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<ul class="summary-list"><li>Pushing for-profit projects on the taxpayer dime is Trump's latest break from tradition.</li><li>He's using government resources to promote his private <keyword id="11895642" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="golf" source="Orion">golf</keyword> clubs and book sales.</li></ul>On Tuesday, former President <keyword id="11914386" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="donald-trump" source="Orion">Donald Trump</keyword> alerted the nation that there were "<a href="https://45office.nucleusemail.com/amplify/v/BFq5XvqJuz">100,000 brand new, sparkling copies</a>" of his picture book available for sale from a publishing house co-founded by his eldest son, Donald Trump Jr. During the past week, Trump has also blasted out emails touting Trump-owned golf clubs in <a href="https://45office.nucleusemail.com/amplify/v/NdJqSWsdPJ">Miami</a>, <a href="https://45office.nucleusemail.com/amplify/v/ea9GbW9UJA">Los Angeles</a>, and <a href="https://45office.nucleusemail.com/amplify/v/jma2SzNRHD">West Palm Beach, Florida.</a>Trump's relentless marketing was not, however, issued by his business empire, the <keyword id="11964533" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="trump-organization" source="Orion">Trump Organization</keyword>. Instead, it came from a <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/stephen-miller-donald-trump-immigration-federal-government-employee-2021-9">federal government-funded office</a> provided to him by the <a href="https://www.archives.gov/about/laws/former-presidents.html">Former Presidents Act</a>.The constant plugs for family business ventures Trump weaves into the email blasts from his taxpayer-subsidized, post-presidential office are "unsavory" but not unexpected, an <keyword id="11940578" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="ethics" source="Orion">ethics</keyword> professional said, given that he's flouted ethics rules since entering political life. "The presidency was one giant business center for him. And we should not be surprised that he's continuing to do it," <keyword id="13507707" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="jessica-tillipman" source="Orion">Jessica Tillipman</keyword>, an assistant dean at the <keyword id="12454836" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="george-washington-university" source="Orion">George Washington University</keyword> <keyword id="11899820" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="law" source="Orion">Law</keyword> School who teaches anti-corruption courses, said of Trump's penchant for monetizing his every move. <div type="image" title="Donald Trump included a plug for his West Palm Beach golf club in a recent message from his taxpayer-funded, post-presidential office." height="1266" width="1162" msid="90551924" hostid="261"></div>Tillipman said the shilling is unlikely to stop anytime soon. "It's not abnormal for presidents to leave office and sign big book deals," she told Insider. "It's abnormal to literally profit off of absolutely everything that you're doing. And he's been blurring that line since he took office." Trump's outside entanglements were an omnipresent issue throughout his single term in office.He bucked tradition by <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/house-democrats-donald-trump-tax-returns-records-court-investigation-2022-3">never releasing his personal tax returns</a>, something past presidents have done to clarify potential conflicts of interests. Meanwhile, the family maintained control of a pricey hotel in DC that ethics watchdogs called an "<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/trumps-dc-hotel-was-epicenter-of-corruption-watchdog-head-says-nbc-2021-12">epicenter of corruption</a>" after foreign powers spent millions there cozying up to MAGA world. "Other presidents have chosen, when in office, to divest themselves of their financial interests or do other things to ensure that their constituents and the taxpayers are not worried that they're trying to profit off their presidency. Trump made no bones about the fact that he did not care about that," Tillipman said. "And the very limited restrictions we have on presidents didn't do anything to stop him." She added that while the <keyword id="13507708" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="former-presidents-act" source="Orion">Former Presidents Act</keyword> may not specifically restrict Trump-style cash-grabs, his predecessors, who also received funding for official, post-presidential offices, have typically behaved differently. "A lot of these things come down to, 'does this look bad' versus 'is it prohibited,'" Tillipman said. "He's just uniquely skilled at profiting off of absolutely everything. And, frankly, just doesn't care about the appearance issue." Trump's office and a personal spokesperson did not immediately respond to requests for comment about his non-stop sales pitches.

Trump's shameless self-promotion with taxpayer funds is 'unsavory' but on-brand for someone committed to 'profiting off of absolutely everything,' ethics professional says

<ul class="summary-list"><li>56 members of <keyword id="11893699" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="congress" source="Orion">Congress</keyword> have violated the STOCK Act with late or missing disclosures.</li><li>Schrader's late disclosures come as lawmakers debate whether to ban lawmakers from trading stocks.</li></ul>Amid a <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/financial-conflicts-congress-members-rated-2021-12?page=stories">pitched debate</a> on Capitol Hill whether to ban lawmakers from trading stocks, another member of Congress — Democratic Rep. <keyword id="13174266" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="kurt-schrader" source="Orion">Kurt Schrader</keyword> of Oregon — has improperly disclosed corporate stock trades in violation of a federal conflicts-of-interest law.Combined, Schrader sold up to $30,000 worth of shares in <keyword id="13174267" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="charter-communications" source="Orion">Charter Communications</keyword> Inc. and insurance giant AON PLC on December 9 and December 14, respectively. But he didn't disclose the sales, as required by the STOCK Act, until early February — days after a 45-day deadline for doing so, according to an Insider review of congressional financial records.<div type="image" title="Rep. Kurt Schrader financial disclosure" height="1454" width="1854" msid="89577443" hostid="261"></div>Schrader joins <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/congress-stock-act-violations-senate-house-trading-2021-9">55 other members of Congress</a> and at least <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/congress-staff-violated-stock-act-conflicts-of-interest-possible-2021-12">182 senior aides</a> who have in recent months violated the federal Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge Act of 2012, having failed to disclose stock transactions or other personal financial information within federally mandated deadlines, according to Insider's "<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/conflicted-congress-key-findings-stock-act-finances-investing-2021-12">Conflicted Congress</a>" investigation.Insider's "<keyword id="12727727" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="conflicted-congress" source="Orion">Conflicted Congress</keyword>" project also found dozens of examples of members of Congress holding stock in companies that <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/lawmakers-bought-sold-covid-19-related-stocks-during-pandemic-2021-12">clash</a> with their public responsibilities or stated orthodoxies or <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/congress-members-are-trading-defense-stocks-while-shaping-military-policy-2021-12">sat on</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/congress-holding-stocks-facebook-twitter-disney-fox-news-2021-12">committees</a> that directly oversee the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/congress-democrats-with-fossil-fuel-stocks-investments-2021-12">activities</a> of companies in which they hold shares. Schrader's office acknowledged the tardy disclosure, although spokesperson Molly Prescott said the congressman does not have "any direct involvement in investment decisions as it relates to the purchase or sale of stocks." Prescott said a "financial advisory practice" independently makes stock trade decisions on Schrader's behalf, but would not provide the practice's name.Federal records indicate that Schrader is one of Congress' more active traders, having purchased or sold dozens of individual stocks during the past year, including those of <keyword id="11894021" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="apple" source="Orion">Apple</keyword> Inc., <keyword id="11897482" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="home-depot" source="Orion">Home Depot</keyword>, Microsoft Corp., defense contractor Northrop Grumman, and Chinese e-commerce company <keyword id="11893877" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="alibaba" source="Orion">Alibaba</keyword> Group. "The congressman is not consulted in advance, nor does he make any suggestions or recommendations on any stock transactions," Prescott said. "The congressman receives a report at the start of each month informing him of any transactions that took place in the previous month."Congressional records indicate that Schrader has not formed what's known as a "<a href="https://www.ethics.senate.gov/public/_cache/files/286a4cf9-5aab-40ef-9a6c-bf2278e79e38/qualified-blind-trusts-guide---october-2020.pdf">qualified blind trust</a>." The Senate Select Committee on Ethics describes this independently managed, publicly disclosed financial arrangement as Congress' "most comprehensive approach" to "eliminate conflicts of interests and the appearance of them." <h2>Schrader's stock ban stance unclear</h2>Now in his 7th term, Schrader sits on the House Committee on Energy and Commerce's Communications and Technology Subcommittee, which has <a href="https://energycommerce.house.gov/subcommittees/communications-and-technology-117th-congress">broad jurisdiction</a> over electronic communications. He also sits on the Energy and Commerce Committee's Subcommittee on Health. The congressman's office declined to answer questions about whether his investments in Charter Communications, a diversified communications company, and AON PLC, which provides health insurance products, pose a conflict of interest with his committee responsibilities. Prescott likewise would not comment on whether Schrader supports or opposes banning all federal lawmakers, and potentially their <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/nancy-pelosi-ossoff-kelly-spanberger-unsure-spouses-stock-trading-ban-2022-2">immediate family members</a>, from trading stocks — an idea that's attracted <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/stock-ban-congress-pelosi-mccarthy-mcconnell-schumer-2022-2">significant bipartisan support</a> in recent weeks."Congressman Schrader strongly believes that bad actors who engage in insider trading must be held to account," Prescott said. "There are existing laws to prevent this illegal, unethical behavior, and he believes Congress must do a better job at enforcing them. His stance on this matter is clear — no one is above the law."<div type="image" title="Rep. Kurt Schrader financial disclosure" height="1442" width="1902" msid="89577445" hostid="261"></div><div type="image" title="Rep. Kurt Schrader financial disclosure" height="1440" width="1824" msid="89577447" hostid="261"></div>For Schrader, his recent stock disclosures are sometimes handwritten and, on two occasions, incorrect or incomplete. One disclosure did not list a dollar value for a sale of Union Pacific Corp. stock on January 20, 2021. Another disclosure listed the date of a mutual fund purchase as "January 35, 2022." The congressman's <a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/21138647-8218229_kurt-schrader">most recent annual financial disclosure</a> was also completed by hand and, at times, barely legible.Members of Congress face a $200 fine for failing to disclose their stock trades on time, but the Committee on House Ethics does not assess a fine for first-time STOCK Act disclosure provision violators if they're late by 30 days or fewer. Schrader's late stock disclosures fell within this "grace period," meaning he will avoid a fine."The penalty is very, very tiny and can be waved, and nobody is going to say that the penalties here are deterrents," said Jessica Tillipman, assistant dean for government procurement law studies at The George Washington University Law School in Washington, DC. "If you have millions of dollars of stock trades, you don't care about a $200 penalty."Schrader's situation is yet another example of a much broader congressional ethics problem that lawmakers themselves are now unable to downplay or ignore, said Tillipman, who on Monday <a href="https://fcpablog.com/2022/02/14/its-time-to-ban-members-of-congress-and-their-spouses-from-trading-stocks/">endorsed</a> banning federal lawmakers and their spouses from trading stocks."I don't always have strong hope for Congress, especially when it comes to regulating their own behavior," Tillipman told Insider. "But there's a growing consensus that this kind of activity is improper, and the more attention it gets, the more likely it is that something happens."

Democratic Rep. Kurt Schrader of Oregon is the latest member of Congress to violate a federal conflicts-of-interest law

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Former President <keyword id="11914386" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="donald-trump" source="Orion">Donald Trump</keyword> had a room in the <keyword id="11896084" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="white-house" source="Orion">White House</keyword> filled with <keyword id="11985407" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="maga" source="Orion">MAGA</keyword> merch, a new book says.</li><li>Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy was invited to view the room in 2020, he told the authors of "This Will Not Pass."</li></ul>Former President Donald Trump had a "stash room" filled with MAGA merch next to his office in the White House, according to a new book, <a href="https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/trump-oval-office-maga-room_n_626b854ae4b01131b121327d">HuffPost reported.</a>The room, containing campaign memorabilia, was adjacent to the <keyword id="12690136" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="oval-office" source="Orion">Oval Office</keyword>, according to "This Will Not Pass,"— an upcoming book by The New York Times reporters Jonathan Martin and Alexander Burns. Trump sometimes showed governors visiting the White House during his presidency the room, the book said, per <a href="https://thehill.com/news/state-watch/3470441-ask-me-nicely-trump-demanded-loyalty-from-governors-for-help-says-book/">The Hill.</a>New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy, a Democrat, said he was taken aback when Trump offered to show him the merch-filled room in 2020, in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, The Hill reported."They literally hand you a shopping bag, and you took anything you'd like," Murphy told the authors of "This Will Not Pass," according to The Hill.Insider reached out to Trump's post-presidency office for comment but did not immediately receive a response. Trump's most iconic piece of merch, the red MAGA hat, reportedly brought in millions for his political operation.His reelection campaign manager Brad Parscale told CBS <keyword id="11893589" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="news" source="Orion">News</keyword>, <a href="https://www.newsweek.com/donald-trump-campaign-maga-hats-donations-brad-parscale-2020-1408087">per Newsweek</a>, that the hats had brought in close to $45 million and one million sales by April 2019.Trump's merch collection, which includes everything from mugs to Christmas ornaments, has often represented a blurring of lines between his business interests and political operation, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/12/us/politics/donald-trump-business-interests.html">The New York Times reported</a> in February.That melding of his interests has, recently, been evident when his political operation promoted his $75 picture book, the newspaper said, and official emails to former campaign supporters advertised his hotels.His for-profit official retail website, The Trump Store, regularly markets items to supporters of his 2020 reelection campaign through email lists rented from his political operation, The Times reported.During his presidency, the <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-white-house-shop-store-merchandise-us-president-a8835361.html">Independent reported</a> in 2019, government ethics experts accused Trump of being unethical by personally profiting from his office by using The Trump Store to sell White House-branded merchandise.Personal profiteering from his name and position as the president of the United States was "bizarre and wrong," government ethics expert Jessica Tillipman of George Washington University's Law School told the Independent in 2019.

President Donald Trump had a room filled with MAGA merch next to the Oval Office, new book says

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Ivanka Trump posted a photo of herself promoting <keyword id="360974" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Goya">Goya</keyword> black beans, after the Goya CEO praised her father, President Donald Trump.</li><li>Critics quickly pounced on the post, saying it is a federal ethics violation for her to promote a product or company.</li><li>A White House spokeswoman told the <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/ivanka-trump-posts-photo-holding-goya-beans-draws-criticism-for-using-her-position-to-promote-a-product/2020/07/15/a6e184a4-c687-11ea-b037-f9711f89ee46_story.html">Washington Post</a> on Wednesday that Ivanka Trump has "every right to express her personal opinion."</li></ul>Ivanka Trump is facing backlash online for <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ivanka-trump-posts-picture-with-goya-beans-boycott-ethics-2020-7">posting a photo</a> of herself promoting Goya beans.The photo shows Trump dressed in all white and smiling. In one hand, she holds a can of Goya black beans, while her other hand hovers just below the beans in a pose similar to how a gameshow host might unveil a prize to a swooning audience."If it's Goya, it has to be good," says the caption, which was posted alongside the photo to Trump's Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter accounts. "Si es Goya, tiene que ser bueno."The photo triggered an immediate backlash online.Critics accused Trump, who is President Donald Trump's daughter and White House adviser, of violating federal ethics laws that prohibit federal employees from using their positions "to endorse any product, service or enterprise."She was also accused by some of using the beans to pander to Latino voters.Ivanka Trump's Goya endorsement comes after the chief executive of the bean company, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/meet-goya-foods-ceo-trump-supporter-robert-unanue-career-life-2020-7">Robert Unanue</a>, praised the president, saying the US was "truly blessed" to have him as a leader. Unanue's remarks inspired calls for a <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/goya-faces-boycott-threats-over-ceos-praise-for-trump-2020-7">boycott</a> against Goya, as well as a counter-calls for Trump supporters to <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-supporters-stock-up-on-goya-products-reaction-to-boycott-2020-7">buy more of the beans</a>.A White House spokeswoman told the <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/ivanka-trump-posts-photo-holding-goya-beans-draws-criticism-for-using-her-position-to-promote-a-product/2020/07/15/a6e184a4-c687-11ea-b037-f9711f89ee46_story.html">Washington Post</a> on Wednesday that Ivanka Trump has "every right to express her personal opinion.""Only the media and the cancel culture movement would criticize Ivanka for showing her personal support for a company that has been unfairly mocked, boycotted and ridiculed for supporting this administration — one that has consistently fought for and delivered for the Hispanic community," White House spokeswoman Carolina Hurley said in a statement to the Post.Here's what some people are saying on Twitter in response to the photo.

People are roasting Ivanka Trump for promoting Goya Black beans in a photo posted to social media

<ul class="summary-list"><li>A law professor and ethics expert says the nature of <keyword id="11956932" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="hunter-biden" source="Orion">Hunter Biden</keyword>'s <keyword id="11931454" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="art" source="Orion">art</keyword> sales are "whacko." </li><li>"It's bizarre that that's the solution that they came upon," Kathleen Clark told Politico. </li></ul>Legal ethics expert Kathleen Clark, a professor at Washington University School of Law, <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2021/10/12/hunter-biden-corruption-515583?nname=playbook&amp;nid=0000014f-1646-d88f-a1cf-5f46b7bd0000&amp;nrid=0000016b-2cd6-d307-a5ff-eddff0860000&amp;nlid=630318;nlid=630318">told Politico Magazine</a> that the Hunter Biden's arrangement to sell his paintings is "whacko," adding to the criticism that the White House faces from experts over Hunter's high-priced art sales. White House officials <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/white-house-protect-hunter-biden-sell-artwork-500k-conflict-report-2021-7">came to an unprecedented agreement </a>with the New York City gallery housing Hunter's art that allows President Joe Biden's eldest son, to earn a living from his art while, in theory, not knowing who buys his paintings. The arrangement is an effort to offset concerns about a conflict of interest posed by powerful people who might want to exert influence over the White House through his son's art. But government ethics and legal experts like Clark, an expert in government ethics, are crying foul, <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2021/10/12/hunter-biden-corruption-515583?nname=playbook&amp;nid=0000014f-1646-d88f-a1cf-5f46b7bd0000&amp;nrid=0000016b-2cd6-d307-a5ff-eddff0860000&amp;nlid=630318;nlid=630318">compounding the scrutiny</a> Hunter has faced over his business dealings during his father's 2020 campaign and presidency. "It leaves, frankly, the Biden administration wide open to concerns that people are going to buy influence by buying Hunter Biden's paintings at what might be inflated prices," <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2021/10/12/hunter-biden-corruption-515583?nname=playbook&amp;nid=0000014f-1646-d88f-a1cf-5f46b7bd0000&amp;nrid=0000016b-2cd6-d307-a5ff-eddff0860000&amp;nlid=630318;nlid=630318">Clark told Politico's Ben Schreckinger</a>. "The idea of keeping the identity of the buyers secret or the price secret is no way to protect the public interest or ensure public confidence that there isn't corruption going on. It's bizarre that that's the solution that they came upon."Hunter took up painting as a hobby during his recovery from drug and alcohol addiction and found refuge in art while he was at the center of the 2019 impeachment trial of former President Donald Trump, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/28/arts/design/hunter-biden-art.html">he told The New York Times in 2020.</a>Under the terms of <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/white-house-protect-hunter-biden-sell-artwork-500k-conflict-report-2021-7">the arrangement</a>, first reported by the Washington Post in July, the gallery owner Georges Bergès said he'll set the prices of the art himself, won't disclose who bids on and purchases the paintings, and will reject offers that seem too high to just be for the art alone. The hefty prices of Hunter's art only add to the scrutiny. Bergès predicted the individual pieces of art could go for anywhere from $75,000 to $500,000 each, eye-poppingly high prices for a new artist on the scene like Hunter.The often-secretive nature of art purchases and the difficulty of comprehensively tracing who buys and sells expensive artwork doesn't entirely preclude someone who wants to exert influence over the Biden White House from trying to do so by buying or expressing interest in the art. <div type="image" title="Hunter Biden and Joe Biden" height="1000" width="2000" msid="86975635" hostid="261"></div>And subsequent events have also shown how difficult it is, in practice, to separate the art from the (famous and politically connected) artist. At <a href="https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2021/10/check-out-these-exclusive-pics-from-hunter-bidens-big-l-a-art-opening/">a recent pop-up showing his art at Milk Studios in Los Angeles</a>, where he lives, Hunter mingled with potential buyers and wealthy power players including Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, who is Biden's nominee for US Ambassador to India, former Stockton, California mayor Michael Tubbs, singer Moby, and boxer Sugar Ray Leonard, <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2021/10/09/politics/hunter-biden-los-angeles-art-show/index.html">CNN reported</a>. The outlet previously reported that Hunter would not discuss possible sales and only his "creative process." Danielle Brian, executive director of the Project on Government Oversight, <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2021/10/09/politics/hunter-biden-los-angeles-art-show/index.html">told CNN</a> that Hunter's appearance nevertheless "undermined the White House's early claims that neither he, nor the White House, would know who bought his art.""The silver lining to this dark cloud is now the rest of us also know the universe of who might be interested in buying the paintings - which will make it easier to track if those people are attempting to curry favor with the White House through the President's son," she said. Richard Painter, the former top White House ethics lawyer under President George W. Bush, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/deal-of-the-art-white-house-grapples-with-ethics-of-hunter-bidens-pricey-paintings/2021/07/07/97e0528c-da72-11eb-9bbb-37c30dcf9363_story.html">told The Washington </a><a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/deal-of-the-art-white-house-grapples-with-ethics-of-hunter-bidens-pricey-paintings/2021/07/07/97e0528c-da72-11eb-9bbb-37c30dcf9363_story.html">Post</a> in July that the whole thing is "a really bad idea," saying, "The initial reaction a lot of people are going to have is that he's capitalizing on being the son of a president and wants people to give him a lot of money."Painter <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2021/10/09/politics/hunter-biden-los-angeles-art-show/index.html">subsequently told CNN</a> after the gallery show that "this secrecy thing never was going to work," saying the White House should have taken a much stricter approach from the beginning, if not banning Hunter from making so much money off his art altogether. "Plan B would be to find out who these buyers are and to keep them as far away from the executive branch as possible. And you would not have prospective ambassador nominee showing the art gallery," he said of Garcetti's presence. White House press secretary Jen Psaki, <a href="https://people.com/politics/white-house-addresses-hunter-biden-art-show-event-in-la/">who previously said</a> that Hunter "has the right to pursue an artistic career, just like any child of a president has the right to pursue a career," reiterated the terms of the agreement and deflected questions about the showing itself at her October 6 briefing. "I'd refer you to the gallerist for questions about the event, as well as the representatives for Mr. Garcetti in terms of his attendance," she said. Another legal ethics expert, George Washington University Law School's Jessica Tillipman, <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2021/10/12/hunter-biden-corruption-515583?nname=playbook&amp;nid=0000014f-1646-d88f-a1cf-5f46b7bd0000&amp;nrid=0000016b-2cd6-d307-a5ff-eddff0860000&amp;nlid=630318;nlid=630318">told Politico Magazine</a> that the White House had "botched" the entire arrangement. "Now, he's privately meeting with potential buyers and quote unquote he's never going to know [if they then made a purchase] because he's just outsourced the ethics function to this art dealer, and we're supposed to just rely on that?" she said.

Hunter Biden's art gallery arrangement is 'whacko,' according to ethics law expert

<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"></div></div></div>An unopened Trump&#xa0;hotel in Azerbaijan has been&#xa0;linked to&#xa0;corrupt officials who support the Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, reports Adam Davidson in&#xa0;<a href="http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2017/03/13/donald-trumps-worst-deal">a&#xa0;New Yorker&#xa0;piece.</a>&#xa0;Trump International Hotel &amp; Tower Baku, a sleek 5-star hotel in&#xa0;the shape of a ship sail&#xa0;in Azerbaijan's capital, never opened despite appearing nearly complete.Plans to build the tower began in&#xa0;2008, when&#xa0;developers first drew up a "high-end apartment building" downtown in the capital of Azerbaijan. In &#xa0;2012, the Trump Organization&#xa0;and Azerbaijani developers signed off on a contract to turn the building into a luxury hotel.Even though the hotel has Trump's name emblazoned on it and had previously been <a href="http://bigstory.ap.org/article/c703edc11f884addb1d5c9df6dbf6d0e/trump-okd-partner-alleged-iran-laundering-family-ties">posted as a future project on&#xa0;Trump Organization's website</a>, the organization's&#xa0;chief legal officer Alan Garten&#xa0;said that Trump played only a nominal role in construction of the hotel -&#xa0;he was "merely a licensor" who had allowed&#xa0;Anar Mammadov, the son of powerful Azerbaijani oligarch Ziya Mammadov, to use his name, the New Yorker reports.&#xa0;Trump's own <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/for-a-president-trump-global-real-estate-deals-present-unprecedented-gray-areas/2016/05/30/beac0038-15fa-11e6-aa55-670cabef46e0_story.html?utm_term=.dba1798ecdda">financial&#xa0;disclosure report</a>&#xa0;showed that he earned&#xa0;$2.5&#xa0;million in income from the project between January 2014 and July 2015 and an additional $323,000 afterwards. In 2014, Ivanka Trump visited the Baku construction site and posted photos and videos of her trip to&#xa0;Instagram.<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"></div></div></div>But some in Azerbaijan allege the Trumps had a more active hand in the project. "We were always following their instructions," an unnamed Azerbaijani lawyer involved with the project told&#xa0;The New Yorker.&#xa0;"We were in constant contact with the Trump Organization. They approved the smallest details."A few weeks before Trump took office as President, he&#xa0;<a href="https://www.usnews.com/news/business/articles/2016-12-16/trump-canceling-hotel-deal-azerbaijan-and-possibly-georgia">cancelled&#xa0;construction of the nearly-finished building in Baku</a>&#xa0;to avoid potential conflicts of interest&#xa0;even though the construction was in its&#xa0;final stages. Last June,&#xa0;The Washington Post <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/for-a-president-trump-global-real-estate-deals-present-unprecedented-gray-areas/2016/05/30/beac0038-15fa-11e6-aa55-670cabef46e0_story.html?utm_term=.dd42b941b79d">reported</a> that the hotel had plastic-wrapped reception desks in the lobby.Azerbaijan consistently <a href="https://freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-world/2016/azerbaijan">ranks</a>&#xa0;as one of the most corrupt countries in the world by&#xa0;human rights watchdogs&#xa0;- only two weeks ago, President Ilham Aliyev&#xa0;<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/the-president-of-azerbaijan-picked-his-wife-to-be-his-vice-president-2017-2">named his wife</a>&#xa0;to serve as the country's Vice President.&#xa0;According to The New Yorker, the Trump Organization signed off on&#xa0;the deal with the powerful Mammadov family&#xa0;who, aside from regularly getting called out for <a href="http://foreignpolicy.com/2015/06/11/how-azerbaijan-and-its-lobbyists-spin-congress/">exploiting political power to increase personal wealth</a>, has reported ties&#xa0;with Iran's&#xa0;Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps&#xa0;- anextremist&#xa0;military force that has helped finance&#xa0;Iran's nuclear weapons program and trained&#xa0;terror&#xa0;organizations like Hezbollah.Azerbaijan's Transportation Minister, Ziya Mammadov reportedly "awarded a series of multimillion-dollar contracts" to a construction company controlled by the IRGC in 2008, when development of the Baku Trump Tower first started.&#xa0;"The entire Baku deal is a giant red flag-the direct involvement of foreign government officials and their relatives in Azerbaijan with ties to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard," Jessica Tillipman, an assistant dean specializing in government anti-corruption at George Washington University Law School told the New Yorker. "Corruption warning signs are rarely more obvious."The 1977 Foreign Corrupt Practices Act forbids companies from "participating in a scheme to reward a foreign government official in exchange for material benefit or preferential treatment." However, Garten&#xa0;<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/for-a-president-trump-global-real-estate-deals-present-unprecedented-gray-areas/2016/05/30/beac0038-15fa-11e6-aa55-670cabef46e0_story.html?utm_term=.2f6c20fdfeb1">told&#xa0;The Washington Post</a> that the organization's investigation into the Mammadov family "did not raise any red flags."Only last week, a <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-irgc-idUSKBN15N0AI" target="_blank">Reuters report</a> indicated that Trump's administration is currently trying to label the IRGC&#xa0;as a "terrorist organization." But only a few years ago, Trump's company evidently had few qualms about lending his name to a project that could benefit them.<div> </div> <div class="margin-top"> <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/china-more-outspoken-nuclear-north-korea-kim-jong-un-missile-politics-2017-2">Top foreign policy expert: Here's why China isn't more outspoken about North Korea's nuclear ambitions</a></h3> <div> <div> <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="NoYzdwOTE6yo85_kObnpYZvLRvr-409t" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div> </div> </div> </div>

You Searched For "jessica tillipman" and got 6 results

Trump's shameless self-promotion with taxpayer funds is 'unsavory' but on-brand for someone committed to 'profiting off of absolutely everything,' ethics professional says

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Democratic Rep. Kurt Schrader of Oregon is the latest member of Congress to violate a federal conflicts-of-interest law

Dave Levinthal

President Donald Trump had a room filled with MAGA merch next to the Oval Office, new book says

Joshua Zitser

People are roasting Ivanka Trump for promoting Goya Black beans in a photo posted to social media

Hayley Peterson

Hunter Biden's art gallery arrangement is 'whacko,' according to ethics law expert

Grace Panetta

Donald Trump's hotel in Azerbaijan linked with corruption, Iran's Revolutionary Guard

Veronika Bondarenko

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