Unprecedented: But Why?

I don’t much like writing about Donald Trump. Too much is written already, and anyone who has not yet understood what an utterly unprincipled ass he is, is not going to be swayed by anything anyone writes, including me.

The question of what really allowed him to become US President twice is an important one, to be sure, but everyone has a different view on that matter. I mostly blame the Democratic party. Whatever.

I am here going to write something that is at least partly about DJT, but I am doing it because of an editorial in The Free Press about him, in which I learned something that surprised me greatly. I aim to inform here, and I suspect my readers will be just as surprised about it as was I.

The Free Press editorial of which I speak is titled Trump’s Art of the Self-Deal, is indeed credited to The Editorial Board at TFP, and has the subtitle: ‘There is no modern parallel for the scale and shamelessness with which the president is enriching himself in office’

It is dated July 1. Canada Day. There’s an irony for you.

Some quotes from the editorial, to set up why the editors attached that subtitle to what they wrote.

‘…President Donald Trump’s financial disclosure report showing that he had reaped at least $2.2 billion in gains since returning to the White House, largely due to the cryptocurrency businesses set up by his sons Eric and Donald Jr.’

‘Trump’s financial report shows, for instance, that his accounts executed nearly 4,000 trades during just a three-month period, many involving companies that need to stay in the administration’s good graces. That is practically the definition of conflict of interest.’

‘Whatever the Bidens may or may not have done, it pales in comparison to the influence peddling that has taken place during Trump’s second term. A president who pardons a convicted money launderer who helps him make money in the crypto business is sullying the presidency, as is a president who gives a foreign nation access to advanced chips after one of its top officials buys $2 billion worth of his family’s stablecoins.’

There is plenty more like that in the editorial. It also references a story in the NYT that provides more details on what DJT and his family have been doing to earn cash during his second term.

OK, so now let me get to the informative bit from the article I mentioned. I quote from the editorial:

‘As Trump himself has pointed out, the federal conflict of interest laws that apply to executive branch officials exempt the president and vice president. No one paid much attention to that fact before Trump because no one had to.’

Holy Shit. The laws exempt the Prez and VP? Why, for godsakes?

Well apparently they do, and the NYT article in particular goes to some lengths to document what previous presidents have done to avoid appearances of conflict of interest during their terms of office. Bush Jr sold off his stake in the Texas Rangers MLB team, LBJ’s wife transferred her radio and TV stations to an outside trust, and Jimmy Carter did the same with his peanut farm.

Farms get federal subsidies, TV and radio is federally regulated, and the MLB had (and maybe still has) a federal anti-trust exemption. You get the picture. Those previous presidents apparently wanted to avoid any appearance of conflicts of interest while they were in office.

DJT does not. And, it seems he is breaking no laws.

Bloody hell.