allows the public to seek access to records produced by government agencies that they had not previously disclosed. But Cooper, an appointee of Democratic President Barack Obama, said that DOGE was exercising "substantial independent authority" much greater than the other components of that office that are usually exempt from FOIA's requirements. He said it "appears to have the power not just to evaluate federal programs, but to drastically reshape and even eliminate them wholesale," a fact that the judge said the agency declined to refute. He said its "operations thus far have been marked by unusual secrecy," citing reports about DOGE's use of an outside server, its employees refusal to identify themselves to career officials and their use of the encrypted app Signal to communicate. The White House and CREW, the watchdog group, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
