Trump vs. The American People:

What You Need to Know About His Many Conflicts of Interest

These are just some of the boxes of research on Donald Trump that my team at the DNC has compiled over the past two years:

There’s a lot in these boxes that should make Americans nervous, and we’re going to spend the next four years keeping everyone informed of exactly how dangerous and self-interested Trump’s plans and actions are.

In the past week alone, one issue with Trump’s presidency has risen to the surface with more terrifying clarity than ever before: His business dealings — or at least the ones he’s been willing to disclose—present unprecedented conflicts of interests with his leadership of our government, our economy, and our foreign policy.

AT HOME

To start, there are Trump’s personal dealings with the federal government, which, come January 20, he will control. One prime example: He is currently leasing the Old Post Office Hotel from the government through a deal managed by the General Services Administration. Here is what that means:

“You’re going to have a situation where the president appoints the head of GSA, and then the president’s most visible asset in Washington is potentially subject to negotiation with that person over the terms of the lease and any changes in the lease.” — Trevor Potter, former head of the Federal Elections Commission

Sounds shady, right? That’s probably why leases with the government prohibit elected officials from holding any part of the lease or gaining any benefit from it — so it’s not even clear how Trump’s company can continue to be involved. And even if the agreement holds up, any potential conflict or lawsuit that might arise from his lease would pit the Trump organization against the federal government. Which again, as president, Trump would run.

And that’s not even considering the issues he has with the IRS. Trump’s taxes are currently under audit (remember — this is why he falsely claimed he couldn’t show voters his tax returns), and his pattern of self-dealing through his charitable foundation has already resulted in his paying a fine to the IRS earlier this year. We know that Trump has used “legally dubious” tax avoidance strategies in the past, and earlier this year, Trump paid a penalty to the IRS for making an illegal campaign contribution through his charitable foundation. What kind of leeway will the IRS have to scrutinize Trump when he is effectively in charge of the agency?

If you’re like:

You’re not alone. Here’s one of President Obama’s ethics lawyers:

ABROAD

Things get even scarier when you consider Trump’s foreign business dealings. I laid this out during the election, but Donald Trump makes money thanks to deals rooted across the globe. Do you think that, when pressed to choose between what’s right for our foreign policy and what’s right for his bank account, Trump will make the unselfish decision? I hope I’m wrong, but there is zero evidence that Trump will side with the American people over his own wealth. (Beyond, you know, his words. Which haven’t been the most reliable of sources in the past.)

We’re talking about a man who made millions on a hotel deal with a family suspected of human rights violations and laundering money with a senior Iranian military official. In Brazil, a lawmaker was charged with bribery after receiving $5 million in a deal related to Trump’s hotel in Rio de Janeiro. And even as Trump was condemning China on the campaign trail, his hotel company continued to negotiate with their largest state-owned enterprise over a major capital development.

So do you trust Trump to be our chief diplomat? To walk away from deals that hurt the American people, but help his financial interests? To put our troops’ safety above the safety of his investments?

WHAT WE DON’T KNOW

Of course, those are just some of the conflicts that we know about. Infamously, Trump broke with decades of precedent and refused to release his tax returns during the campaign, so voters went into the booth without a full picture of the potential conflicts of interest he poses.

And knowing the kinds of businesses that he operates, we can make educated guesses at where else conflicts might pop up:

• Who will Trump — whose businesses have repeatedly run into issues with unions — appoint to the National Labor Relations Board, and how will Trump’s appointees be able to impartially rule on matters related to his business?
• What if the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) finds a violation of workplace safety standards at a Trump job site?
• How will Trump, who owns several golf courses, deal with the Clean Water Rule, which protects streams and wetlands, and has been lobbied against by other golf course operators?

And the conflicts extend well beyond his businesses. Consider this: Trump will soon control the agencies that are investigating Russia’s role in disrupting the election that Trump won.

The FBI and intelligence communities have ongoing inquiries into Russia’s interference in our elections, as well as potential ties between Russia and senior officials in Trump’s campaign. There is widespread consensus among our intelligence agencies that Russia interfered in our free and fair elections, and while Trump was reportedly told this in intelligence briefings, he has continued to deny it. Now Trump is in a position to stop the American people from ever really knowing what happened.

So there’s no time to sit and stew. We have to do everything in our power to keep the truth about Donald Trump in the news and in front of every American he is about to represent.

Force this conversation at Thanksgiving. Make sure your friends, neighbors, and relatives — Trump voters or not — know about these significant conflicts of interest.

Post this story on Facebook so that your friends who didn’t vote know exactly why they need to show up in two years.

And let us know you’re ready to stand up to Trump, because none of his machinations can ever be allowed to make America one bit less great: democrats.org/next