Anti-Trump rally protests around the world.

maxwel · Jan 28, 2017

Peacenik doesn't believe in Free Speech.

Peacenik,

This is the height of hypocrisy.

On CC you are given FREE SPEECH, and ability to speak with a DISSENTING VIEW...

so you use your free speech to post materials from a site where FREE SPEECH & DISSENT ARE NOT ALLOWED!

DemocraticUndergound
The above graphic is from DemocraticUnderground.com
This site DOES NOT allow anyone to disagree with democratic politics... no dissent or free speech is allowed.

Polices showing no dissent or free speech is allowed at DemocraticUnderground:
Terms of Service - Democratic Underground
Support Democrats
Do not post support for Republicans or independent/third-party "spoiler" candidates. Do not state that you are not going to vote, or that you will write-in a candidate that is not on the ballot, or that you intend to vote for any candidate other than the official Democratic nominee in any general election where a Democrat is on the ballot. Do not post anything that smears Democrats generally, or that is intended to dissuade people from supporting the Democratic Party or its candidates. Don't argue there is no difference between Republicans and Democrats.
Don't peddle right-wing talking points, smears, or sources
Do not post right-wing talking points or smears. Do not post content sourced from right-wing publications, authors, or pundits.

Thank you for using your FREE SPEED to support people, and websites, who DON'T BELIEVE IN FREE SPEECH

WELL DONE!

Willie-T · Jan 28, 2017

Sounds like the frog is being a bit two-faced. LOL

JosephsDreams · Jan 28, 2017

You know the tragic part of this all regarding the liberals and their agenda is their lack of insight and basic knowledge of the bible.
If they knew it, they would not be fretting so.
Because they would understand that this thing with Trump is but a respite in the march toward what they want.
At least until Jesus comes.
But then again, it is a dichotomy with them, because if they understood this and believed it, then probably many of them with be with us rather then against us.

peacenik · Jan 29, 2017

Sirk; said:

This has all been discussed and proven beyond the shadow of a doubt previously. Now be a good little boy, do your home work, and learn something.

peacenik · Jan 29, 2017

You forgot that I am banned from posting on their forum though still allowed access to their articles.

As for tolerance, your fellow right wingers have been so intolerant that several progressives have left the forum in disgust. Shame but that's the way it is all too often.

peacenik · Jan 29, 2017

JosephsDreams said:

Lack on insight into the Bible? You right wingers on this forum have been repeatedly challenged on your hate, continuous anger, intolerance, and projections. Just like when Jesus spoke of one objecting to a dot on his eye while another ignored the log in their own. And when such a challenge is made you side step it over and over again.

Now, let's get back to the issue of abortion and the REPUBLICAN supreme court. As I wrote before, you can easily google Blackstone and the issue of "quickening" which proves that abortion was legal under the common law. Further, the Republican court ruled in Roe that the Constitution has always guaranteed legal access to such a reprehensible procedure because it has always been a part of the law. This remains true whether you want to agree or not. Just read the court's decision. After all, it is readily available online.

This is an argument you are just not going to win, like it or not, as your fellow Republicans have settled the law. Got a problem with that? Take your recriminations to them, not to me.

posthuman · Jan 29, 2017

a petition to impeach Trump for clear violations of the emolument clause has reached over 400,000 signatures in only a few days, and continues to grow.

https://impeachdonaldtrumpnow.org/

several lawsuits are filed and/or in process against him for similar breaches of trust. it was touted during the campaign that a Clinton in the white house with possible legal trouble would be an unthinkable thing for the American people to do -- but Trump is facing a lot of legal problems himself, ironically troubles he could avoid and dismiss if he would cut his business ties, but instead of doing so he not only continues in his own conflicts of interest but is seeking appointment of many senior staff with their own clear conflicts of interest.

do we as a nation care about any of that?
[HR][/HR][HR][/HR]President Trump’s personal and business holdings in the United States and abroad present unprecedented conflicts of interest. Indeed, President Trump has admitted he has conflicts of interest in some cases. For example, the Trump Organization has licensing deals with two Trump Towers in Istanbul, and has received up to $10 million from developers since 2014.[1] President Trump admitted recently that “I have a little conflict of interest, because I have a major, major building in Istanbul.”[2]
Crucially, some of these business arrangements violate the U.S. Constitution’s Foreign Emoluments Clause, which provides: “[N]o Person holding any Office of Profit or Trust under [the United States], shall, without the Consent of the Congress, accept of any present, Emolument, Office, or Title, of any kind whatever, from any King, Prince, or foreign State.”[3] The purpose of this provision is to prevent foreign influence or corruption. “Emoluments” from foreign governments include “any conferral of a benefit or advantage, whether through money, objects, titles, offices, or economically valuable waivers or relaxations of otherwise applicable requirements,” even including “ordinary, fair market value transactions that result in any economic profit or benefit to the federal officeholder.”[4]
Many of the Trump Organization’s extensive business dealings with foreign governments, businesses owned by foreign governments, and other foreign leaders violate this ban. A recent legal analysis by Prof. Laurence Tribe of Harvard Law School, Ambassador (ret.) Norman Eisen (former chief ethics counsel to President Barack Obama), and Professor Richard Painter (former chief ethics counsel to President George W. Bush) concluded that Mr. Trump would be violating the foreign emoluments ban from the moment he took office, due to “a steady stream of monetary and other benefits from foreign powers and their agents” deriving from his existing business arrangements.[5] As a result, since he did not divest his business operations before inauguration, he has been violating the Foreign Emoluments Clause since the moment he took office.[6]
Examples of existing business arrangements that constitute violations of the Foreign Emoluments Clause include:

Trump’s business partner in Trump Tower Century City (Manila, Philippines) is Century Properties. (Trump is not the developer; he has a brand licensing contract.) The head of Century Properties is Jose Antonio, who was just named special envoy to the United States by the president of the Philippines.[7] Payments from a company owned by a foreign government official are foreign emoluments.
China’s state-owned Industrial and Commercial Bank of China is the largest tenant in Trump Tower. It is also a major lender to Trump.[8] Both its regular rent payments, and its ongoing extension of credit, are foreign emoluments.
Foreign diplomats have already begun shifting their D.C. hotel and event reservations to Trump International Hotel, to curry favor or at least avoid insulting the president.[9] Indeed, the Embassy of Kuwait was reportedly pressured by the Trump Organization to change an existing reservation and reschedule the event at the Trump International.[10] Payments by foreign diplomats for lodging, meeting space, or food at the hotel are foreign emoluments.

Similarly, the Constitution’s Domestic Emoluments Clause (also known as the Presidential Compensation Clause) provides: “The President shall, at stated Times, receive for his Services, a Compensation, which shall neither be encreased nor diminished during the Period for which he shall have been elected, and he shall not receive within that Period any other Emolument from the United States, or any of them.”[11] This provision, which is not waivable by Congress, is designed to prevent corruption, as Alexander Hamilton explained:
“Neither the Union, nor any of its members, will be at liberty to give, nor will he be at liberty to receive, any other emolument than that which may have been determined by the first act. He can, of course, have no pecuniary inducement to renounce or desert the independence intended for him by the Constitution.”[12]
President Trump has chosen to continue owning businesses that receive government subsidies and tax breaks in violation of this provision. For example, since 1980, Mr. Trump and his businesses have “reaped at least $885 million in tax breaks, grants and other subsidies for luxury apartments, hotels and office buildings in New York.”[13] As President, federal and state subsidies and tax breaks violate the Domestic Emoluments Clause.
Furthermore, as noted above, “emoluments” are not limited to monetary payments; they also include economically valuable favorable regulatory actions. President Trump’s control over the vast modern powers of the executive branch means that regulatory action affecting his businesses favorably constitutes an “Emolument from the United States.” For example, President Trump’s ongoing lease of Washington, D.C.’s Old Post Office, in which the Trump International Hotel is located, violates an explicit clause in the General Services Administration lease contract providing: “No . . . elected official of the Government of the United States . . . shall be admitted to any share or part of this Lease, or to any benefit that may arise therefrom . .. .”[14] In late November, members of Congress wrote the GSA requesting information about the “imminent breach-of-lease and conflict of interest issues created by President-elect Donald Trump’s lease with the U.S. Government for the Trump International Hotel building in Washington, D.C.”[15] The GSA responded in mid-December that it could not make a determination “until the full circumstances surrounding the president-elect’s business arrangements have been finalized and he has assumed office.”[16] His business arrangements have been announced (not including any divestment of the hotel) and he has assumed office, but the GSA is not pursuing any legal action to enforce the provision. That favorable regulatory treatment provides President Trump a significant financial benefit from the federal government above and beyond his federal salary.
Finally, the Committee should also investigate whether President Trump is violating the the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge Act of 2012 (STOCK Act). The STOCK Act is one of the few federal ethics statutes that specifically includes the President. Among other provisions, it prohibits the President from (1) using nonpublic information for private profit, and from (2) intentionally influencing an employment decision or practice of a private entity solely on the basis of partisan political affiliation.[17]
[1] Drew Harwell & Anu Narayanswamy, A scramble to assess the dangers of President-elect Donald Trump’s global business empire, Wash. Post, Nov. 20, 2016, http://wpo.st/KCmP2.
[2] Michael Keller et al., Tracking Trump’s Web of Conflicts, Bloomberg, Dec. 13, 2016, http://bloom.bg/2jamDUu.
[3] U.S. Const., art. I, § 9, cl. 8. This ban is located within a clause addressing both titles of nobility and foreign payments, and is variously called the Titles of Nobility Clause, the Foreign Corruption Clause, or the Foreign Emoluments Clause.
[4] Norman L. Eisen, Richard Painter, & Laurence H. Tribe, Brookings Governance Studies, The Emoluments Clause: Its Text, Meaning, and Application to Donald J. Trump, http://brook.gs/2i1i3Ht (Dec. 16, 2016), at 2.
[5] Id.
[6] See Norman L. Eisen & Richard W. Painter, Trump Could Be in Violation of the Constitution His First Day in Office,The Atlantic, Dec. 7, 2016, http://theatln.tc/2i0ApY4; see also Richard W. Painter et al., Emoluments: Trump’s Coming Ethics Trouble,The Atlantic, Jan. 18, 2017, http://theatln.tc/2jwtwNr.
[7] Libby Nelson, All of Donald Trump’s known conflicts of interest in one place, Vox, http://bit.ly/2gJbaXa (last updated Jan. 3, 2017).
[8] Jonathan O’Connell & Mary Jordan, For foreign diplomats, Trump hotel is place to be, Wash. Post, Nov. 18, 2016,http://wpo.st/VemN2. The motivation is obvious: “‘Why wouldn’t I stay at his hotel blocks from the White House, so I can tell the new president, “I love your new hotel!” Isn’t it rude to come to his city and say, ‘“I am staying at your competitor?”’ said one Asian diplomat.” Id.
[9] See Judd Legum & Kira Lerner, Under political pressure, Kuwait cancels major event at Four Seasons, switches to Trump’s D.C. hotel, Think Progress, Dec. 19, 2016, http://thkpr.gs/1f204315d513.
[10] See Richard C. Paddock et al., Potential Conflicts Around the Globe for Trump, the Businessman President, N.Y. Times, Nov. 26, 2016, http://nyti.ms/2jwr1L1.
[11] U.S. Const., art. II, § 1, cl. 7 (emphasis added).
[12] The Federalist No. 73 (Alexander Hamilton) (Clinton Rossiter ed., 1961 (emphasis added).
[13] Charles V. Bagli, A Trump Empire Built on Inside Connections and $885 Million in Tax Breaks, N.Y. Times, Sept. 17, 2016,http://nyti.ms/2cXa60i.
[14] Steven L. Schooner & Daniel I. Gordon, GSA’s Trump Hotel Lease Debacle, Gov’t Executive, Nov. 28, 2016,GSA's Trump Hotel Lease Debacle - Promising Practices - Management - GovExec.com.
[15] Letter from Hon. Elijah E. Cummings et al. (Nov. 30, 2016), available at http://bit.ly/2k56NqN.
[16] Allan Smith, Federal agency responds to letter from Democratic lawmakers claiming it said Trump must fully divest himself of his DC hotel, Business Insider, Dec. 14, 2016, GSA responds to letter from lawmakers regarding Trump - Business Insider.
[17] See Pub. Law 112–105 (2012), §§ 9(a), 18.

Sirk · Jan 29, 2017

posthuman said:

a petition to impeach Trump for clear violations of the emolument clause has reached over 400,000 signatures in only a few days, and continues to grow.

https://impeachdonaldtrumpnow.org/

several lawsuits are filed and/or in process against him for similar breaches of trust. it was touted during the campaign that a Clinton in the white house with possible legal trouble would be an unthinkable thing for the American people to do -- but Trump is facing a lot of legal problems himself, ironically troubles he could avoid and dismiss if he would cut his business ties, but instead of doing so he not only continues in his own conflicts of interest but is seeking appointment of many senior staff with their own clear conflicts of interest.

do we as a nation care about any of that?
[HR][/HR][HR][/HR]President Trump’s personal and business holdings in the United States and abroad present unprecedented conflicts of interest. Indeed, President Trump has admitted he has conflicts of interest in some cases. For example, the Trump Organization has licensing deals with two Trump Towers in Istanbul, and has received up to $10 million from developers since 2014.[1] President Trump admitted recently that “I have a little conflict of interest, because I have a major, major building in Istanbul.”[2]
Crucially, some of these business arrangements violate the U.S. Constitution’s Foreign Emoluments Clause, which provides: “[N]o Person holding any Office of Profit or Trust under [the United States], shall, without the Consent of the Congress, accept of any present, Emolument, Office, or Title, of any kind whatever, from any King, Prince, or foreign State.”[3] The purpose of this provision is to prevent foreign influence or corruption. “Emoluments” from foreign governments include “any conferral of a benefit or advantage, whether through money, objects, titles, offices, or economically valuable waivers or relaxations of otherwise applicable requirements,” even including “ordinary, fair market value transactions that result in any economic profit or benefit to the federal officeholder.”[4]
Many of the Trump Organization’s extensive business dealings with foreign governments, businesses owned by foreign governments, and other foreign leaders violate this ban. A recent legal analysis by Prof. Laurence Tribe of Harvard Law School, Ambassador (ret.) Norman Eisen (former chief ethics counsel to President Barack Obama), and Professor Richard Painter (former chief ethics counsel to President George W. Bush) concluded that Mr. Trump would be violating the foreign emoluments ban from the moment he took office, due to “a steady stream of monetary and other benefits from foreign powers and their agents” deriving from his existing business arrangements.[5] As a result, since he did not divest his business operations before inauguration, he has been violating the Foreign Emoluments Clause since the moment he took office.[6]
Examples of existing business arrangements that constitute violations of the Foreign Emoluments Clause include:

Trump’s business partner in Trump Tower Century City (Manila, Philippines) is Century Properties. (Trump is not the developer; he has a brand licensing contract.) The head of Century Properties is Jose Antonio, who was just named special envoy to the United States by the president of the Philippines.[7] Payments from a company owned by a foreign government official are foreign emoluments.
China’s state-owned Industrial and Commercial Bank of China is the largest tenant in Trump Tower. It is also a major lender to Trump.[8] Both its regular rent payments, and its ongoing extension of credit, are foreign emoluments.
Foreign diplomats have already begun shifting their D.C. hotel and event reservations to Trump International Hotel, to curry favor or at least avoid insulting the president.[9] Indeed, the Embassy of Kuwait was reportedly pressured by the Trump Organization to change an existing reservation and reschedule the event at the Trump International.[10] Payments by foreign diplomats for lodging, meeting space, or food at the hotel are foreign emoluments.

Similarly, the Constitution’s Domestic Emoluments Clause (also known as the Presidential Compensation Clause) provides: “The President shall, at stated Times, receive for his Services, a Compensation, which shall neither be encreased nor diminished during the Period for which he shall have been elected, and he shall not receive within that Period any other Emolument from the United States, or any of them.”[11] This provision, which is not waivable by Congress, is designed to prevent corruption, as Alexander Hamilton explained:
“Neither the Union, nor any of its members, will be at liberty to give, nor will he be at liberty to receive, any other emolument than that which may have been determined by the first act. He can, of course, have no pecuniary inducement to renounce or desert the independence intended for him by the Constitution.”[12]
President Trump has chosen to continue owning businesses that receive government subsidies and tax breaks in violation of this provision. For example, since 1980, Mr. Trump and his businesses have “reaped at least $885 million in tax breaks, grants and other subsidies for luxury apartments, hotels and office buildings in New York.”[13] As President, federal and state subsidies and tax breaks violate the Domestic Emoluments Clause.
Furthermore, as noted above, “emoluments” are not limited to monetary payments; they also include economically valuable favorable regulatory actions. President Trump’s control over the vast modern powers of the executive branch means that regulatory action affecting his businesses favorably constitutes an “Emolument from the United States.” For example, President Trump’s ongoing lease of Washington, D.C.’s Old Post Office, in which the Trump International Hotel is located, violates an explicit clause in the General Services Administration lease contract providing: “No . . . elected official of the Government of the United States . . . shall be admitted to any share or part of this Lease, or to any benefit that may arise therefrom . .. .”[14] In late November, members of Congress wrote the GSA requesting information about the “imminent breach-of-lease and conflict of interest issues created by President-elect Donald Trump’s lease with the U.S. Government for the Trump International Hotel building in Washington, D.C.”[15] The GSA responded in mid-December that it could not make a determination “until the full circumstances surrounding the president-elect’s business arrangements have been finalized and he has assumed office.”[16] His business arrangements have been announced (not including any divestment of the hotel) and he has assumed office, but the GSA is not pursuing any legal action to enforce the provision. That favorable regulatory treatment provides President Trump a significant financial benefit from the federal government above and beyond his federal salary.
Finally, the Committee should also investigate whether President Trump is violating the the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge Act of 2012 (STOCK Act). The STOCK Act is one of the few federal ethics statutes that specifically includes the President. Among other provisions, it prohibits the President from (1) using nonpublic information for private profit, and from (2) intentionally influencing an employment decision or practice of a private entity solely on the basis of partisan political affiliation.[17]
[1] Drew Harwell & Anu Narayanswamy, A scramble to assess the dangers of President-elect Donald Trump’s global business empire, Wash. Post, Nov. 20, 2016, http://wpo.st/KCmP2.
[2] Michael Keller et al., Tracking Trump’s Web of Conflicts, Bloomberg, Dec. 13, 2016, http://bloom.bg/2jamDUu.
[3] U.S. Const., art. I, § 9, cl. 8. This ban is located within a clause addressing both titles of nobility and foreign payments, and is variously called the Titles of Nobility Clause, the Foreign Corruption Clause, or the Foreign Emoluments Clause.
[4] Norman L. Eisen, Richard Painter, & Laurence H. Tribe, Brookings Governance Studies, The Emoluments Clause: Its Text, Meaning, and Application to Donald J. Trump, http://brook.gs/2i1i3Ht (Dec. 16, 2016), at 2.
[5] Id.
[6] See Norman L. Eisen & Richard W. Painter, Trump Could Be in Violation of the Constitution His First Day in Office,The Atlantic, Dec. 7, 2016, http://theatln.tc/2i0ApY4; see also Richard W. Painter et al., Emoluments: Trump’s Coming Ethics Trouble,The Atlantic, Jan. 18, 2017, http://theatln.tc/2jwtwNr.
[7] Libby Nelson, All of Donald Trump’s known conflicts of interest in one place, Vox, http://bit.ly/2gJbaXa (last updated Jan. 3, 2017).
[8] Jonathan O’Connell & Mary Jordan, For foreign diplomats, Trump hotel is place to be, Wash. Post, Nov. 18, 2016,http://wpo.st/VemN2. The motivation is obvious: “‘Why wouldn’t I stay at his hotel blocks from the White House, so I can tell the new president, “I love your new hotel!” Isn’t it rude to come to his city and say, ‘“I am staying at your competitor?”’ said one Asian diplomat.” Id.
[9] See Judd Legum & Kira Lerner, Under political pressure, Kuwait cancels major event at Four Seasons, switches to Trump’s D.C. hotel, Think Progress, Dec. 19, 2016, http://thkpr.gs/1f204315d513.
[10] See Richard C. Paddock et al., Potential Conflicts Around the Globe for Trump, the Businessman President, N.Y. Times, Nov. 26, 2016, http://nyti.ms/2jwr1L1.
[11] U.S. Const., art. II, § 1, cl. 7 (emphasis added).
[12] The Federalist No. 73 (Alexander Hamilton) (Clinton Rossiter ed., 1961 (emphasis added).
[13] Charles V. Bagli, A Trump Empire Built on Inside Connections and $885 Million in Tax Breaks, N.Y. Times, Sept. 17, 2016,http://nyti.ms/2cXa60i.
[14] Steven L. Schooner & Daniel I. Gordon, GSA’s Trump Hotel Lease Debacle, Gov’t Executive, Nov. 28, 2016,GSA's Trump Hotel Lease Debacle - Promising Practices - Management - GovExec.com.
[15] Letter from Hon. Elijah E. Cummings et al. (Nov. 30, 2016), available at http://bit.ly/2k56NqN.
[16] Allan Smith, Federal agency responds to letter from Democratic lawmakers claiming it said Trump must fully divest himself of his DC hotel, Business Insider, Dec. 14, 2016, GSA responds to letter from lawmakers regarding Trump - Business Insider.
[17] See Pub. Law 112–105 (2012), §§ 9(a), 18.

Not surprising really. The same ones who are perverting the constitution are now perverting it even further. As if it is illegal to protect and restore our sovereignty....our borders....our culture and our language. Funny that christians will claim to be set apart but when America wants to be set apart and different from the rest of the messed up world it's a bad thing. Lol

JosephsDreams · Jan 29, 2017

The emolument suit is going no where. They know it. In fact they should hope they don't get embarrassed in court. The purpose is just to hassle and annoy Trump and give him bad publicity and the most important reason is to put impeachment thoughts in peoples heads.

popeye · Jan 29, 2017

posthuman said:

a petition to impeach Trump for clear violations of the emolument clause has reached over 400,000 signatures in only a few days, and continues to grow.

https://impeachdonaldtrumpnow.org/

several lawsuits are filed and/or in process against him for similar breaches of trust. it was touted during the campaign that a Clinton in the white house with possible legal trouble would be an unthinkable thing for the American people to do -- but Trump is facing a lot of legal problems himself, ironically troubles he could avoid and dismiss if he would cut his business ties, but instead of doing so he not only continues in his own conflicts of interest but is seeking appointment of many senior staff with their own clear conflicts of interest.

do we as a nation care about any of that?
[HR][/HR][HR][/HR]President Trump’s personal and business holdings in the United States and abroad present unprecedented conflicts of interest. Indeed, President Trump has admitted he has conflicts of interest in some cases. For example, the Trump Organization has licensing deals with two Trump Towers in Istanbul, and has received up to $10 million from developers since 2014.[1] President Trump admitted recently that “I have a little conflict of interest, because I have a major, major building in Istanbul.”[2]
Crucially, some of these business arrangements violate the U.S. Constitution’s Foreign Emoluments Clause, which provides: “[N]o Person holding any Office of Profit or Trust under [the United States], shall, without the Consent of the Congress, accept of any present, Emolument, Office, or Title, of any kind whatever, from any King, Prince, or foreign State.”[3] The purpose of this provision is to prevent foreign influence or corruption. “Emoluments” from foreign governments include “any conferral of a benefit or advantage, whether through money, objects, titles, offices, or economically valuable waivers or relaxations of otherwise applicable requirements,” even including “ordinary, fair market value transactions that result in any economic profit or benefit to the federal officeholder.”[4]
Many of the Trump Organization’s extensive business dealings with foreign governments, businesses owned by foreign governments, and other foreign leaders violate this ban. A recent legal analysis by Prof. Laurence Tribe of Harvard Law School, Ambassador (ret.) Norman Eisen (former chief ethics counsel to President Barack Obama), and Professor Richard Painter (former chief ethics counsel to President George W. Bush) concluded that Mr. Trump would be violating the foreign emoluments ban from the moment he took office, due to “a steady stream of monetary and other benefits from foreign powers and their agents” deriving from his existing business arrangements.[5] As a result, since he did not divest his business operations before inauguration, he has been violating the Foreign Emoluments Clause since the moment he took office.[6]
Examples of existing business arrangements that constitute violations of the Foreign Emoluments Clause include:

Trump’s business partner in Trump Tower Century City (Manila, Philippines) is Century Properties. (Trump is not the developer; he has a brand licensing contract.) The head of Century Properties is Jose Antonio, who was just named special envoy to the United States by the president of the Philippines.[7] Payments from a company owned by a foreign government official are foreign emoluments.
China’s state-owned Industrial and Commercial Bank of China is the largest tenant in Trump Tower. It is also a major lender to Trump.[8] Both its regular rent payments, and its ongoing extension of credit, are foreign emoluments.
Foreign diplomats have already begun shifting their D.C. hotel and event reservations to Trump International Hotel, to curry favor or at least avoid insulting the president.[9] Indeed, the Embassy of Kuwait was reportedly pressured by the Trump Organization to change an existing reservation and reschedule the event at the Trump International.[10] Payments by foreign diplomats for lodging, meeting space, or food at the hotel are foreign emoluments.

Similarly, the Constitution’s Domestic Emoluments Clause (also known as the Presidential Compensation Clause) provides: “The President shall, at stated Times, receive for his Services, a Compensation, which shall neither be encreased nor diminished during the Period for which he shall have been elected, and he shall not receive within that Period any other Emolument from the United States, or any of them.”[11] This provision, which is not waivable by Congress, is designed to prevent corruption, as Alexander Hamilton explained:
“Neither the Union, nor any of its members, will be at liberty to give, nor will he be at liberty to receive, any other emolument than that which may have been determined by the first act. He can, of course, have no pecuniary inducement to renounce or desert the independence intended for him by the Constitution.”[12]
President Trump has chosen to continue owning businesses that receive government subsidies and tax breaks in violation of this provision. For example, since 1980, Mr. Trump and his businesses have “reaped at least $885 million in tax breaks, grants and other subsidies for luxury apartments, hotels and office buildings in New York.”[13] As President, federal and state subsidies and tax breaks violate the Domestic Emoluments Clause.
Furthermore, as noted above, “emoluments” are not limited to monetary payments; they also include economically valuable favorable regulatory actions. President Trump’s control over the vast modern powers of the executive branch means that regulatory action affecting his businesses favorably constitutes an “Emolument from the United States.” For example, President Trump’s ongoing lease of Washington, D.C.’s Old Post Office, in which the Trump International Hotel is located, violates an explicit clause in the General Services Administration lease contract providing: “No . . . elected official of the Government of the United States . . . shall be admitted to any share or part of this Lease, or to any benefit that may arise therefrom . .. .”[14] In late November, members of Congress wrote the GSA requesting information about the “imminent breach-of-lease and conflict of interest issues created by President-elect Donald Trump’s lease with the U.S. Government for the Trump International Hotel building in Washington, D.C.”[15] The GSA responded in mid-December that it could not make a determination “until the full circumstances surrounding the president-elect’s business arrangements have been finalized and he has assumed office.”[16] His business arrangements have been announced (not including any divestment of the hotel) and he has assumed office, but the GSA is not pursuing any legal action to enforce the provision. That favorable regulatory treatment provides President Trump a significant financial benefit from the federal government above and beyond his federal salary.
Finally, the Committee should also investigate whether President Trump is violating the the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge Act of 2012 (STOCK Act). The STOCK Act is one of the few federal ethics statutes that specifically includes the President. Among other provisions, it prohibits the President from (1) using nonpublic information for private profit, and from (2) intentionally influencing an employment decision or practice of a private entity solely on the basis of partisan political affiliation.[17]
[1] Drew Harwell & Anu Narayanswamy, A scramble to assess the dangers of President-elect Donald Trump’s global business empire, Wash. Post, Nov. 20, 2016, http://wpo.st/KCmP2.
[2] Michael Keller et al., Tracking Trump’s Web of Conflicts, Bloomberg, Dec. 13, 2016, http://bloom.bg/2jamDUu.
[3] U.S. Const., art. I, § 9, cl. 8. This ban is located within a clause addressing both titles of nobility and foreign payments, and is variously called the Titles of Nobility Clause, the Foreign Corruption Clause, or the Foreign Emoluments Clause.
[4] Norman L. Eisen, Richard Painter, & Laurence H. Tribe, Brookings Governance Studies, The Emoluments Clause: Its Text, Meaning, and Application to Donald J. Trump, http://brook.gs/2i1i3Ht (Dec. 16, 2016), at 2.
[5] Id.
[6] See Norman L. Eisen & Richard W. Painter, Trump Could Be in Violation of the Constitution His First Day in Office,The Atlantic, Dec. 7, 2016, http://theatln.tc/2i0ApY4; see also Richard W. Painter et al., Emoluments: Trump’s Coming Ethics Trouble,The Atlantic, Jan. 18, 2017, http://theatln.tc/2jwtwNr.
[7] Libby Nelson, All of Donald Trump’s known conflicts of interest in one place, Vox, http://bit.ly/2gJbaXa (last updated Jan. 3, 2017).
[8] Jonathan O’Connell & Mary Jordan, For foreign diplomats, Trump hotel is place to be, Wash. Post, Nov. 18, 2016,http://wpo.st/VemN2. The motivation is obvious: “‘Why wouldn’t I stay at his hotel blocks from the White House, so I can tell the new president, “I love your new hotel!” Isn’t it rude to come to his city and say, ‘“I am staying at your competitor?”’ said one Asian diplomat.” Id.
[9] See Judd Legum & Kira Lerner, Under political pressure, Kuwait cancels major event at Four Seasons, switches to Trump’s D.C. hotel, Think Progress, Dec. 19, 2016, http://thkpr.gs/1f204315d513.
[10] See Richard C. Paddock et al., Potential Conflicts Around the Globe for Trump, the Businessman President, N.Y. Times, Nov. 26, 2016, http://nyti.ms/2jwr1L1.
[11] U.S. Const., art. II, § 1, cl. 7 (emphasis added).
[12] The Federalist No. 73 (Alexander Hamilton) (Clinton Rossiter ed., 1961 (emphasis added).
[13] Charles V. Bagli, A Trump Empire Built on Inside Connections and $885 Million in Tax Breaks, N.Y. Times, Sept. 17, 2016,http://nyti.ms/2cXa60i.
[14] Steven L. Schooner & Daniel I. Gordon, GSA’s Trump Hotel Lease Debacle, Gov’t Executive, Nov. 28, 2016,GSA's Trump Hotel Lease Debacle - Promising Practices - Management - GovExec.com.
[15] Letter from Hon. Elijah E. Cummings et al. (Nov. 30, 2016), available at http://bit.ly/2k56NqN.
[16] Allan Smith, Federal agency responds to letter from Democratic lawmakers claiming it said Trump must fully divest himself of his DC hotel, Business Insider, Dec. 14, 2016, GSA responds to letter from lawmakers regarding Trump - Business Insider.
[17] See Pub. Law 112–105 (2012), §§ 9(a), 18.

Pure propaganda..

The goldmine is the pay for play foreign money illegally gathered in the Clinton fake foundation.

Are you concerned?

Sirk · Jan 29, 2017

popeye said:

Yup. And Mayor Dabloviate has to answer to the FBI in a few days for his involvement. There's a new sheriff in town.

maxwel · Jan 29, 2017

Petition to Impeach the President?

Seriously?

1. The Dems have to come up with some excuse to try and impeach him... or Hillary, and lots of her very powerful, rich cronies will all end up in jail.

2. There are only 3 methods for Hillary to stay out of jail.. and the best first step for all 3 methods is to try for impeachment first.

A. Get Trump out... try to impeach him.
B. Get herself (or close crony) elected in 2020, and slow and impede her legal problems for 4 years.
C. Try to set up a Democratic crony win for 2024, and slow and impede her legal problems for 8 years.

* Clearly, to accomplish either A, B, or C... calling for an impeachment is the best first step.

This petition for impeachment has nothing to do with Trump.

3. Trump IS going to investigate voter fraud, and they've ALREADY found a lot of voter fraud, and they're going to put laws in place to PREVENT FUTURE VOTER FRAUD... without fraud, the Dems have no chance at presidency for at least 8 years.

* They really need some excuse to try and impeach Trump.

Otherwise, they're out for at least 8 years... it's a given.

4. Finally, they started calling for Trump's impeachment before he was even sworn in...
and Obama spent 8 years as president and never even presented a real birth certificate.

Talk about pot and kettle.

This couldn't be any more ridiculous.

popeye · Jan 29, 2017

peacenik said:

For eight years Republicans cowered to your perverted god Obama.

Don't even think of using that word "intolerance".

Your team gets the all time intolerance award. That is your banner. You guys own it. Wear it proudly.

popeye · Jan 29, 2017

skipp said:

Things like jobs,discipline,and common sense.

You know,evil stuff

Yeraza_Bats · Jan 29, 2017

peacenik said:

My problem with this is that the terms "hate", "anger" and "intolerance" can mean different things to different people, and people frequently redefine the terms to fit their own values.

Think that though those living the homosexual lifestyle should be treated with respect and dignity like everyone else, that homosexuality is wrong? You clearly have some rage against the homosexual community.

Think that Islam is just a belief, and that beliefs should be questioned, and that when looking into the doctrines of Islam you find that its a horrible and barbaric belief? You must be a racist who hates people with darker skin than your own.

The progressive community is the reason I dont even take accusations of hate, bigotry and intolerance seriously anymore : p And thats not a good thing btw. These things are serious problems. But this group of people have changed these things to fit their own agenda, and have made the terms completely meaningless.

Utah · Jan 29, 2017

I've been away for a few days, enjoying the fruits of my labor, that is, continuously supporting President Trump. I've never been so proud of any leader as I am of President Trump. The more he works, the more I rejoice in unfounded patriotism, all the while, giving thanks to God for getting us through eight years of godless tyranny, and into a new era of common sense and integrity.

dcontroversal · Jan 29, 2017

Willie-T said:

Janus or........

dcontroversal · Jan 29, 2017

Utah said:

I've been away for a few days, enjoying the fruits of my labor, that is, continuously supporting President Trump. I've never been so proud of any leader as I am of President Trump. The more he works, the more I rejoice in unfounded patriotism, all the while, giving thanks to God for getting us through eight years of godless tyranny, and into a new era of common sense and integrity.

CUE the theme song for Welcome Back Kotter........

Utah · Jan 29, 2017

dcontroversal said:

Ha ha. I like that. Oh, and I forgot to mention, I love liberals tears; they feed my soul. And lately, I've been gorged. Lol.

peacenik · Jan 30, 2017

popeye; said:

LOLOLOL!!!!!

For 8 years your hero traitor Bush manipulated the Democrats like pawns in his fingers. Two needless wars, tens of thousands of needless deaths, the Great Recession, and Middle Eastern instability along with wide spread terrorism was the result. And this is something you own, buddy.

Anti-Trump rally protests around the world.

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