Tag: Eric Trump

Trump Winery Seeks More Foreign Help

A Virginia winery owned by President Trump’s son Eric has requested permission to bring in nearly two dozen foreign workers, according to a new report.

The Trump Winery in Virginia is seeking 23 workers from overseas to plant and harvest grapes there this spring, BuzzFeed reported Thursday.

The Department of Labor published a request from the winery, which is also known as Trump Vineyard Estates LLC, earlier that day.

Thursday’s posting says potential workers will earn $11.27 hourly working at the 1,300-acre estate from April 3 to as late as Oct. 27.

The workers are being sought using the federal H-2A visa program, which permits U.S. employers to hire foreign agricultural laborers for temporary work as long as no qualified Americans want the jobs instead.

The H-2 visa program has brought more than 100,000 foreigners into the U.S. annually since 2003, BuzzFeed reported, and the initiative has benefited businesses relating to the Trumps.

BuzzFeed added that companies owned by President Trump or bearing his name have sought to hire at least 286 foreign workers since he launched his White House run in June 2015.

Many laborers now work as servers and housecleaners at Mar-a-Lago, the report said, Trump’s luxury resort in Palm Beach, Fla., that Trump has dubbed “the winter White House.”

Stores in the Washington, D.C., area have reportedly been selling out of bottles of wine that bear the president’s name since he entered office.

(h/t The Hill)

Eric Trump Sticks Taxpayers With $97,830 Bill for Uruguayan Business Trip

Eric Trump, who along with his brother Donald Trump Jr. has been put in charge of their father’s sprawling international business empire while he is president, has stuck taxpayers with an astonishing $97,830 bill for a recent business trip to Uruguay.

The nearly $100,000 tab for the visit, which may have been as short as two nights, included some $88,320 in hotel rooms for Eric Trump’s Secret Service detail and an additional $9,510 in accommodations for U.S. embassy personnel who accompanied them, the Washington Post reported. While in Uruguay, Eric Trump enjoyed high-priced meals, attended an “ultra-exclusive” party thrown in his honor and mingled with the real estate brokers behind the 26-story Punta del Este project, which paid between $100,000 to $1 million for use of the Trump brand name.

It’s a clear-cut case of how President Trump’s refusal to divest from his businesses and instead simply shift management concerns to his children has created a situation in which “government agencies are forced to pay to support business operations that ultimately help to enrich the president himself,” according to the Post.

Despite the president’s investments posing an enormous array of potential conflicts of interests, Trump at first proposed setting up what he called a “blind trust” and then later simply settled on putting his two sons in charge. Top ethics officials including Office of Government Ethics Director Walter Shaub have described the move as insufficient to meet basic ethical concerns, while the administration has insisted Trump’s holdings are too extensive and tied to the value of his brand name for the president to divest.

Documents recently obtained by the Post show Trump is the sole beneficiary of the trust he set up for his holdings and can revoke it at any time, thus meaning he is continuing to profit from his brand while in office.

Eric Trump Foundation Flouts Charity Standards

A charity operated by one of Donald Trump’s sons flouts philanthropic standards by financially benefiting charities connected to the Trump family and members of the charity’s board, an Associated Press investigation shows.

The AP found that Eric Trump has exaggerated the size of his foundation and the donations it receives. At the same time, the charity’s payments for services or donations to other groups repeatedly went to one of Donald Trump’s private golf clubs and to charities linked to the Trumps by corporate, family or philanthropic relationships.

The Eric Trump Foundation has raised $7.3 million mostly for children ill with cancer, according to IRS filings since 2007. The charity has long raised money from donors willing to make large contributions to hobnob with the Trumps. For example, golf at the foundation’s chief 2015 fundraiser cost up to $50,000 per foursome. Donald Trump often attends these events, which include a gala dinner, and mixes with the guests and has his photo taken.

On Wednesday, the younger Trump said he’ll cease soliciting donations for his nonprofit to avoid accusations that contributions could be perceived as a means to buy access to the Trump White House.

The announcement to stop raising money for the foundation followed cancellation of an online auction for “Coffee with Ivanka,” Eric’s sister. The auction was to be sponsored by the Eric Trump Foundation, whose proceeds generally benefit St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee.

Concerns about the mingling of politics, business and charity have escalated since Donald Trump’s election. Eric Trump, 32, serves as an executive vice president of his father’s corporate umbrella, The Trump Organization. He was active in his father’s campaign for president, serving as a campaign surrogate, spokesman and senior aide. Following the election, he acted as an executive committee member of the Donald Trump presidential transition team. The president-elect has tapped Eric and his brother Donald Jr., to run the family business empire during the Trump presidency.

In addition to the hubbub about the auction for face time with Ivanka, Eric and Donald Jr. drew attention with their involvement in an offer of a hunting trip with either of them in exchange for a donation of up to $1 million to a new charity that Eric Trump was on record supporting. That offering also has been scuttled over concerns about pay-for-access.

Under IRS rules, a public charity collects money to serve a public mission. Any money passed along to other charities also needs to serve such a mission, without favor to those connected to the original charity’s founder, board members, or relatives of its board. Charity boards are supposed to act as independent watchdogs. While the IRS generally gives charities leeway in the hope of encouraging public missions, a pattern of such behavior – even if the receiving charities do good work – could leave the impression that board members are trying to further personal agendas rather than public good.

Among other AP findings:

-The Eric Trump Foundation failed to report multiple conflicts of interest by supposedly independent board members who work for The Trump Organization or Eric Trump’s winery, as required by the IRS.

-Based on its revenue and giving, the Eric Trump Foundation is a small-to-medium-sized charity. Eric Trump has repeatedly overstated its size. In 2015, for example, he said his group was “one of the largest foundations anywhere in the country, anywhere in the world.” Told of the claim, Associate Dean Patrick Rooney at Indiana University’s Center on Philanthropy said, “That’s just silly.”

-Though public charity boards are supposed to represent the public, Eric Trump has loaded his board with friends, relatives and Trump employees. They include two Trump company executives who served as senior presidential campaign aides: former Westchester golf club manager Dan Scavino and special Trump counsel Michael D. Cohen. The charity’s executive director, Paige Scardigli, was a close college friend of Eric Trump at Georgetown University.

In 2014, at least 12 of 16 board members had personal or financial ties to the Trumps outside of the charity, records show. The foundation’s board has also included Lawrence Glick, executive vice president of Strategic Development for The Trump Organization; Kerry Woolard, general manager of Eric’s Trump Winery; Steven Levine, a public relations operative who helped cast Donald Trump’s “The Celebrity Apprentice”; and Eric Trump’s college buddies Andrew R. Graves and Andrew Joblon.

-In an extraordinary provision, the foundation’s bylaws make Eric Trump chairman as long as he remains on the board. It reserves board seats for any children he might eventually have. “What right does he have to put his child on the board? It’s not his private business,” said Daniel Borochoff, president of CharityWatch.

-Eric Trump has falsely claimed his charity raises more money because its golf fundraisers don’t have to pay for use of the family golf courses. In a 2013 promotional video, he said that “we were able to come up with this concept of raising a lot of money with really no expense,” by using Trump golf clubs. Eric Trump had previously said in an AP interview that his charity has reimbursed costs of fundraisers at Trump National Golf Club Westchester. IRS documents show $881,829 paid from 2007 to 2014.

-The foundation failed to report to the IRS, as required, that it paid $100,000 to a Trump golf club in 2013, a potential conflict of interest. When asked by AP, Scardigli called the omission an “oversight.”

The golf club transactions violate a pledge made when Eric Trump sought tax-free status from the IRS. The charity said it wouldn’t do business with a company if any of its corporate officers also were on the charity’s board; Eric Trump is executive vice president of The Trump Organization, which operates and controls the collection of Trump golf courses. Eric Trump oversees the Trump Organization’s golf operations worldwide.

The Eric Trump Foundation has often claimed its fundraising benefits from significant donations of goods and services but its IRS filings show no such donations. When asked, Scardigli said the amount of donated good “considered reportable” was insignificant.

After Eric Trump’s wife Lara joined her husband’s charity board, her favorite groups also began receiving gifts. From 2012-2014, the foundation gave a total of $181,250 to five animal welfare groups where she had visited or volunteered. An animal welfare advocate and enthusiastic rider, she was pictured horseback riding at one of the locations, the Lucky Orphans Horse Rescue, in a 2014 Facebook posting by that group.

Similarly, the Eric Trump Foundation’s largesse has landed at multiple Jewish organizations tied to Ivanka and her husband, Jared Kushner. In 2014, the foundation donated $10,000 to Chai Lifeline, a Jewish group for sick children and their families. That charity’s co-chairman, Larry Spiewak, is a friend of Ivanka and her husband and attended their wedding. A Jewish community leader, he became an early and vocal supporter of Trump’s run for president.

Also, there have been links between board members of the Eric Trump Foundation and Donald Trump’s presidential campaign.

His father’s campaign paid $14.2 million to the company of foundation board member Christl Mahfouz, Ace Specialties, L.L.C., for campaign paraphernalia. Other campaign payments went to foundation board members Scavino, Glick and Woolard.

Foundation executive board member Jerry Kaufman was paid $2,000 in rent. He is a car racer and real estate entrepreneur who served as master of ceremonies at a Trump campaign rally in July.

(h/t Associated Press)

Donald Trump Brings His “Blind Trust” to Meeting with Tech Executives

Every day is “take your kids to work day” when you’re Donald Trump — at least it’s starting to seem that way. The president-elect met Wednesday with top technology executives in Trump Tower in New York City, and it turned out that his adult children Ivanka, Donald Jr., and Eric Trump had come along for the ride:

Also in the room were Apple CEO Tim Cook, Amazon’s Jeff Bezos, Tesla’s Elon Musk, Sheryl Sandberg of Facebook, Larry Page and Eric E. Schmidt of Google parent Alphabet, and Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, along with several other tech leaders.

Notably, Trump has vowed to put his business in a “blind trust” run by Donald Jr. and Eric. Already the “blindness” of such a trust is suspect as a true blind trust is run by an independent trustee — and typically, not trustees that accompany the U.S. president to major conversations about the tech industry.

 

Trump Team Seeks Top-Secret Security Clearances for Trump’s Children

President-elect Donald Trump is potentially seeking top secret security clearances for his children, sources tell CBS News.

The Trump team has asked the White House to explore the possibility of getting his children the top secret security clearances. Logistically, the children would need to be designated by the current White House as national security advisers to their father to receive top secret clearances. However, once Mr. Trump becomes president, he would be able to put in the request himself.

His children would need to fill out the security questionnaire (SF-86) and go through the requisite background checks.

While nepotism rules prevent the president-elect from hiring his kids to work in the White House, they do not need to be government officials to receive top secret security clearances.

The issue raises another layer of questions about the unique role his children are playing and conflicts of interest with their running his network of businesses.

Mr. Trump’s children Ivanka, Eric and Donald Jr., as well as son-in-law Jared Kushner, were named to the president-elect’s transition team late last week. Though they were an integral part of his campaign team, Mr. Trump’s children have all stated that they will not hold formal roles in the government.

“No,” Ivanka told CBS News’ Lesley Stahl when asked during a “60 Minutes” interview if she would join the administration. “I’m going to be a daughter. But I’ve– I’ve said throughout the campaign that I am very passionate about certain issues. And that I want to fight for them.”

(h/t CBS News)

Update

USA Today reports that, “it wasn’t something [Trump] was expecting right now.”

Reality

The fact that his children, who will now be running his business, may have security clearance, as well as a direct line of communication with the President of the United States, makes the concept of a blind trust completely useless. The Trump family will be able to alter government policy to better fit their business ventures or be aware of information months before the rest of the public is notified, allowing an unfair advantage to raise their profits among their competitors.

As Glenn Greenwald put it, “This is not a blind trust in any manner, no matter who calls it that. Stop using this term. It’s false.”

Trump Kids to Run Business While on Transition Team

The Trump Organization said on Friday it was vetting new business structures aimed at transferring management control to three of President-elect Donald Trump’s children and a team of executives.

The Trump Organization said in a statement it was planning to transfer control of the portfolio of businesses to Donald Trump Jr, Ivanka Trump, Eric Trump and other executives.

Earlier on Friday, the three Trump children – the oldest of Trump’s five children – were also named as members of Trump’s Presidential Transition Team Executive Committee.

“This is a top priority at the organization and the structure that is ultimately selected will comply with all applicable rules and regulations,” a spokesperson for the Trump Organization said in a statement.

Federal conflict-of-interest law does not apply to the president, but most White House occupants in the last few decades have voluntarily placed their assets in a blind trust to avoid any suggestion of impropriety.

Experts in government ethics said that giving over control to Trump’s children would do virtually nothing to prevent potential conflicts of interest, since there’s usually no daylight between one’s personal interest and the interest of one’s immediate family members.

“It doesn’t meet any of the standards of a blind trust if the kids are running the company,” said Kenneth Gross, a Washington lawyer who specializes in advising political clients on compliance and ethics.

Gross noted that the official transition team roles that Ivanka Trump, Donald Trump Jr and Eric Trump now have would appear to complicate matters further.

“If they’re going to be involved in government functions – and they’re starting down that road – and running the business, that’s going to make it very difficult to separate the government and business functions and deal with the conflicts of interest,” Gross said.

All three children already have roles in the Trump Organization, according to the company’s website. Ivanka Trump is executive vice president of development and acquisitions, charged with domestic and global expansion of the company’s real estate interests.

Donald Trump Jr is an executive vice president, and works to expand the company’s real estate, retail, commercial, hotel and golf interests nationally and internationally. Eric Trump is executive vice president of development and acquisitions, responsible for new project acquisition, development and construction globally.

Typically, a blind trust involves turning over assets to an independent financial manager with no prior relationship to the owner. In addition, a blind trust derives its name from the idea that the owner would no longer know what assets are sold or bought. For instance, someone with extensive stock holdings would have no way of knowing which companies’ shares he or she still owned in a blind trust.

Trump’s portfolio includes interests in hundreds of limited liability companies, many overseas, as well as numerous real estate properties both domestic and foreign.

Short of selling the entire Trump empire, experts said, he will find it difficult to create a trust sufficiently “blind” to avoid the possibility of any conflicts.

(h/t Huffington Post)

Reality

This is already showing signs of a conflict of interest with Trump family using their position to help enrich their organization with insider information. This is the type of corruption Trump ran against, but only took a few days after being elected to engage in.

Eric Trump Says Bragging About Sexual Assault is What Happens When You’re an ‘Alpha Personality’

During a stop at the Trump campaign’s Denver, Colorado office on Monday, Eric Trump defended his father’s “lewd” conversation with Billy Bush about sexually assaulting women.

The 32-year-old Trump not only excused his father’s conversation with the tired “locker room banter” narrative, he also suggested it’s what happens when two alpha personalities come together, while simultaneously pointing the finger at the Clintons.

Trump alleged that the Clinton campaign leaked the 2005 tape and said, “I think that’s Hillary going low. I think you’ve seen that for a long time,” the Gazette reports. He added, “She’ll dig out dirt on someone from 15 years ago when someone is in entertainment.”

Trump also said, “And, listen, my father apologized for it. He was right to apologize for it, and I’m glad he apologized for it. At the same time, if you look at her track record with women, it’s horrible. It’s absolutely horrible.”

A few things: bragging about kissing and groping women without consent is not locker room talk, it is sexual assault; it doesn’t matter when the tape was recorded, it was released on October 7, 2016 and thus should be examined in relation to the GOP nominee’s campaign; Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton’s husband is not relevant to Trump sexually assaulting women.

The young Trump shared with the office staff, “I think sometimes when guys are together they get carried away, and sometimes that’s what happens when alpha personalities are in the same presence,” on why his father and Billy Bush shared in such a “lewd” exchange about grabbing women by the “p*ssy” and getting away with it because of status.

Add “alpha personalities” to the list of excuses Trump supporters and surrogates are making for the Donald’s gross disregard for women.

According to Trump, it’s only normal for two big wigs to brag about sexual assault while on the bus together — it’s a status thing. They’re also apparently entitled to groping women because of that same alpha status.

A number of top Colorado Republicans have reportedly pulled their support for Trump over the leaked recordings.

(h/t Raw Story)

Eric Trump Says Father Apologized to Khans (But He Hasn’t)

Eric Trump defended his father Tuesday from criticism for his treatment of the family of a slain Muslim US soldier and said that he had already apologized to the Khans and Gold Star families — despite the fact that the senior Trump has pointedly declined to apologize.

Appearing on “CBS This Morning,” Trump was pressed about his father’s lack of apology for his criticism of the Khan family, even amid stinging bipartisan condemnation for his remarks.

The senior Trump has so far not apologized for his remarks toward the Khans, despite Eric Trump’s claim.

“Would your father be willing to apologize and move on?” co-host Norah O’Donnell asked.

“I think that’s a great question for him, and I think he has by calling them a hero,” Trump responded.

“In terms of the one question — whether you’ve made a sacrifice — I think my father has. Now, that’s certainly not the ultimate sacrifice, the ultimate sacrifice is a soldier dying for this nation, dying to protect the three of us, no doubt about it –”

Co-host Gayle King interjected, “Is it difficult for your father to apologize?”

“My father’s a fighter,” Trump said. “I think that’s what this country needs is a fighter. And I think he was attacked the other day — he was attacked viciously — and by the way, that’s politics. You’re going to get attacked.”

Co-host Charlie Rose pivoted, asking instead: “Who tells your father he’s wrong?”

“We can tell him he’s wrong,” Trump laughed.

“When’s the last time you told him he’s wrong?” Rose pressed.

Trump replied, “Listen, we do it respectfully, we go back and forth as a family. I think that’s actually the benefit of having children be part of this process.”

King tried again to push Trump on the Khans: “Do you think he’s wrong on this?”

“I think this is something that’s honestly blown hugely out of proportion,” Trump countered, proceeding to argue that Donald Trump had praised the family as “amazing people” and that his focus was ultimately on security issues and dealing with illegal immigration and Syrian refugees.

(h/t CNN)

Reality

It appears the apple does not fall far from the tree when it comes to facts.

Eric Trump also made several other false statements:

Along with fact-checking, here is why this incident is concerning and adds to the growing evidence that Donald Trump is not fit for the office of the Presidency. Eric Trump called his father a “fighter” and Donald Trump in the past has defended his actions as “counter-punching,” but the Republican presidential nominee’s very first reaction to the valid criticism of his sacrifice and his knowledge of the United States Constitution was to “counter-punch” a grieving mother of a dead American soldier who stood on a stage and said nothing. Think about that.

The person who takes the oath of office and occupies the White House should not be someone who picks a fight at every opportunity as sees every criticism as a “vicious attack.” Instead, as history has shown, a degree of “presidential restraint” is required to be a Commander-in-Chief, which is something Donald Trump has yet to show it is something he is capable of.

Take for instance President Harry Truman’s refusal to order the use of atomic weapons during the Korean War. Its impact has been as permanent as it has been under appreciated, for the effect of Truman’s rejection of the bomb was to establish a taboo against nuclear use that has lasted all these years.

Media

CBS This Morning

 

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