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In Ethics Violation,Trump Displays Presidential Seal At Saudi Golf Tourney

In Ethics Violation,Trump Displays Presidential Seal At Saudi Golf Tourney

Former President Trump has continued to use the presidential seal eighteen months after exiting the White House despite ethics complaints and the risk of running afoul of federal law.

In a report on Friday, the Washington Post disclosed that the presidential seal was seen affixed to multiple items at Trump’s golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey — as the one-time president hosts the controversial Saudi Arabian-sponsored LIV Golf tournament in light of the Saudi government’s alleged human rights abuses.

“The seal was plastered on towels, golf carts, and other items,” the Post stated. The wall of a viewing room on the 18th green also had the seal on it, according to The Independent, despite complaints that the image was being exploited for commercial purposes.

The Post also noted that using the “presidential and vice-presidential seals in ways that could convey a false impression of sponsorship or approval by the Government of the United States” violates federal law and could result in “imprisonment of not more than six months, a fine, or both.”

The report comes one year after a nonpartisan ethics watchdog, Citizens for Responsibility & Ethics in Washington, demanded the Justice Department investigate the ex-president’s Bedminster golf club’s illegal use of the seal.

The watchdog filed a criminal complaint last July after the seal was spotted on a tee golf marker in an Instagram photo earlier that month.

However, as is his nature, Trump has persisted in wanton disregard for ethics, law, and civility. In June, a Forbes reporter called attention to an Instagram photo posted in April showing the seal in the grass near the 18th hole near the Trump International golf course in West Palm Beach, Florida.


ProPublica disclosed in a 2018 report that the Trump Organization had ordered “dozens” of golf course markers bearing the presidential emblem, which denotes the possibility of their use for commercial purposes.

The seal has appeared in at least four of Trump’s golf clubs so far, including one in the Bronx and another in Jupiter, Florida.

In its 2021 criminal complaint, the watchdog accused Trump of illegally profiting from the presidential emblem while “actively challenging the legitimacy” of President Biden’s victory.

“Unlawful use of the presidential seal for commercial purposes is no trivial matter, especially when it involves a former president who is actively challenging the legitimacy of the current president,” the ethics watchdog wrote.

The flagrant use of the presidential logo isn’t the only controversy encircling the former president, who the Justice Department is reportedly investigating for his efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election.

9/11 justice groups slammed Trump for hosting the cash-rich LIV Golf event “less than 50 miles from Ground Zero” and denounced participating golfers as “cowards” for denying that they were partaking in the tournament solely for the money.

“If we can’t get a golfer to at least look us in the eye and tell us they are doing it for the money and they don’t give a s*** about the atrocities of Saudi Arabia, they’re cowards,” said a protester whose father died in the World Trade Center on 9/11.

Trump dismissed the criticism, some of which originated from families of survivors and victims of 9/11.

“I don’t know much about the 9/11 families, I don’t know what is the relationship to this, and their very strong feelings, and I can understand their feelings,” Trump told the Wall Street Journal.

'Scandalous' Violations Of Campaign Finance Law By Top GOP Funding Site

'Scandalous' Violations Of Campaign Finance Law By Top GOP Funding Site

Reprinted with permission from Alternet

In 2019, the Republican Party launched its fundraising platform, WinRed, a GOP counterpart to the Democratic fundrasing behemoth ActBlue. And in the 2020 election, according to Daily Beast reporter Roger Sollenberger, WinRed "raised more than $2.24 billion for GOP campaigns and committees." Sollenberger reports that according to campaign finance experts the Beast interviewed, WinRed "has not disclosed possibly tens of millions of dollars in PAC expenses" and "has kept secret the identities of the people and firms who work for it and provide its services."

"According to these experts, based on WinRed's disclosures, the PAC appears to have potentially crossed the blurry lines of federal campaign finance laws," Sollenberger reports.

One of the interviewees for Sollenberger's article was former Federal Election Commission Commissioner Ann Ravel, who described WinRed's filings as "nothing short of scandalous" and "absurd."

Ravel told the Beast, "I can't think of any mechanism or loophole that would permit this. Really. It has the appearance of being, if not outright fraudulent, at least not complying with the intent of disclosure laws. On its face, that's what any reasonable federal auditor would think."

Jordan Libowitz, communications director for Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, was equally critical of WinRed's filings and told the Beast, "This isn't like anything we've seen on this scale. With the publicly available information we have, it appears potentially illegal."

According to Sollenberger, WinRed hasn't reported many of the types of expenses that ActBlue has reported, such as "transaction fees, travel and meals, Uber rides, rent, administrative costs, communications, legal and accounting work, payroll taxes and bank fees."

"WinRed's PAC claims to pay for none of those things," Sollenberger reports. "Disclosure is the heart of campaign finance law. And if WinRed doesn't disclose its expenses, that means donors, campaigns, regulators and the public cannot see who the organization pays. But according to filings with the Federal Election Commission, the PAC paid a grand total of $1522.55 for the 2020 election. All of that meager amount went to its sister company, a for-profit corporation called WinRed Technical Services LLC, for 'merchandise.'"

Sollenberger adds, "Over the same period, ActBlue — a nonprofit — raised double that amount, $4.4 billion. It reported spending a little over $42 million on operating costs, about one percent of its total. To put that in perspective, WinRed PAC's $1502.55 budget was around 3.57 thousandths of one percent the size of ActBlue's. If WinRed expended one percent of its $2.24 billion — ActBlue's approximate rate — its operating budget would be $22.4 million."

Was Kayleigh McEnany Auditioning For Fox All Along?

Was Kayleigh McEnany Auditioning For Fox All Along?

Reprinted with permission from American Independent

Former White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany signed a contract for a paid role at Fox News in January, according to a disclosure report unearthed on Tuesday by the Center for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, a watchdog group.

McEnany would be just the latest Donald Trump administration aide to join the right-wing cable network.

McEnany disclosed in the report that she had an "employment agreement" with the Fox Corporation, writing under that status and terms that it was with Fox News and that she would be "starting work in January."

A Fox News spokesperson told the New York Times reporter that McEnany is not "currently" employed by the network, though the spokesperson did not deny that the former press secretary had signed a contract with the company.

HuffPost and New York magazine contributor Yashar Ali also reported that "a source familiar with Kayleigh's discussions" had said "there was a deal being negotiated but was put on pause...but that Fox News may still hire her give that the network doesn't 'condone cancel culture.'"

McEnany spent the final months of her tenure ignoring her role of informing the public by holding press briefings at the White House. Instead, she spent the majority of her time pushing voter fraud lies in multiple appearances on Fox News, in her dual role as campaign adviser.

Those lies eventually helped incite an insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, carried out by a pro-Trump mob that sought to kill lawmakers and Trump's own vice president, Mike Pence.

McEnany's role on the Trump campaign was itself questionable, given she was simultaneously drawing a taxpayer funded salary of $183,000 per year.

McEnany scoring a gig with Fox News would be fitting, as the network effectively serves as a messaging platform for Republicans, and includes a spate of "opinion" hosts in its prime-time lineup that overtly support Trump. The outlet has also been a revolving door for Trump administration staffers.

Former White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders signed on with the network in September 2019, after her own stint at the podium. Her contributor gig with the network was terminated after she announced on Monday morning that she is running for governor of Arkansas.

Former White House communications director Hope Hicks also worked for Fox News after she left the administration the first time around. And Raj Shah, another former Trump administration spokesperson, joined Fox News after leaving as well.

Meanwhile, other Trump administration staffers have had a harder time finding employment since the Jan. 6 Capitol riots, which led to a stream of White House deserters.

Politicoreported that corporate America has essentially frozen out those who worked in the Trump administration, adding that some former aides had their offers rescinded after the insurrection.

"They are really f---ed," an unnamed Republican strategist told Politico.

Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation.