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Bipartisan Group Raises Red Flags About Trump’s Conflicts of Interest

Mother Jones

A bipartisan coalition of Washington ethics watchdogs—including one of Hillary Clinton’s most vocal critics—is calling on President-elect Donald Trump to divest himself of his sprawling business interests.

“By combining your presidency with your family business enterprises, you will create ongoing conflict of interest and credibility problems for your presidency,” reads an open letter the group sent to Trump Friday. “Questions will regularly arise as to whether your domestic and foreign policy positions are being taken on behalf of the interests of the American people or the financial interests of the Trump family, which will necessarily diverge on numerous occasions from those of the nation as a whole.”

The letter was signed by 29 different individuals and groups. The list contains a who’s who of Washington watchdog groups. It also includes six former Republican elected officials and Richard Painter, who served as the top ethics lawyer in George W. Bush’s administration. But perhaps the most eye-popping name on the list is Peter Schweizer, the head of the Government Accountability Institute—a conservative group whose board has included Trump adviser Stephen Bannon. Schweizer is the author of Clinton Cash, a best-selling book that was the basis for much of the controversy over Clinton’s involvement with the Clinton Foundation. Schweizer was particularly critical of the foundation’s acceptance of large gifts from foreign donors who appeared to be seeking favors from the Clintons.

Even before he has taken office, Trump’s transition effort has already been dogged by conflict of interest accusations, including questions as to why his daughter has sat in on meetings with foreign leaders and his involvement with hotels in Argentina, Turkey, China, and Taiwan.

Trump has said he will hold a press conference next week in which he will explain how he he will separate himself from the daily “business operations” of the Trump organization. But this won’t be enough, the letter says.

Although congressional Republicans have appeared reluctant to take any steps to investigate Trump’s personal finances, the letter’s signers urge Trump to take the issue seriously.

“Republicans and Democrats called for similar strong measures regarding the Clinton Foundation if Hillary Clinton were elected president,” the letter says. “It is no less important for you to take the steps set forth in this letter with The Trump Organization now that you will be entering the Oval Office.”

The full letter can be read here.

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Bipartisan Group Raises Red Flags About Trump’s Conflicts of Interest

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Right Wing Decides D’Souza Indictment Is All About Obama Getting Revenge On His Enemies

Mother Jones

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Me, writing yesterday about Dinesh D’Souza’s indictment for campaign finance fraud:

If this turns out to be true, he’s in trouble….Alternatively, it could be a godsend, something he can milk forever as proof that he’s being hounded by Obama administration thugs determined to shut down their conservative critics.

Ben Dimiero runs the tape this morning:

Matt Drudge tweeted that the indictments against D’Souza and former Republican Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell are evidence that Attorney General Eric Holder is “unleashing the dogs” on “Obama critics.”….On her radio show this morning, Fox contributor Laura Ingraham claimed that “we are criminalizing political dissent in the United States of America….The indictment “is more about stifling political dissent and intimidating other people from speaking out than it is about any real serious allegation of wrongdoing.”….An article on FoxNews.com includes the suggestion from a “close colleague” of D’Souza’s that the indictment is “selective prosecution” in the first sentence.

….Rush Limbaugh joined the chorus on his radio show, claiming Obama’s Justice Department is “trying to criminalize as many Republicans and conservatives as they can.” Meanwhile, Fox Nation is using Drudge’s tweet and a few other articles on conservatives sites to ask readers to “sound off” on whether there is “A COORDINATED, VAST LEFT-WING CONSPIRACY.”

So there you have it. It looks like godsend is the winner.

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Right Wing Decides D’Souza Indictment Is All About Obama Getting Revenge On His Enemies

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Chart of the Day: Republicans Rule Sunday Morning

Mother Jones

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Steve Benen has once again tallied up all the guests on the five major Sunday morning chat shows, and as usual, Republicans rule the roost. The chart below shows everyone with 10 or more appearances, and 77 percent of them are Republicans:

This really is a bit of mystery. It’s easy to go on about how the beltway media is obsessed with Republicans no matter who’s in charge, yada yada yada, but that’s not really a satisfying explanation. Nor is it because one side happens to have more charismatic leaders than the other: it’s true that neither Harry Reid nor Nancy Pelosi are on this list, but neither are John Boehner and Mitch McConnell. So what explains it? Are Republicans more aggressive than Democrats about getting themselves booked? Are Democrats more boring than Republicans? Do Republicans get better ratings? Is theatrical intransigence just fundamentally better TV?

Seriously, what’s the deal? “Reporters love Republicans” just doesn’t cut it. So what’s up?

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Chart of the Day: Republicans Rule Sunday Morning

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