Swamp Watch News

[_MeDotOrg]

Pruitt should have just built a wall around the EPA and made the Sierra Club pay for it.

[_subgenius]

Subgenius, before I forget, is that coat from an Edward Gorey drawing? Does it symbolize something such as Republicanism?

it is Gorey.
You would need to rely on Gorey for its symbolism....he had a penchant for fur coats (a collection of 21) and left his estate to care of animals, if that's Republicanism to you then far be it from me to encumber you with how I would define such things.

[_Hawkeye]

China approves Donald Trump-branded spas, escort services, hotels and massage parlours without US Congress permission

[_subgenius]

China approves Donald Trump-branded spas, escort services, hotels and massage parlours without US Congress permission

notwithstanding the click-bait of a headline, but the article clearly states that Trump has only received preliminary approval and Congrssional approvlal is only required "if the Trump trademarks receive any special treatment due to their association with the President".
But do not let facts get in the way of you lighting dat postiche ablaze!

[_moksha]

Is there any more news on Trump issuing a pardon for Benedict Arnold?

It does look like Trump is setting the stage for pardoning himself.

[_Hawkeye]

notwithstanding the click-bait of a headline, but the article clearly states that Trump has only received preliminary approval and Congrssional approvlal is only required "if the Trump trademarks receive any special treatment due to their association with the President".

Earth to moron: being adequately informed in this day and age means removing your head from the FOX News arse.

Trump backs away from China trade war, while a Trump development gets a $500 million Chinese loan

In fact the biggest scam Trump has done was to convince millions of voters that he was in any way interested in draining a swamp while he effectively fills it with nasty ogres like himself.

It’s Time for Trump Voters to Face the Bitter Truth

Donald Trump promised to “drain the swamp” while running for office. Voters gave him the opportunity to follow through when they propelled him to the White House. Instead, he surrounded himself with people who saw his victory as an opportunity to enrich themselves by selling the promise of access or influence.

This betrayal of the American public warrants more attention. Trump voters who wanted to rid Washington of sellouts should be most upset, but no one wants to admit that the person they voted for was misrepresenting his intentions. And those who rely on commentators like Sean Hannity, Laura Ingraham, Rush Limbaugh, and Tucker Carlson for information lack many relevant facts.

Here’s what Trump voters should know. Michael Cohen was the president’s personal attorney. He stepped up when someone was needed to pay hush money to Stormy Daniels on the eve of the election, even using a shell corporation created under a pseudonym to hide the matter.

But that corporation wasn’t just for paying off the pornography actress. He also used it to receive huge sums of money from folks with powerful interests in influencing the U.S. government. “A Korean defense company competing for a U.S. contract said it paid him $150,000 to advise it on accounting practices,” The Washington Post reported earlier this week. “A global pharmaceutical company said it paid him $1.2 million to provide insight into health-care policy—money it said it was required to keep paying even after concluding that Cohen had little to offer. A telecommunication company said it turned to him simply to better understand the Trump administration.”

A powerful law firm paid him $500,000.

And there were $4.4 million that flowed to Cohen from a New York investment firm “whose biggest client is a company controlled by Viktor Vekselberg, the Russian oligarch.” What were these people were paying so much money to buy?

Then there’s Corey Lewandowski, the pugnacious, righteously indignant man who presided for a time over Trump’s presidential campaign. What did he do after its Make America Great Again, “drain the swamp” message won the day?

Even before Inauguration Day, he set up a lobbying firm in Washington. “A firm co-founded by Donald Trump’s original campaign manager Corey Lewandowski appears to have been pitching clients around the world by offering not only policy and political advice, but also face time with President Trump, Vice President Mike Pence, and senior members of their administration,” Politico reported last year. For a price, he would help foreigners get better insights into Trump than were available to most Americans.

What a sellout! But he was hardly unique.

Back in 2016, “established K Street firms were grabbing any Trump people they could find,” Nick Confessore reported in “How to Get Rich in Trump’s Washington,” a feature for The New York Times Magazine. “Jim Murphy, Trump’s former political director, joined the lobbying giant BakerHostetler, while another firm, Fidelis Government Relations, struck up a partnership with Bill Smith, Mike Pence’s former chief of staff. All told, close to 20 ex-aides of Trump, friends, and hangers-on had made their way into Washington’s influence business.”

Brian Ballard, a longtime Trump acquaintance, seems to have leveraged his relationship to the president most profitably. The Turkish government is among his firm’s many clients. Politico says Turkey pays $125,000 per month. Why does it find that price worthwhile?

George David Banks was a top energy aide to Donald Trump who came from the world of lobbying. But he quit his job in the White House when he couldn’t get a security clearance. Here’s what he told E&E News, an energy trade publication: “Going back to be a full-time swamp creature is certainly an attractive option." Then he rejoined his former post at the American Council for Capital Formation, a think tank and lobbying group. I guess he wasn’t joking.

Remember when Trump told you that he would release his tax returns and then never did? Remember when he said that if he won the election he would put his business interests aside? “Ever since Trump and his family arrived in Washington they have essentially hung a for-sale sign on the White House by refusing to meaningfully separate themselves from their own business interests,” Bloomberg’s Tim O’Brien notes. “That’s certainly not lost on the companies that do business in or with Washington. They know that in Trump’s swamp, you pay to play.”

Much of this will surprise folks who get all of their news from Fox commentators and talk-radio hosts, with whom they are in a dysfunctional relationship.

The GOP base is drawn to media figures who support their president and quickly turn on those who criticize him as if they are guilty of a betrayal; for that reason, many populist-right pundits are reluctant to criticize the president or to delve deeply into the behavior of the swamp creatures he has enabled. Instead, they pander to the GOP base, keep them in the dark about important corruption—and so fail to keep the president and his associates accountable. That very betrayal of their audience is what creates the illusion of their loyalty.

I opposed electing Trump, but I’m always 100 percent honest with his supporters. And when I give specific examples of how he has failed to drain the swamp, some lash out at me for telling them truths that they don’t want to face, or angrily change the subject by pointing out that various establishment politicians have been guilty of flagrant cronyism in the past. Well, duh.

The folks who supported those bygone politicians anyway harmed the country. Does the GOP rank and file want to be just like the folks they used to criticize or be better?

Bygone Democratic misdeeds don’t change the fact that Trump’s behavior is hurting America––and that he won’t change until his supporters demand a higher standard. If the GOP base persists in blinding itself to the unethical people who trade on their relationships with the current president, America will continue to be sold out by the very faction that swore it would make it great again.

Wake up, Trump supporters—your country needs you to hold the man you elected accountable to his promises rather than blindly defending him to own liberals. Demand better or your country suffers.

[_Themis]

China approves Donald Trump-branded spas, escort services, hotels and massage parlours without US Congress permission

It makes sense he is selling access. He complained a lot about China and large trade deficit with them, but then doesn't really do anything other then go out of his way to help China's large state owned tech company. The advantage China has is they won't get into trouble buying someone like Trump off. I suppose many like Ajax don't care if they make Trump richer as long as he gets his wall.

[_Hawkeye]

China’s Approval Of 13 Ivanka Trump Trademarks Raises Brows At White House

SHANGHAI (AP) — Ivanka Trump’s brand continues to win foreign trademarks in China and the Philippines, adding to questions about conflicts of interest at the White House, The Associated Press has found.

On Sunday, China granted the First Daughter’s company final approval for its 13th trademark in the last three months, trademark office records show. Over the same period, the Chinese government has granted Ivanka Trump’s company provisional approval for another eight trademarks, which can be finalized if no objections are raised during a three-month comment period.

Taken together, the trademarks could allow her brand to market a lifetime’s worth of products in China, from baby blankets to coffins, and a host of things in between, including perfume, make-up, bowls, mirrors, furniture, books, coffee, chocolate and honey. Ivanka Trump stepped back from management of her brand and placed its assets in a family-run trust, but she continues to profit from the business.

Noah Bookbinder, the executive director of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, said on Twitter that the recent approvals create “more conflicts of interest and more potential for using the White House for self-enrichment.” His government watchdog group was behind one of several lawsuits against President Donald Trump for violations of the emoluments clause of the constitution, which bars officials from accepting gifts from foreign states unless they are approved by Congress.

As Ivanka Trump and her father have built their global brands, largely through licensing deals, they have pursued trademarks in dozens of countries. Those global trademarks have drawn the attention of ethics lawyers because they are granted by foreign governments and can confer enormous value. Concerns about political influence have been especially sharp in China, where the courts and bureaucracy are designed to reflect the will of the ruling Communist Party.

Chinese officials have emphasized that all trademark applications are handled in accordance with the law.

More approvals are likely to come. Online records from China’s trademark office indicate that Ivanka Trump’s company last applied for trademarks — 17 of them — on Mar. 28, 2017, the day before she took on a formal role at the White House. Those records on Monday showed at least 25 Ivanka Trump trademarks pending review, 36 active marks and eight with provisional approval.

The World Intellectual Property Organization’s global brand database also shows that her company, Ivanka Trump Marks LLC, won three trademarks in the Philippines after her father took office. Two of them cover clothing, including lingerie and baby clothes, were filed on Feb. 8, 2017 and registered in June and November. The third, filed on Mar. 1, 2017, covers clothing and footwear and was registered in July.

Companies register for trademarks for a variety of reasons. They can be a sign of corporate ambition, but in many countries, like China, where trademark squatting is rampant, companies also file defensively, to block copycats from grabbing legal rights to a brand’s name. Trademarks are classified by category and may include items that a company does not intend to market. Some trademark lawyers also advise clients to register trademarks for merchandise that is manufactured in China, even if it’s not sold there.

Ivanka Trump does not have a large retail presence in China, but customs records show that the bulk of her company’s U.S. imports are shipped from China.

The brand’s secretive Chinese supply chains have been the subject of some controversy. A year ago Monday, three men working for China Labor Watch, a New York-based non-profit, were arrested while investigating labor abuses at Ivanka Trump suppliers in China. After thirty days in detention, they were released on bail, but continue to live under police surveillance.

Li Qiang, the group’s founder, said Monday that he hopes bail will be lifted soon and that the case will not go to trial.

Police in Ganzhou, the southeastern Chinese city where the men were detained, could not be reached for comment. The Chinese law firm that handles Ivanka Trump’s intellectual property in China also did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

I can't help but laugh at today's swamp reality because for years the people supporting Trump were going ballistic over Clinton's charity receiving money from anyone with an Arabic sounding last name. There was no proof of quid pro quo in any of these instances, especially the idiotic uranium one conspiracy theory, but that didn't stop them from assuming foul play on some level. And yet, with the Trump family, "pay to play" has been conclusively demonstrated time after time and these same people who frothed at the mouth over Clinton-Obama corruption conspiracy theories for years, now stick their heads in the sand and act like it isn't even happening.

Trump family’s new art of the deal stinks

The announcement was surprising. President Donald Trump said he wanted to find a way to save jobs at a major Chinese telecommunications company, ZTE, about to be crippled by U.S. sanctions for violating trade rules, including doing business with Iran and North Korea.

In the days before and after Trump’s recent announcement, China approved seven trademark requests from first daughter and senior adviser Ivanka Trump. Three days before the announcement, the Chinese government agreed to give $500 million in loans to an Indonesian developer building a Trump-branded resort in that country.

Coincidence or quid pro quo?

The fact that the question must be asked is troubling. The fact that there is no clear answer is a serious problem.

To reduce even the appearance of conflicts of interest, presidents typically shed their business interests and typically do not hire family members to work in their administrations. Trump violated both norms. During the campaign, it was unclear what he was promising to do with his businesses. After his election, he did not divest himself from his interests, instead putting his assets in a trust for his “exclusive benefit.” And he made Ivanka, who also did not divest from her brand and its assets, a top White House aide.

Now the nation confronts the plausible scenario that some countries believe that doing favors for family members and for the organization that bears the president’s name is a way to gain favor with the U.S. government. Worries about countries seeking favors and influence are exacerbated when the country is authoritarian and not bound by rules about openness and transparency, like China.

Whatever Trump promised or didn’t promise about his and his family’s businesses, this all stinks.

The deal with ZTE is far from the only potential conflict. Why are foreign countries and corporations booking rooms and events at Trump’s hotel in Washington? Why did Panama’s government step in for a bankrupt contractor and complete a water and sewer project that would benefit a Trump hotel in Panama City? Why is the government on the Indonesian island of Bali planning to build a road that will halve the travel time between the airport and a new luxury Trump resort and golf course? Why is a company partly owned by Qatar closing in on a deal to invest in an albatross Manhattan office building owned by the company of the family of Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner, another White House adviser? Why did a series of companies pay millions of dollars for the “insights” of Michael Cohen, Trump’s personal attorney and fixer?

Innocent explanations are possible. But the more likely scenario is that the president, his family and his associates are leveraging his power for their own gain. It’s the new art of the deal.

When President Calvin Coolidge said the business of America is business, he wasn’t talking about the president’s business. Donald Trump and company need to take all steps necessary to show they’re working for America, not for themselves. — The editorial board

[_subgenius]

notwithstanding the click-bait of a headline, but the article clearly states that Trump has only received preliminary approval and Congrssional approvlal is only required "if the Trump trademarks receive any special treatment due to their association with the President".

Earth to moron: being adequately informed in this day and age means removing your head from the FOX News arse.

wow, youve become quite the dolt,
but once again we see you believing in something without any actual evidence...I guess you do have the Faith, brother.

But please, while you're busy doing another one of your brevity-starved cut/paste exercises withGoogle, enlighten us with the actual arguments/proof/evidence that Trump received special treatment and therefore broke the law.

[_canpakes]

... but once again we see you believing in something without any actual evidence...I guess you do have the Faith, brother.

But please, while you're busy doing another one of your brevity-starved cut/paste exercises withGoogle, enlighten us with the actual arguments/proof/evidence that Trump received special treatment and therefore broke the law.

I like that you seem to want a certain standard of evidence to exist before investing your belief in a given claim. If only you were able to be consistent enough in your approach to apply it to truly ridiculous things, such as your promotion of the so-called Clinton Kill List.