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Ethics lawyers to sue Trump over foreign payments

A group including former White House ethics attorneys will file a lawsuit on Monday accusing President Donald Trump of allowing his businesses to accept payments from foreign governments, in violation of the U.S. Constitution.

The lawsuit, brought by the Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, will allege that the Constitution's emoluments clause forbids payments to Trump's businesses. It will seek a court order forbidding Trump from accepting such payments, said Deepak Gupta, one of the lawyers working on the case.

Trump does business with countries like China, India, Indonesia and the Philippines, the group noted in a statement.

"When Trump the president sits down to negotiate trade deals with these countries, the American people will have no way of knowing whether he will also be thinking about the profits of Trump the businessman," it said.

A Trump representative referred questions to a law firm representing the president on ethics matters.

"We do not comment on our clients or the work we do for them," said the representative of the firm, Morgan Lewis & Bockius.

The case is part of a wave of litigation expected to be filed against Trump by liberal advocacy groups. It will be filed in a Manhattan federal court, Gupta said, and attorneys for the plaintiffs will include Richard Painter, a former ethics lawyer in Republican President George W. Bush's White House.

The impending lawsuit was earlier reported by the New York Times.

Trump's son Eric Trump, an executive vice president of the Trump Organization, told the Times on Sunday that the company had taken more steps than required by law to avoid any possible legal exposure, such as agreeing to donate any profits collected at Trump-owned hotels that come from foreign government guests to the U.S. Treasury.

"This is purely harassment for political gain," Trump told the newspaper.

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Originally posted by G:

Another big plus: He may be responsible for blowing up both major political parties.

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Originally posted by 1kiki:
NOT REAL NEWS

Trump gave a speech to the CIA (fact) that was described as 'bizarre' (not fact). I listened to it all the way through, and it didn't seem that bizarre to me

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Trump Signs 3 Executive Orders:
(1)Withdraws From TPP
(2) Freezes Federal Hiring
(3) Limits Overseas Abortion Funding

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Originally posted by 1kiki:
NOT REAL NEWS
Trump gave a speech to the CIA (fact) that was described as 'bizarre' (not fact). I listened to it all the way through, and it didn't seem that bizarre to me ...

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Originally posted by THGRRI:
His complaining about press reports that his crowds during his inauguration were not the most ever, while he was standing in front of the wall of hero's
didn't seem bizarre to you???

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The unnamed television network, he noted, estimated a turnout of 250,000 people — a figure he argued was way too low.

“Now, that's not bad. But it's a lie,” he said. “We had 250,000 people literally around in the little ball we constructed.” In other words, 250,000 people had been given tickets to the swearing-in ceremony, which is what the Joint Congressional Committee for Inaugural Ceremonies told CNN.

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Originally posted by 1kiki:

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Originally posted by 1kiki:
NOT REAL NEWS
Trump gave a speech to the CIA (fact) that was described as 'bizarre' (not fact). I listened to it all the way through, and it didn't seem that bizarre to me ...

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Originally posted by THGRRI:
His complaining about press reports that his crowds during his inauguration were not the most ever, while he was standing in front of the wall of hero's
didn't seem bizarre to you???

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WHAT TRUMP SAID

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The unnamed television network, he noted, estimated a turnout of 250,000 people — a figure he argued was way too low.

“Now, that's not bad. But it's a lie,” he said. “We had 250,000 people literally around in the little ball we constructed.” In other words, 250,000 people had been given tickets to the swearing-in ceremony, which is what the Joint Congressional Committee for Inaugural Ceremonies told CNN.

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It's looks like a legitimate complaint. 250,000 is far too low an estimate: ie FAKE NEWS. Trump SHOULD be complaining about FAKE NEWS.

AND SO SHOULD YOU.

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Your (sic) being a commie troll who belongs to a dictators (sic) propaganda machine ...

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Originally posted by 1kiki:

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Your being a commie troll who belongs to a dictators propaganda machine ...

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'YOUR' English is slipping. You mean I'm a troll because I don't sign on to FAKE NEWS - like the estimate only 250,000 people showed up to Trump's inauguration? Let me ask you, THUGGER, if I'm a troll for pointing out FAKE NEWS, what does that make you when you endorse it?

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Originally posted by 1kiki:
NOT REAL NEWS
Trump gave a speech to the CIA (fact) that was described as 'bizarre' (not fact). I listened to it all the way through, and it didn't seem that bizarre to me ...

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Originally posted by THGRRI:
His complaining about press reports that his crowds during his inauguration were not the most ever, while he was standing in front of the wall of hero's
didn't seem bizarre to you???

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The unnamed television network, he noted, estimated a turnout of 250,000 people — a figure he argued was way too low.

“Now, that's not bad. But it's a lie,” he said. “We had 250,000 people literally around in the little ball we constructed.” In other words, 250,000 people had been given tickets to the swearing-in ceremony, which is what the Joint Congressional Committee for Inaugural Ceremonies told CNN.

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Originally posted by THGRRI:
What are you talking about? Try to stay on point. You do that by posting objectively not subjectively. Let me help you out. Here is what we were talking about.

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Originally posted by 1kiki:
NOT REAL NEWS
Trump gave a speech to the CIA (fact) that was described as 'bizarre' (not fact). I listened to it all the way through, and it didn't seem that bizarre to me ...

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Originally posted by THGRRI:
His complaining about press reports that his crowds during his inauguration were not the most ever, while he was standing in front of the wall of hero's
didn't seem bizarre to you???

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Originally posted by SIGNYM:
He's also brought out Dem AND Republican voters who have not voted in years... if ever.

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Originally posted by second:
...repeating an assertion that lacks supporting evidence...

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Originally posted by JO753:

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Originally posted by SIGNYM:
He's also brought out Dem AND Republican voters who have not voted in years... if ever.

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Did he?
http://edition.cnn.com/2016/11/11/politics/popular-vote-turnout-2016/

If so, there wuz a greater number uv previous voterz who stayed home. A reazonable propozition, but can you proov it? Also reazonable to say Hillary cauzed them to stay home! m

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Originally posted by 6IXSTRINGJACK:

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Originally posted by second:
...repeating an assertion that lacks supporting evidence...

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He'd fit right in here in the RWED...

Do Right, Be Right. :)

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Originally posted by second:
Why does our world suddenly seem to be filled with outrage, yet nothing changes? When our moral intuitions provoke anger, we voice our hatred or cynicism online and somehow feel that is enough.

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Originally posted by 6IXSTRINGJACK:
I don't necessarily believe that the 3-5 million illegals voting is not true. I really don't understand why we don't require IDs to vote. It really would clear up 99% of these things once and for all.

Some people are resourceful and always find a way against these sorts of things, but requiring an ID that was checked against the voter list would clear up any doubts anybody has about massive scale voter/election fraud. It always seems to be only the Democrats who are against such a rule. I find that terribly hilarious since it was largely the Democrats who made liquor store employees so terrified of being fined that I get carded much more often than I did when I was 21 years old.

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I don't necessarily believe that the 3-5 million illegals voting is not true. I really don't understand why we don't require IDs to vote. It really would clear up 99% of these things once and for all.

Some people are resourceful and always find a way against these sorts of things, but requiring an ID that was checked against the voter list would clear up any doubts anybody has about massive scale voter/election fraud. It always seems to be only the Democrats who are against such a rule. I find that terribly hilarious since it was largely the Democrats who made liquor store employees so terrified of being fined that I get carded much more often than I did when I was 21 years old.- SIX

Since 2008, Republican controlled states have passed measures to make it harder for Americans — particularly blacks — to vote. These measures include cuts to early voting, voter ID laws, and purges of voter rolls. Would 6ixStringJack care to speculate why only Republicans are doing this? Care to give a number of illegals who voted before 2008? 12 is my number. Care to give a number of blacks turned away from voting after 2008? 12,000,000 is my number. Is 12 less than 12,000,000? Do the exercise with your numbers and see what you get.- SECOND

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Originally posted by 6IXSTRINGJACK:

This isn't new, or "sudden". I started voicing my cynicism right here more than 10 years ago about GWB and back then there were a lot more people in the RWED. And if you didn't notice this going on the last 8 years because you were happy with Obama, you simply were surrounded by your own echo chamber and didn't notice that it was going on.

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Originally posted by second:
The standard method of authoritarianization goes like this: you appoint loyalists into the judiciary and security agencies, move on to defenestrate critics within your party, neutralize the media through accusation and delegitimization, and single out individuals for special scorn.

Since declaring his candidacy in June 2015, Trump has appeared to be taking pages out of the authoritarianization playbook.

He has attacked 305 people and entities big and small, according to a running tally by The New York Times, often astonishingly infantile tirades that have nonetheless destroyed political rivals, brought others to heel, alarmed foreign powers, and plain annoyed a lot of people.
www.nytimes.com/interactive/2016/01/28/upshot/donald-trump-twitter-ins
ults.html

He is now intimidating Washington power centers into accepting his one-man leadership—the intelligence agencies, the Federal Reserve, and Congress.
www.bloomberg.com/view/articles/2017-01-05/trump-s-systematic-attack-o
n-u-s-institutions

So slowly are these steps taken that it is hard to discern when the break with democracy actually occurs. That is one reason why its insidiousness poses one of the most significant threats to democracy in the twenty-first century.

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Originally posted by second:
Since 2008, Republican controlled states have passed measures to make it harder for Americans — particularly blacks — to vote. These measures include cuts to early voting, voter ID laws, and purges of voter rolls. Would 6ixStringJack care to speculate why only Republicans are doing this? Care to give a number of illegals who voted before 2008? 12 is my number. Care to give a number of blacks turned away from voting after 2008? 12,000,000 is my number. Is 12 less than 12,000,000? Do the exercise with your numbers and see what you get.

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at www.mediafire.com/folder/1uwh75oa407q8/Firefly

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Originally posted by second:
How is Trump running the government?

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Originally posted by 6IXSTRINGJACK:

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Originally posted by second:
How is Trump running the government?

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Not sure why you quoted me on this one. I don't see how that reply pertains at all to what I was talking about.

Do Right, Be Right. :)

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Cynically, Trump claims he will run the government like a business. Trump promised 6ix a good job (6ix is an unemployed Ne'er-do-well) and promised second a huge tax cut (second is the 1%). We can judge Trump by how soon he meets these goals and the cost to meet them.- SECONDRATE

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Presidential Memorandum Regarding Withdrawal of the United States from the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP)

It is the policy of my Administration to represent the American people and their financial well-being in all negotations, particularly the American worker, and to create fair and economically beneficial trade deals that serve their interests. Additionally, in order to ensure these outcomes, it is the intention of my Administration to deal directly with individual countries on a one-on-one (or bilateral) basis in negotiating future trade deals. Trade with other nations is, and always will be, of paramount importance to my Administration and to me, as President of the United States. Based on these principles, and by the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, I hereby direct you to withdraw the United States as a signatory to the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), to permanently withdraw the United States from TPP negotiations, and to begin pursuing, wherever possible, bilateral trade negotiations to promote American industry, protect American workers, and raise American wages.

You are directed to provide written notification to the Parties and to the Depository of
the TPP, as appropriate, that the United States withdraws as a signatory of the TPP and withdraws from the TPP negotiating process.

You are authorized and directed to publish this memorandum in the Federal Register.
DONALD J. TRUMP

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Philip Morris Asia challenged the tobacco plain packaging legislation under the 1993 Agreement between the Government of Australia and the Government of Hong Kong for the Promotion and Protection of Investments (Hong Kong Agreenment). This was the first investor-state dispute brought against Australia. https://www.ag.gov.au/tobaccoplainpackaging

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By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and laws of the United States of America, including the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), 8 U.S.C. 1101 et seq., and section 301 of title 3, United States Code, and to protect the American people from terrorist attacks by foreign nationals admitted to the United States, it is hereby ordered as follows:

Section 1. Purpose. The visa-issuance process plays a crucial role in detecting individuals with terrorist ties and stopping them from entering the United States. Perhaps in no instance was that more apparent than the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, when State Department policy prevented consular officers from properly scrutinizing the visa applications of several of the 19 foreign nationals who went on to murder nearly 3,000 Americans. And while the visa-issuance process was reviewed and amended after the September 11 attacks to better detect would-be terrorists from receiving visas, these measures did not stop attacks by foreign nationals who were admitted to the United States.

Numerous foreign-born individuals have been convicted or implicated in terrorism-related crimes since September 11, 2001, including foreign nationals who entered the United States after receiving visitor, student, or employment visas, or who entered through the United States refugee resettlement program. Deteriorating conditions in certain countries due to war, strife, disaster, and civil unrest increase the likelihood that terrorists will use any means possible to enter the United States. The United States must be vigilant during the visa-issuance process to ensure that those approved for admission do not intend to harm Americans and that they have no ties to terrorism.

In order to protect Americans, the United States must ensure that those admitted to this country do not bear hostile attitudes toward it and its founding principles. The United States cannot, and should not, admit those who do not support the Constitution, or those who would place violent ideologies over American law. In addition, the United States should not admit those who engage in acts of bigotry or hatred (including “honor” killings, other forms of violence against women, or the persecution of those who practice religions different from their own) or those who would oppress Americans of any race, gender, or sexual orientation.

Sec. 2. Policy. It is the policy of the United States to protect its citizens from foreign nationals who intend to commit terrorist attacks in the United States; and to prevent the admission of foreign nationals who intend to exploit United States immigration laws for malevolent purposes.

Sec. 3. Suspension of Issuance of Visas and Other Immigration Benefits to Nationals of Countries of Particular Concern. (a) The Secretary of Homeland Security, in consultation with the Secretary of State and the Director of National Intelligence, shall immediately conduct a review to determine the information needed from any country to adjudicate any visa, admission, or other benefit under the INA (adjudications) in order to determine that the individual seeking the benefit is who the individual claims to be and is not a security or public-safety threat.

(b) The Secretary of Homeland Security, in consultation with the Secretary of State and the Director of National Intelligence, shall submit to the President a report on the results of the review described in subsection (a) of this section, including the Secretary of Homeland Security’s determination of the information needed for adjudications and a list of countries that do not provide adequate information, within 30 days of the date of this order. The Secretary of Homeland Security shall provide a copy of the report to the Secretary of State and the Director of National Intelligence.

(c) Pursuant to section 212(f) of the INA, 8 U.S.C. 1182(f), I hereby proclaim that the entry of nationals of Syria as refugees is detrimental to the interests of the United States and thus suspend any such entry until such time as I have determined that sufficient changes have been made to the USRAP to ensure that admission of Syrian refugees is consistent with the national interest.

(d) Pursuant to section 212(f) of the INA, 8 U.S.C. 1182(f), I hereby proclaim that the entry of more than 50,000 refugees in fiscal year 2017 would be detrimental to the interests of the United States, and thus suspend any such entry until such time as I determine that additional admissions would be in the national interest.

(e) Notwithstanding the temporary suspension imposed pursuant to subsection (a) of this section, the Secretaries of State and Homeland Security may jointly determine to admit individuals to the United States as refugees on a case-by-case basis, in their discretion, but only so long as they determine that the admission of such individuals as refugees is in the national interest — including when the person is a religious minority in his country of nationality facing religious persecution, when admitting the person would enable the United States to conform its conduct to a preexisting international agreement, or when the person is already in transit and denying admission would cause undue hardship — and it would not pose a risk to the security or welfare of the United States.

(f) The Secretary of State shall submit to the President an initial report on the progress of the directive in subsection (b) of this section regarding prioritization of claims made by individuals on the basis of religious-based persecution within 100 days of the date of this order and shall submit a second report within 200 days of the date of this order.

(g) It is the policy of the executive branch that, to the extent permitted by law and as practicable, State and local jurisdictions be granted a role in the process of determining the placement or settlement in their jurisdictions of aliens eligible to be admitted to the United States as refugees. To that end, the Secretary of Homeland Security shall examine existing law to determine the extent to which, consistent with applicable law, State and local jurisdictions may have greater involvement in the process of determining the placement or resettlement of refugees in their jurisdictions, and shall devise a proposal to lawfully promote such involvement.

Sec. 6. Rescission of Exercise of Authority Relating to the Terrorism Grounds of Inadmissibility. The Secretaries of State and Homeland Security shall, in consultation with the Attorney General, consider rescinding the exercises of authority in section 212 of the INA, 8 U.S.C. 1182, relating to the terrorism grounds of inadmissibility, as well as any related implementing memoranda.

Sec. 7. Expedited Completion of the Biometric Entry-Exit Tracking System. (a) The Secretary of Homeland Security shall expedite the completion and implementation of a biometric entry-exit tracking system for all travelers to the United States, as recommended by the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States.

(b) The Secretary of Homeland Security shall submit to the President periodic reports on the progress of the directive contained in subsection (a) of this section. The initial report shall be submitted within 100 days of the date of this order, a second report shall be submitted within 200 days of the date of this order, and a third report shall be submitted within 365 days of the date of this order. Further, the Secretary shall submit a report every 180 days thereafter until the system is fully deployed and operational.

Sec. 8. Visa Interview Security. (a) The Secretary of State shall immediately suspend the Visa Interview Waiver Program and ensure compliance with section 222 of the INA, 8 U.S.C. 1222, which requires that all individuals seeking a nonimmigrant visa undergo an in-person interview, subject to specific statutory exceptions.

(b) To the extent permitted by law and subject to the availability of appropriations, the Secretary of State shall immediately expand the Consular Fellows Program, including by substantially increasing the number of Fellows, lengthening or making permanent the period of service, and making language training at the Foreign Service Institute available to Fellows for assignment to posts outside of their area of core linguistic ability, to ensure that non-immigrant visa-interview wait times are not unduly affected.

Sec. 9. Visa Validity Reciprocity. The Secretary of State shall review all nonimmigrant visa reciprocity agreements to ensure that they are, with respect to each visa classification, truly reciprocal insofar as practicable with respect to validity period and fees, as required by sections 221(c) and 281 of the INA, 8 U.S.C. 1201(c) and 1351, and other treatment. If a country does not treat United States nationals seeking nonimmigrant visas in a reciprocal manner, the Secretary of State shall adjust the visa validity period, fee schedule, or other treatment to match the treatment of United States nationals by the foreign country, to the extent practicable.

Sec. 10. Transparency and Data Collection. (a) To be more transparent with the American people, and to more effectively implement policies and practices that serve the national interest, the Secretary of Homeland Security, in consultation with the Attorney General, shall, consistent with applicable law and national security, collect and make publicly available within 180 days, and every 180 days thereafter:

(i) information regarding the number of foreign nationals in the United States who have been charged with terrorism-related offenses while in the United States; convicted of terrorism-related offenses while in the United States; or removed from the United States based on terrorism-related activity, affiliation, or material support to a terrorism-related organization, or any other national security reasons since the date of this order or the last reporting period, whichever is later;

(ii) information regarding the number of foreign nationals in the United States who have been radicalized after entry into the United States and engaged in terrorism-related acts, or who have provided material support to terrorism-related organizations in countries that pose a threat to the United States, since the date of this order or the last reporting period, whichever is later; and

(iii) information regarding the number and types of acts of gender-based violence against women, including honor killings, in the United States by foreign nationals, since the date of this order or the last reporting period, whichever is later; and

(iv) any other information relevant to public safety and security as determined by the Secretary of Homeland Security and the Attorney General, including information on the immigration status of foreign nationals charged with major offenses.

(b) The Secretary of State shall, within one year of the date of this order, provide a report on the estimated long-term costs of the USRAP at the Federal, State, and local levels.

Sec. 11. General Provisions. (a) Nothing in this order shall be construed to impair or otherwise affect:

(i) the authority granted by law to an executive department or agency, or the head thereof; or

(ii) the functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals.

(b) This order shall be implemented consistent with applicable law and subject to the availability of appropriations.

(c) This order is not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any party against the United States, its departments, agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any other person.

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Citizens of Syria, Iraq, Iran, Sudan, Somalia, Yemen and Libya would be banned from entering the U.S. for 90 days, while the government determines what information it needs to safely admit visitors.

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Originally posted by reaverfan:
You don't seem to be capable of understanding what's going on right in front of you.

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Originally posted by 1kiki:
Why in god's name do I have to rely on a diligent poster in an obscure forum for a simple list of Trump's Executive Orders?

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Originally posted by G:
Because you can't spell Google?

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Originally posted by 1kiki:
The msm should be keeping a running daily tally above the fold in big font, and WITH LINKS in every on-line publication, instead of ignoring nearly all of them and and endlessly frothing over one or two.
And if that doesn't tell you how much the msm is an arm of the propaganda machine rather than a NEWS SERVICE, nothing will.

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Originally posted by G:
I'm confused Kookoo

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Originally posted by G:
1. The pitch from Trump for this was to protect the US from foreign terrorists, but the facts of where terrorists have come from blow that up completely. So another lie.

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2. According to Rudy G., this was a ban on a religion.

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Maybe you are new to the US, but religious freedoms are the very core of our CONSTITUTION.

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3. Banning Muslims only

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further's (sic) ISIS desire for religious conflict between Islam and Christians

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- do you want that? Maybe you do.

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4. It was rushed, poorly handled - bad showing for the administration which reflects poorly on the country - and for no reason.

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BTW, do you know what the number of allowed immigrants was under JFK, that paragon of liberal Democrats?

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Originally posted by SIGNYM:

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BTW, do you know what the number of allowed immigrants was under JFK, that paragon of liberal Democrats?

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The answer was: ZERO.

I'm getting a sense of the Trump Administration's flaws. It has a lot to do with inexperience with government: Trump thinks that the White House plays like reality TV, that all he has to do is give the word and it shall be done. And Trump's appointees mostly reflect Trump's own POV- people who talk big and promote well, but who don't necessarily follow up. Loose cannons.

Michael Flynn, for example. My impression of his 45-minute interview was that he was something of a "fast talker". While he never said anything cringeworthy, he always had an excuse or a reason or an explanation for why something didn't go well. Which explains why he's in trouble now.

OTOH, Tillerson is a shining appointee. He doesn't blab all over the media. Instead, he seems to be steady and methodically goal-oriented.



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"Pity would be no more,
If we did not MAKE men poor"- William Blake

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