It ‘Falls Short in Every Respect’: Ethics Experts Pan Trump’s Conflicts Plan - The New York Times

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/01/12/us/politics/ethics-experts-trumps-conflicts-of-interest.html

It 'Falls Short in Every Respect': Ethics Experts Pan Trump's Conflicts Plan

By KAREN YOURISH and LARRY BUCHANAN JAN. 12, 2017

Good morning. It's my honor and privilege to be here today at president-elect Trump's request.

He's asked me, as you just heard, to speak about the conflicts of interest and the steps he's taking. As you know, the business empire built by president-elect Trump over the years is massive, not dissimilar to the fortunes of Nelson Rockefeller when he became vice president. But at that time, no one was so concerned.

"Tragically, the Trump plan to deal with his business conflicts announced today falls short in every respect."

Norman Eisen, former chief White House ethics lawyer for President Obama, and Richard W. Painter, former chief White House ethics lawyer for former President George W. Bush

President-elect Trump wants the American public to rest assured that all of his efforts are directed to pursuing the people's business and not his own. To that end, as he explained a few moments ago, he directed me and my colleagues at the law firm Morgan Lewis and Bockius to design a structure for his business empire that will completely isolate him from the management of the company.

"Stepping back from running his business is meaningless from a conflict of interest perspective. The presidency is a full-time job and he would've had to step back anyway."

Walter M. Shaub Jr., director of the Office of Government Ethics

He further instructed that we build in protections that will assure the American people the decisions he makes and the actions that he takes as president are for their benefit and not to support his financial interests.

As he said, he's voluntarily taking this on. The conflicts of interest laws simply do not apply to the president or the vice president and they are not required to separate themselves from their financial assets. The primary conflicts of interest statutes and some have questioned it, is Section 18 USC 208 and it's simply inapplicable by its terms. And this is not just our interpretation. It's Congress itself who have made this clear in 1989 when it amended Section 18 USC 202 to state that, except as otherwise provided, the terms office and employee in section 208 shall not include the president.

"The emoluments clause applies to the president. It is rooted in the concern of the founders of this country that foreign governments would try to meddle in American politics. What's the point of having the Tea Party and throwing King George's tea into Boston Harbor if you're then going to elect a president who's buying and selling tea with King George or any other foreign power?"

Mr. Painter

Even so, president-elect Trump wants there to be no doubt in the minds of the American public that he is completely isolating himself from his business interests. He instructed us to take all steps realistically possible to make it clear that he is not exploiting the office of the presidency for his personal benefit. He also sought the guidance of individuals who are familiar with and have worked extensively in the fields of government ethics and constitutional law.

"Trump did not follow the example of his nominees and of every president for the past four decades in using a blind trust arrangement, or the equivalent, to cleanly sever himself from his business interests. And in President-elect Trump's case it's an even more problematic situation because he's receiving foreign government payments and other benefits and things of value that's expressly prohibited by the Constitution of the United States."

Mr. Eisen

Critical to the Morgan Lewis team is Fred Fielding, standing here to our side and with us today and many of you have known him. He has served several presidents over the years including serving as counsel to Presidents Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush as well as serving on President George H.W. Bush's Commission on Federal Ethics Law Reform and he also held the position of vice chair of the Ethics Resource Center.

Mr. Fielding has been extensively involved with and approved this plan. He's here today to support the plan and he will continue to provide guidance as the plan is implemented and as Eric, Don, along with others, take over management of the Trump Organization.

I'm gonna detail some of the extraordinary steps now that the president-elect is taking. First, president-elect Trump's investments and business assets commonly known as the — as the Trump Organization, comprising hundreds of entities which, again, if you all go and take a look at his financial disclosure statement, the pages and pages and pages of entities have all been or will be conveyed to a trust prior to January 20th. Here is just some of the paperwork that's taking care of those actions.

"The idea of setting up a trust to hold his operating businesses adds nothing to the equation. This is not a blind trust — it's not even close."

Mr. Shaub

Second, through the trust agreement, he has relinquished leadership and management of the Trump Organization to his sons Don and Eric and a longtime Trump executive, Allen Weisselberg. Together, Don, Eric and Allen will have the authority to manage the Trump Organization and will make decisions for the duration of the presidency without any involvement whatsoever by President-elect Trump.

"His sons are still running the businesses and, of course, he knows what he owns."

Mr. Shaub

Further, at the president-elect's direction, the trust agreement provides — that to ensure the Trump Organization continues to operate in accordance with the highest and legal ethics standards, an ethics adviser will be appointed to the management team. The written approval of the ethics adviser will be required for new deals, actions, and transactions that could potentially raise ethics or conflicts of interest concerns.

President-elect Trump as well as Don, Eric and Allen are committed to ensuring that the activities of the Trump Organization are beyond reproach and cannot be perceived to be exploitive of the office of the presidency. President-elect Trump will resign from all officer and other positions he holds with the Trump Organization entities.

Further, in addition, his daughter Ivanka will have no further involvement with or management authority whatsoever with the Trump Organization. As she and Jared move their family to D.C., Ivanka will be focused on settling her children into their new homes and their new schools.

The president-elect has also already disposed of all of his investments in publicly traded or easily liquidated investments. As a result, the trust will have two types of assets; first, it will hold liquid assets. Cash, cash equivalents and treasuries and perhaps some positions in a government approved diversified portfolio, one that is consistent with the regulations from the Office of Government Ethics.

"I was especially troubled by the statement that the incoming administration is going to demand that OGE approve a diversified portfolio of assets. No one has ever talked to us about that idea, and there's no legal mechanism to do that."

Mr. Shaub

Second, the trust is going to hold his pre-existing illiquid, but very valuable business assets, the ones that everyone here is familiar with. Trump owned, operated and branded golf clubs, commercial rental property, resorts, hotels, rights to royalties from pre-existing licenses of Trump-Marks Productions and Goods. Things like Trump Tower, Mar-a-Lago, all of his other business assets, 40 Wall Street will all be in the trust.

Through instructions in the trust agreement, President-elect Trump first ordered that all pending deals be terminated. This impacted more than 30 deals, many of which were set to close by the end of 2016. As you can well imagine, that caused an immediate financial loss of millions of dollars, not just for President-elect Trump, but also for Don, Ivanka and Eric.

The trust agreement as directed by President Trump imposes severe restrictions on new deals. No new foreign deals will be made whatsoever during the duration of President Trump's presidency.

"The notion that there won't be new deals doesn't solve the problem of all the existing deals and businesses."

Mr. Shaub

New domestic deals will be allowed, but they will go through a vigorous vetting process.

The president-elect will have no role in deciding whether the Trump Organization engages in any new deal and he will only know of a deal if he reads it in the paper or sees it on TV. Because any new deal could — and I emphasize could — be perceived as causing a conflict or as exploiting the office of the presidency, new deals must be vetted with the ethics adviser, whose role will be to analyze any potential transactions for conflicts and ethics issues.

"That wouldn't happen with a blind trust."

Mr. Shaub

The ethics adviser will be a recognized expert in the field of government experts. Again, his role will be to scrutinize the new deals and the actions, and any new deal must receive written approval.

To further reinforce the wall that we are building between President-elect Trump and the Trump Organization, President-elect Trump has ordered, through his trust agreement, to sharply limit his information rights. Reports will only be available and reflect profit and loss on the company as a whole. There will be no separate business by business accounting.

"The idea of limiting direct communication about the business is wholly inadequate. That's not how a blind trust works. There's not supposed to be any information at all."

Mr. Shaub

Another step that President-elect Trump has taken is he created a new position at the Trump Organization: the position of chief compliance counsel, whose responsibility will be to ensure that the Trump businesses, again, are operating at the highest levels of integrity and not taking any actions that could be perceived as exploiting the office of the presidency.

He has also directed that no communications of the Trump Organization, including social media accounts, will reference or be tied to President-elect Trump's role as president of the United States or the office of the presidency.

In sum, all of these actions — complete relinquishment of management, no foreign deals, ethics adviser approval of deals, sharply limited information rights — will sever President-elect Trump's presidency from the Trump Organization.

Some have asked questions. Why not divest? Why not just sell everything? Form a blind trust. And I'd like to turn to addressing some of those questions now.

"As I said, every president in modern times has taken the strong medicine of divestiture . . . Officials in any administration need their president to show ethics matters, not only through words but also through deeds."

Mr. Shaub

Selling, first and foremost, would not eliminate possibilities of conflicts of interest. In fact, it would exacerbate them. The Trump brand is key to the value of the Trump Organization's assets. If President-elect Trump sold his brand, he would be entitled to royalties for the use of it, and this would result in the trust retaining an interest in the brand without the ability to assure that it does not exploit the office of the presidency.

Further, whatever price was paid would be subject to criticism and scrutiny. Was it too high, is there pay for play, was it too much pay to curry favor with the president-elect. And selling his assets without the rights to the brand would greatly diminish the value of the assets and create a fire sale.

"I wish she had spoken with those of us in the government who do this for a living. We would have reassured her that presidential nominees in every administration agree to sell illiquid assets all the time."

Mr. Shaub

President-elect Trump should not be expected to destroy the company he built. This plan offers a suitable alternative to address the concerns of the American people, and selling the entire Trump Organization isn't even feasible.

"It's important to understand that the president is now entering the world of public service. He's going to be asking his own appointees to make sacrifices. He's going to be asking our men and women in uniform to risk their lives in conflicts around the world. So, no, I don't think divestiture is too high a price to pay to be the president of the United States of America."

Mr. Shaub

Some people have suggested that the president-elect sell the business to his adult children. This would require massive third-party debt sourced with multiple lenders, whose motives and willingness to participate would be questioned and undoubtedly investigated. And if the president-elect were to finance the sale himself, he would retain the financial interests in the assets that he owns now.

Some people have suggested that the Trump — that President-elect Trump could bundle the assets and turn the Trump Organization into a public company. Anyone who has ever gone through this extraordinarily cumbersome and complicated process knows that it is a non-starter. It is not realistic and it would be inappropriate for the Trump Organization.

Some people have suggested a blind trust, but you cannot have a totally blind trust with operating businesses.

"The president-elect's attorney justified the decision not to use a blind trust by saying that you can't put operating businesses in a blind trust. She's right about that. That's why the decision to set up this strange new kind of trust is so perplexing."

Mr. Shaub

President Trump can't unknow he owns Trump Tower and the press will make sure that any new developments at the Trump Organization are well publicized. Further, it would be impossible to find an institutional trustee that would be competent to run the Trump Organization. The approach that he is taking allows Don and Eric to preserve this great company and its iconic assets. And this approach is best from a conflicts and ethics perspective. It creates a complete separation from President-elect Trump — it separates him and prevents him from participating in the business and poses strict limits on what the trustees can do and requires the assent of any ethics adviser to a new deal.

"Nothing short of divestiture will resolve these conflicts."

Mr. Shaub

I'm going to turn to one last topic today that has been of interest lately called emoluments. That's a word I think we've all become familiar with and perhaps had not heard before.

"This is not an obscure provision of the Constitution."

Mr. Painter

And we're gonna describe some other actions that President-elect Trump is taking to avoid even the appearance of a conflict.

Emoluments comes from the Constitution. The Constitution says "officials may not accept gifts, titles of nobility, or emoluments from foreign governments with respect to their office, and that no benefit should be derived by holding in office."

The so-called Emoluments Clause has never been interpreted, however, to apply to fair value exchanges that have absolutely nothing to do with an office holder.

"I don't believe Congress is going to allow these emoluments to flow unchecked."

Mr. Eisen

No one would have thought when the Constitution was written that paying your hotel bill was an emolument. Instead, it would have been thought of as a value-for-value exchange; not a gift, not a title, and not an emolument.

But since President-elect Trump has been elected, some people want to define emoluments to cover routine business transactions like paying for hotel rooms. They suggest that the Constitution prohibits the businesses from even arm's-length transactions that the president-elect has absolutely nothing to do with and isn't even aware of.

These people are wrong. This is not what the Constitution says. Paying for a hotel room is not a gift or a present and it has nothing to do with an office. It's not an emolument.

The Constitution does not require president-elect Trump to do anything here. But, just like with conflicts of interests, he wants to do more than what the Constitution requires.

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 hotel to the United States Treasury. This way, it is the American people who will profit.

"It is not my view, nor the view of any of the bipartisan experts that have spoken out today, that the announced Trump plan is sufficient to cure his emoluments problem. Even if it were possible to peal out the profits only from the hotel, the emoluments clause is not written to say that all emoluments are permitted except for Trump hotel profits."

Mr. Eisen

In sum, I and president-elect's (sic) other advisers at Morgan Lewis have determined the approach we've outlined today will avoid potential conflicts of interests or concerns regarding exploitation of the office of the presidency without imposing unnecessary and unreasonable loses on the president-elect and his family.

We believe this structure and these steps will serve to accomplish the president-elect's desire to be isolated from his business interests and give the American people confidence that his sole business and interest is in making America great again, bringing back jobs to this country, securing our borders and rebuilding our infrastructure.

"The plan we heard today does not comply with the law. He is not in violation of the law as of today, but he has nine days to fix it. And these emoluments, these payments from foreign governments, have to be out of the Trump business empire on Jan. 20 or he will be in violation of the law. It is not an obscure provision of the Constitution. It was intended to preserve the independence of the United States from foreign powers meddling in our system."

Mr. Painter

The American people were well — well aware of President-elect Trump's business empire and financial interests when they voted. Many people voted for him precisely because of his business success.

President-elect Trump wants to bring this success to all Americans. Thank you.

^ed 

As Trump Takes Office, Many Conflicts of Interest Still Face His Presidency - The New York Times

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/01/20/us/politics/100000004884201.mobile.html

As Trump Takes Office, Many Conflicts of Interest Still Face His Presidency

By KAREN YOURISH, TROY GRIGGS and LARRY BUCHANAN JAN. 20, 2017

Although President Trump has announced that his adult sons will run his business, he remains vulnerable to conflict of interest accusations because he will continue to own the Trump Organization.

"Its profits will be Trump's profits and its problems will be his problems as the owner," said Fred Wertheimer, the founder and president of Democracy 21, an ethics in government group.

Here are examples of potential conflicts that remain:

Trump International
Hotel, Washington

owns Trump
Organization

the head of which
will be appointed by

which leases the
Old Post Office
Building from the

General Services
Administration

The Trump Organization's contract with the General Services Administration prohibits any elected official of the United States government from being part of the lease or deriving any benefit from it. As president, Mr. Trump is in effect both the landlord and tenant of the building.

Internal Revenue Service

an executive
agency that is
now overseen by

has said his income
tax returns are
under audit by the

Internal
Revenue Service

The head of the Internal Revenue Service is nominated by the president for a five-year term. Republicans have tried to impeach the current commissioner, John A. Koskinen, whose term ends on Nov. 12, 2017.

National Labor Relations Board

owns Trump Hotels

whose members
will be appointed by

which have
occasional disputes
brought before

the National Labor
Relations Board

The National Labor Relations Board is an independent federal agency responsible for enforcing labor laws and safeguarding employees' right to organize.

The five members Mr. Trump appoints will be in charge of investigating complaints brought by workers, which could include those at his hotels and other properties.

Foreign Interests

owns Trump
Organization

that could affect
the bottom line of

which has
business interests
in countries
around the world

that will be
negotiating
foreign policy
with the Trump
administration

Ethics experts warn that, at a minimum, Mr. Trump's holdings around the globe could give the appearance of tainting his decisions on various foreign issues. They could also open him up to accusations that he has violated a part of the Constitution known as the emoluments clause, which prohibits government officials from taking payments or gifts from a foreign government or entity.

^ed 

Trust Records Show Trump Is Still Closely Tied to His Empire - NYTimes.com

Probably why he won't show us his tax returns. 
https://mobile.nytimes.com/2017/02/03/us/politics/donald-trump-business.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&clickSource=story-heading&module=first-column-region&region=top-news&WT.nav=top-news&referer=

Trust Records Show Trump Is Still Closely Tied to His Empire

By SUSANNE CRAIG and ERIC LIPTON

February 3, 2017

Among the Trump family, Donald Trump Jr., right, is one of two named trustees who have broad legal authority over President Trump's assets. The elder Mr. Trump can revoke the trustees' authority at any time.

Shannon Stapleton / Reuters

Just days before his inauguration, President-elect Donald J. Trump stood beside his tax lawyer at a Midtown Manhattan news conference as she announced that he planned to place his vast business holdings in a trust, a move she said would allay fears that he might exploit the Oval Office for personal gain.

However, a number of questions were left unanswered — including who would ultimately benefit from the trust — raising concerns about just how meaningful the move was.

Now, records have emerged that show just how closely tied Mr. Trump remains to the empire he built.

The Run-Up

The podcast that makes sense of the most delirious stretch of the 2016 campaign.

While the president says he has walked away from the day-to-day operations of his business, two people close to him are the named trustees and have broad legal authority over his assets: his eldest son, Donald Jr., and Allen H. Weisselberg, the Trump Organization's chief financial officer. Mr. Trump, who will receive reports on any profit, or loss, on his company as a whole, can revoke their authority at any time.

What's more, the purpose of the Donald J. Trump Revocable Trust is to hold assets for the "exclusive benefit" of the president. This trust remains under Mr. Trump's Social Security number, at least as far as federal taxes are concerned.

Since his election, there have been widespread calls for Mr. Trump to sell his assets and put the proceeds in a blind trust. He has resisted those calls, stressing that the president has no legal obligation to do so.

The most immediate test of Mr. Trump's legal moves to separate himself from his company involve the ownership of the new Trump International Hotel in Washington.

Chad Bartlett for The New York Times

While the trust structure, outlined in documents made public through a Freedom of Information Act request by ProPublica, may give the president the appearance of distance from his business, it drew sharp criticism from experts in government ethics.

"I don't see how this in the slightest bit avoids a conflict of interest," said Frederick J. Tansill, a trust and estates lawyer from Virginia who examined the documents at the request of The New York Times. "First it is revocable at any time, and it is his son and his chief financial officer who are running it."

It is not uncommon for people to place assets in a trust with themselves as beneficiaries for estate-planning purposes. But Mr. Trump's situation is unprecedented because it involves a wealthy president acting to avoid an appearance of conflict of interest.

The Trump Organization declined to comment for this article.

The most immediate test of Mr. Trump's legal moves to separate himself from his company, the Trump Organization, pertains to the ownership of the new Trump International Hotel in the Old Post Office Building in Washington.

The trust documents, which were prepared last month, argue that "all beneficial ownership in the licensee previously held by Donald J. Trump, personally, now is held derivatively and beneficially by The Donald J. Trump Revocable Trust," which is legal language intended to suggest that Mr. Trump no longer has a personal tie to the hotel lease.

Graphic | As Trump Takes Office, Many Conflicts of Interest Still Face His Presidency By continuing to own the Trump Organization, conflict of interest accusations will persist.

A provision in the 2013 lease for the building, held by Mr. Trump and his three oldest children, appears to prohibit a federally elected official, including the president, from benefiting from it.

But lawyers who specialize in federal contracts say the trust arrangement simply creates an additional legal step between Mr. Trump and the hotel — meaning he will still profit from it.

Robert H. Sitkoff, a professor at Harvard Law School, said the new details in the trust documents were unlikely to resolve the apparent legal problems with the Old Post Office site.

"Formally he is no longer the owner, but functionally he still is," he said.

Representative Elijah E. Cummings, Democrat of Maryland, the ranking member on the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform who has called for a congressional investigation into the lease, said he remained unsatisfied that Mr. Trump had addressed his conflicts. "This is smoke and mirrors," he said of the new documents.

While Mr. Trump may have to take additional legal steps to avoid violating the terms of the Old Post Office lease, he is exempt from laws that prohibit federal employees from participating in government matters that will directly affect their own financial interests.

Interactive Feature | Got a confidential news tip?

At the Jan. 11 news conference in which she outlined the plans for Mr. Trump's assets, Sheri A. Dillon, his tax lawyer, called the steps he had already taken significant, adding there was an agreement governing the president's trust that "sharply" limited the amount of information about his company that he could access.

"The president-elect will have no role in deciding whether the Trump Organization engages in any new deal," she said, "and he will only know of a deal if he reads it in the paper or sees it on TV."

Ms. Dillon added that an asset sale by Mr. Trump would also be fraught with issues. "Whatever price was paid would be subject to criticism and scrutiny," she said. "Was it too high? Is there pay for play? Was it too much pay to curry favor with the president-elect?"

The Trump Organization, which is privately held, has also released a list of 488 Trump companies that Mr. Trump has held positions at, saying he resigned from all of them. Public records show that he has severed ties from some of these entities.

The Trump Organization has pledged not to pursue new business deals overseas, though it plans to expand within the United States. Last month the company named Bobby Burchfield, a longtime Republican Party lawyer and corporate litigator, as an "independent ethics adviser."

The Donald J. Trump Revocable Trust has existed since at least 2014, records show. By 2016 it was the only shareholder in DJT Holdings, one of Mr. Trump's main limited liability companies, according to documents filed by Mr. Trump as part of his bid for president and released by the Federal Election Commission. That company holds some of Mr. Trump's largest assets, including his Old Post Office lease, golf courses and residential properties including a house in Beverly Hills, Calif.

New York City property records show that in recent weeks Mr. Trump has transferred several residential condominiums he owns into the trust.

^ed 

Documents confirm Trump still benefiting from his business - The Washington Post

EMOLUMENTS CLAUSE 
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/documents-confirm-trump-still-benefiting-from-his-business/2017/02/04/848fdd5a-eae0-11e6-bf6f-301b6b443624_story.html?utm_term=.145da4731cd8

Documents confirm Trump still benefiting from his business

Before taking office, President Trump promised to place his assets in a trust designed to erect a wall between him and the businesses that made him wealthy.

But newly released documents show that Trump himself is the sole beneficiary of the trust and that it is legally controlled by his oldest son and a longtime employee.

The documents, obtained through a public records request by the investigative news service ProPublica and first reported by the New York Times, also show that Trump retains the legal power to revoke the trust at any time.

The documents were filed to the Alcoholic Beverage Control Board in Washington to alert the board that oversees liquor licenses at Trump's D.C. hotel of the change in the business.

The documents show that Donald Trump Jr., the president's eldest son, and Allen Weisselberg, the Trump Organization's chief financial officer, were placed in legal control of the trust on Jan. 19, one day before Trump took office.

Trump says sons will have 'complete and total control' over his business

President Trump said he is turning over his business to his two sons, Donald Jr. and Eric, thereby averting any suggestion of a conflict of interest. (Reuters)

But they outline that the trust's purpose is "to hold assets for the exclusive benefit of Donald J. Trump," who "has the power to revoke the Trust."

The records provide documentary evidence of what ethics experts have been warning about since before Trump took office.

While Trump has promised he will observe a separation between his business and the presidency, he retains ownership of the business and will personally benefit if the business profits from decisions made by his government.

Further, the business will be run by family members who remain the most trusted members of Trump's inner circle, raising questions about whether Trump's promises to limit communication about the business's fate are realistic.

"What I'm going to be doing is my two sons, who are right here, Don and Eric, are going to be running the company," Trump had said at a news conference shortly before taking office. "They are going to be running it in a very professional manner. They're not going to discuss it with me."

Less than two weeks after returning to their New York City home following their father's inauguration, Donald Trump Jr. and his brother Eric Trump, also assigned to run the business, were back in Washington this week to attend the announcement of Trump's nominee to the Supreme Court.

Trump Organization representatives did not respond for comment about the documents Saturday.

The trust also does not dissolve other potential conflicts, including his title as executive producer of the NBC competition reality show "Celebrity Apprentice." He recently made headlines for criticizing the show's new host, former California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, at the National Prayer Breakfast.

NBC representatives have not said whether Trump will be compensated for that role, or how much. But executive producers are traditionally paid, even when only retaining a passive credit.

The trust document obtained by ProPublica is attached to license filings tied to Trump's Washington hotel, and it remains unclear whether other Trump businesses are governed under the same trust. The company has declined multiple requests to provide company trust agreements that could provide more clarity.

In recent weeks, corporate filings have documented that the Trump Organization has been removing the president as an officer or director of the more than 400 entities registered across the country associated with the organization.

The Trump Organization also provided a list, signed by Trump on the day before his inauguration, of more than 400 companies from which he had agreed to resign. Other companies have been dissolved in recent months, the company said.

Those resignations provide evidence the president no longer has official management responsibilities in the businesses, as he and his attorney pledged during a news conference last month. Still, Trump will continue to profit from their success.

The company has also named Bobby Burchfield, a veteran Republican lawyer who has advised both Bush presidential teams, to serve as an outside ethics adviser, indicating that some corporate transactions would not be undertaken without his sign-off.

The question of Trump's continued ownership stake has been particularly nettlesome at his Washington hotel, which is located in the Old Post Office building and is owned by the federal government. The terms of the 2013 lease agreement with the General Services Administration prohibit any elected official from benefiting from the property.

Local Politics Alerts

Breaking news about local government in D.C., Md., Va.

It is not yet clear whether placing his shares in the hotel under the control of the trust will provide sufficient legal separation to satisfy the terms of the lease. The GSA, which controls the lease, indicated on Jan. 27 that it had received new information from the Trump Organization and was "reviewing and evaluating this information to assess its compliance with the terms and conditions of the Old Post Office lease."

Congressional Democrats, including Rep. Elijah E. Cummings (Md.), have been pressing the GSA to conclude that the Trump Organization is out of compliance with the lease.

"This legal concoction from President Trump's lawyers does nothing to address his conflicts of interest or the breach of the lease for his hotel," Cummings said in a statement.

^ed 

Trump family’s elaborate lifestyle is a ‘logistical nightmare’ — at taxpayer expense - The Washington Post

https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/trump-familys-elaborate-lifestyle-a-logistical-nightmare--at-taxpayer-expense/2017/02/16/763cce8e-f2ce-11e6-a9b0-ecee7ce475fc_story.html?tid=a_inl-amp&utm_term=.23159df7742c

Trump family's elaborate lifestyle is a 'logistical nightmare' — at taxpayer expense

On Friday, President Trump and his entourage will jet for the third straight weekend to a working getaway at his oceanfront Mar-a-Lago Club in Palm Beach, Fla.

On Saturday, Trump's sons Eric and Don Jr., with their Secret Service details in tow, will be nearly 8,000 miles away in the United Arab Emirates, attending the grand opening of a Trump-brand golf resort in the "Beverly Hills of Dubai."

Meanwhile, New York police will keep watch outside Trump Tower in Manhattan, the chosen home of first lady Melania Trump and son Barron. And the tiny township of Bedminster, N.J., is preparing for the daunting prospect that the local Trump golf course will serve as a sort of northern White House for as many as 10 weekends a year.

Barely a month into the Trump presidency, the unusually elaborate lifestyle of America's new first family is straining the Secret Service and security officials, stirring financial and logistical concerns in several local communities, and costing far beyond what has been typical for past presidents — a price tag that, based on past assessments of presidential travel and security costs, could balloon into the hundreds of millions of dollars over the course of a four-year term.

Adding to the costs and complications is Trump's inclination to conduct official business surrounded by crowds of people, such as his decision last weekend to host Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe for a working dinner while Mar-a-Lago members dined nearby.

Three changes that turn Trump Tower into a presidential getaway

The handful of government agencies that bear the brunt of the expenses, including the Defense and Homeland Security departments, have not responded to Washington Post requests for data laying out the costs since Trump took office.

But some figures have dribbled out, while others can be gleaned from government documents.

Trump's three Mar-a-Lago trips since the inauguration have probably cost the federal treasury about $10 million, based on figures used in an October government report analyzing White House travel, including money for Coast Guard units to patrol the exposed shoreline and other military, security and staffing expenses associated with moving the apparatus of the presidency.

Palm Beach County officials plan to ask Washington to reimburse tens of thousands of dollars a day in expenses for deputies handling added security and traffic issues around the cramped Florida island whenever Trump is in town.

In New York, the city is paying $500,000 a day to guard Trump Tower, according to police officials' estimates, an amount that could reach $183 million a year.

This month, The Post reported that Secret Service and U.S. Embassy staffers paid nearly $100,000 in hotel-room bills to support Eric Trump's trip to promote a Trump-brand condo tower in Uruguay.

"This is an expensive way to conduct business, and the president should recognize that," said Tom Fitton, president of the conservative group Judicial Watch, which closely tracked President Barack Obama's family vacation costs and said that it intends to continue the effort for the Trump administration.

Trump hosts Abe, Kraft at Florida resort

"The unique thing about President Trump is that he knows what it costs to run a plane," Fitton added, noting that Trump should consider using the presidential retreat of Camp David, a short helicopter ride from the White House, or even his golf course in Northern Virginia. Of Mar-a-Lago, Fitton said, "Going down there ain't free."

For Trump, the costs come with an additional perk: Some of the money flows into his own pocket. While Trump has removed himself from managing his company, he has refused to divest his ownership, meaning that he benefits from corporate successes such as government contracts.

[Documents confirm Trump still benefiting from his business]

The Defense Department and Secret Service, for instance, have sought to rent space in Trump Tower, where leasing a floor can cost $1.5 million a year — though neither agency has disclosed any details. In addition, Trump's travel to his signature properties while trailed by a press corps beaming images to the world allows the official business of the presidency to double as marketing opportunities for his brand.

The White House did not address broader concerns of the costs and potential conflicts inherent in Trump's early travels. But White House spokeswoman Stephanie Grisham told The Post this week that Trump is always working, even when he has left Washington behind.

"He is not vacationing when he goes to Mar-a-Lago," Grisham said. "The president works nonstop every day of the week, no matter where he is."

Trump's frequent travel belies his repeated criticism of Obama as a "habitual vacationer" enjoying taxpayer-funded golf getaways. It also comes after his own promises: He told the Hill newspaper in 2015, "I would rarely leave the White House because there's so much work to be done."

Presidential families have for decades been guaranteed round-the-clock protection, no matter the expense or destination. Every presidency has brought new operational challenges and lifestyle habits, from George W. Bush's frequent stays at his remote ranch in Texas to Obama's annual trips to Martha's Vineyard and his native state of Hawaii. Judicial Watch estimated that Obama-related travel expenses totaled nearly $97 million over eight years.

But based on the first four weeks, Trump's presidency appears on track to cost hundreds of millions of dollars more.

[Can he do that? How Trump is changing the American presidency]

The burden is especially acute for the Secret Service, the presidential protection force that has endured years of budget short­ages, low morale and leadership shake-ups, including the announcement this week that its director, Joseph Clancy, is stepping down.

Agents are now tasked with guarding multiple homes and protecting Trump's four adult children, including the globe-trotting sons running the family business and daughter Ivanka, whose family recently moved into a Northwest Washington neighborhood.

"There was an anticipation of how stressful it was going to be on the agency, but the harsh reality is that the stress is just overwhelming," said Jonathan Wackrow, a 14-year Secret Service employee who served in Obama's detail and now works as executive director of the risk-mitigation company RANE.

Even veteran agents, Wackrow said, are feeling the pressure of the "monumental" task, including manning high-security perimeters in Washington, Florida and New York, along with protecting family members' private-business travel across three continents.

"It's a logistical nightmare," Wackrow said. Agents are "at severe risk of burnout, and the very last thing you want is to have your agents burned out."

A Secret Service spokesman said the agency is equipped to handle the demands of a Trump presidency. "Every administration presents unique challenges to which the Secret Service has effectively adapted," according to an agency statement. "Regardless of location . . . the Secret Service is confident in our security plan."

Experts and local officials have pointed to security and logistical concerns surrounding Mar-a-Lago, the lavish estate that Trump turned into a club in 1995 and now calls the "Winter White House."

[Trump turns Mar-a-Lago Club terrace into open-air situation room]

Club members pay $200,000 to join — a fee that has doubled since his election — and $14,000 a year to belong, giving them access to the beach, tennis courts, a spa and, now, on occasional weekends, to the president.

But Rep. Lois Frankel (D-Fla.), who represents Palm Beach, said Mar-a-Lago is a poor choice for a president's long-term home: an exposed oceanfront club on a narrow, busy island, where traffic problems were already routine.

"Mar-a-Lago is no Camp David," Frankel said. "It's not set up with the intention or the forethought of keeping the president safe."

The challenges for Mar-a-Lago as a presidential home were apparent from pictures posted on social media last weekend by club guests — including close-up images of the presidential limousine and a picture of a military official carrying the nuclear "football."

In one Instagram video recorded Friday night outside Mar-a-Lago, a woman fawns as men with earpieces inspect under the hood of a line of cars heading into the club: "The Secret Service is so hot."

The weekend brought the presidential entourage to two other Trump properties, as Trump and Abe golfed 27 holes at the president's courses in Jupiter and West Palm Beach. The events meant global publicity for the Trump brand — and even more security complications.

The federal and local governments have spent considerable sums to help safeguard the sprawling estate on items big and small.

In advance of Trump's Super Bowl weekend trip to Mar-a-Lago, the Secret Service paid for a bevy of security costs, including more than $12,000 for tents, portable toilets, light towers and golf carts, purchase orders show.

The bills have racked up outside the club, too. Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw said Trump's 25 days in the county since the election have cost local taxpayers about $60,000 a day in overtime police payments.

Local officials said the U.S. Coast Guard has run round-the-clock shoreline patrols alongside Mar-a-Lago when the president is in town. A Coast Guard spokesman declined to share costs or specifics, citing security concerns.

The Town of Palm Beach recently implemented a "presidential visit seasonal traffic mitigation plan" in hopes of stemming the island's worsening traffic woes. Running every weekend until May, the plan includes a town order demanding sanitation and public-works crews leave the island every Friday by 3 p.m.

Local officials usually learn only a few days in advance that the president is coming, said Kirk ­Blouin, the town's director of public safety. "We plan as if he is going to be here most weekends," Blouin said, "because otherwise it's too hard to plan."

Overseas travel by Trump's adult sons is adding to the burden on taxpayers.

Eric Trump and his security detail flew this month to the Dominican Republic, during which the president's son met with developers proposing a Trump-brand luxury resort. Purchase orders showing government expenditures for that trip are not yet available, but records show that Secret Service officials traveled there in advance to scope out the area — staying at the five-star, oceanfront AlSol Del Mar hotel at a cost of $5,470.

After this weekend's trip to Dubai — during which early Secret Service hotel bills have already surpassed $16,000, records show — the Trump brothers will travel to Vancouver, B.C., for the Feb. 28 grand opening of another Trump-brand skyscraper.

[Eric Trump's business trip to Uruguay cost taxpayers $97,830 in hotel bills]

The State Department has declined to provide details related to its expenditures for Trump family travel around the world, including the participation of embassy staffers when Eric Trump and Don Trump Jr. travel on behalf of the family business.

The best public estimate for the full cost of Trump's presidential getaways may come from a U.S. Government Accountability Office report in October, which estimated that a four-day trip for President Obama cost taxpayers more than $3.6 million.

During that Presidents' Day weekend trip in 2013, Obama flew to Chicago to give an economic speech, then to Palm City, Fla., to golf with Tiger Woods and the owner of the Houston Astros baseball team.

That money went toward operating aircraft flown in from 10 states — including Air Force One, which costs an estimated $200,000 an hour to fly — as well as assorted watercraft, military working dogs, rental cars, hotel rooms and a Coast Guard rescue helicopter.

The trip drew the ire of many Republicans in Congress, including Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), who requested that the GAO review Obama's costs. Asked whether Barrasso would file a similar request for Trump's trips, his spokeswoman said equating the two presidents' trips would be "misleading at best."

"Former President Obama flew to Florida for the express purpose of a golf lesson and a round of golf with Tiger Woods. President Trump was in Florida with the Prime Minister of Japan," Barrasso's press secretary, Laura M. Mengelkamp, said in a statement. "Regardless, every level of the federal government needs to be mindful of the way it spends taxpayer dollars."

In November, when Trump spent a weekend at his Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, N.J., the 8,000-resident township received just 48 hours' notice demanding an all-hours security detail of six police officers from its 16-officer force.

Politics newsletter

The big stories and commentary shaping the day.

Township officials have begun preparing for the possibility that Trump will make up to 10 visits this year, including a potentially extended summer stay for the first lady. Officials there offered a projection, based on seven Trump trips, that could cost the township more than $300,000.

"Bedminster is a small municipality with a small police force and a small budget," Mayor Steven E. Parker (R) wrote in a letter asking for federal help in recouping security costs. "We want to welcome President Trump with open arms, but we don't wish to burden our taxpayers disproportionately for these visits."

David A. Fahrenthold and Carol D. Leonnig contributed to this report.

^ed