Trump signed the law to require presidential ethics pledges. Now he is exempting himself from it

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-ethics-transition-agreement-b2656246.html

created by GoMx808-0 on 30/11/2024 at 14:37 UTC

15416 upvotes, 233 top-level comments (showing 25)

Comments

Comment by GoMx808-0 at 30/11/2024 at 14:46 UTC

315 upvotes, 18 direct replies

From the article:

“A bipartisan bill to boost transparency and make sure incoming presidents stick to an ethics plan was so uncontroversial that it passed the Senate by a voice vote in 2020. Donald Trump then signed it into law.

But now, after blowing past deadlines to adhere to the law after winning the White House a second time, Trump appears to have excluded himself from those same ethical guidelines.

Trump missed two months of deadlines before finally signing off on an agreement with President Joe Biden’s administration to begin the presidential transition process this week.

But the agreement does not appear to include the president-elect’s pledge to avoid conflicts of interest while in office, despite requirements under a renewed Presidential Transition Act he signed into law four years earlier.

Trump’s team is turning down federal funding and office space for his transition team — as well as official government checks and security checks for his staff. The president-elect has rebuffed agreements with the Department of Justice to process security clearances to access classified information during the transition.

“This announcement fails to answer key questions about national security threats and FBI vetting of nominees, and increases concerns about corruption,” said Senator Elizabeth Warren, who co-wrote the Presidential Transition Act.

“There appear to be serious gaps between the Trump transition’s ethics agreement and the letter of the law,” she said. “The reliance on private donors to fund the transition is nothing more than a ploy for well-connected Trump insiders to line their pockets while pretending to save taxpayers money.”“

Comment by Temporary_Shirt_6236 at 30/11/2024 at 15:03 UTC

183 upvotes, 18 direct replies

They don't care.

They don't care that Hesgeth is an abuser of women. They don't care if Trump violates his own laws. They don't care if Elon guts government services. They voted for all this dogshit.

Look out for you and yours over the next four years and be ready to defend it. Because half the country or more just. Doesn't. Care.

Comment by Dedotdub at 30/11/2024 at 14:47 UTC

46 upvotes, 2 direct replies

Of course. If this is a surprise to you is time to buckle up. You're in for a wild ride of constant surprises. He's only getting warmed up.

Comment by mtnman54321 at 30/11/2024 at 14:47 UTC

70 upvotes, 2 direct replies

Figures, doesn't it? Trumpublican hypocrisy!

Comment by DotAppropriate8152 at 30/11/2024 at 15:36 UTC

21 upvotes, 1 direct replies

This motherfucker is unhinged and Americans put him in the White House instead of the jail cell he belongs in.. what a shit show

Comment by calculating_hello at 30/11/2024 at 15:05 UTC

23 upvotes, 0 direct replies

Most unethical human in history hates ethics, what a shock.

Comment by Bob_Wilkins at 30/11/2024 at 15:25 UTC

20 upvotes, 1 direct replies

He is, and has always been, a TRAITOR. On top of which he will fill his coffers with foreign and domestic bribes. Full stop.

Comment by LightDarkBeing at 30/11/2024 at 15:19 UTC

15 upvotes, 1 direct replies

Unless the law can throw the President elect into prison and disqualify him as president, then it has no bite and is merely words on paper. Rules for Thee, Not for Me…

Comment by ChoiceHour5641 at 30/11/2024 at 15:21 UTC

25 upvotes, 1 direct replies

~~Conservatism~~ Fascism consists of exactly one proposition …There must be in-groups whom the law protects but does not bind, alongside out-groups whom the law binds but does not protect.

Comment by pixelsguy at 30/11/2024 at 15:37 UTC

5 upvotes, 2 direct replies

The next four years are gonna be excruciating for people who expect this man and his party to speak or act with integrity.

Comment by xobelddir at 30/11/2024 at 20:31 UTC

5 upvotes, 0 direct replies

They will say "why didn't you warn us"

We'll say we did

They'll say but it was so hard to tell what to listen to when you're always complaining about him

We'll say we were always complaining because he was always doing shitty stuff

They'll say it can't possibly have been as bad as we said

We'll say it was

They'll say why didn't you tell us

They will say why didn't you do something

We'll say we tried

They'll say they thought the system had checks and balances to protect itself

We'll say he was impeached twice

They'll say they thought that was just more of the usual fake news

We'll say it was more of the usual, but it wasn't fake

They'll ask why we didn't do more to convince them

They'll say they didn't think he ever really meant what he said

We'll say he always did

They'll say well why don't you stop him now

We'll say we can't

We'll remind them he has the SCOTUS

We'll remind them he has the house and the senate

We'll remind them this time he told us he would fire experienced public servants and bring in his own loyalists

We'll remind them he has full immunity

We'll say this is what you voted for

They'll say well I never voted for him

Comment by Aggressive-Green4592 at 30/11/2024 at 15:10 UTC

5 upvotes, 1 direct replies

Who's surprised?

Comment by Soithascometothistoo at 30/11/2024 at 16:01 UTC

3 upvotes, 2 direct replies

This country is so fucked. I hope every maga suffers as much as they wanted us to suffer

Comment by Tb1969 at 30/11/2024 at 16:04 UTC

4 upvotes, 0 direct replies

"All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others."

Comment by Chimp75 at 30/11/2024 at 15:44 UTC

8 upvotes, 1 direct replies

I have friends all over the political spectrum. Most average wage earnings love that he owns the libs and infuriates the left. That being said, all middle class people are collateral damage in their political theatre. At the end of the day, they’ll blame the left for this. It’s ironic.

Comment by Beginning-Falcon865 at 30/11/2024 at 15:21 UTC

9 upvotes, 2 direct replies

lol. He told you who he is.

11M Americans who voted for Biden didn’t vote this time around. Trump got the same number of popular votes as he did in 2020.

Imagine the impact of 11M voters on the Senate, Congress and further down the ballot.

11M Americans thought it wasn’t worth the time to vote for Harris. That was the difference. America will need to wear this dude for 4 years and this fragrance will last for decades.

Trump rightfully owns the House, The Senate and the Supreme Court. To the victor goes the spoils.

Comment by HeisGarthVolbeck at 30/11/2024 at 16:29 UTC

3 upvotes, 0 direct replies

The "law and order" party pretense is long over.

Comment by Particular_Ticket_20 at 30/11/2024 at 17:55 UTC

3 upvotes, 0 direct replies

They are not going to be held up by rules and laws. Stop wishing they will.

They will use those laws to punish their detractors, they will not hold themselves to any reasonable standards, they will not be bound by laws, or public opinion, or standards of decent behavior.

They're here to take and steal and create a society for themselves, and they are not us, and they aren't Ma and Pa MAGA out in the middle of the country either.

Comment by Traditional-Big-3907 at 30/11/2024 at 19:04 UTC

3 upvotes, 0 direct replies

I would like to take this time to remind everyone to buy guns. A government that is lawless will overeach. Your family is in danger.

Comment by _the_last_druid_13 at 30/11/2024 at 20:18 UTC

3 upvotes, 0 direct replies

If this is real then nothing is real.

BRB gonna go withdraw the entire bank and go on vacation. Actually f that, I’m just gonna walk to the nearest dealership and take a car, drive to the airport and tell a pilot to take me wherever I want. I will eat at any restaurant and take any piece of clothing or jewelry at the store. It’s all free apparently. Idk who’s going to make anything though because in order to have a society there needs to be adherence to agreed upon rules. Trump is telling everyone nothing matters about society.

He can’t even sign it because it’s past due date. But that doesn’t matter cuz he is telling us nothing about society matters. His Presidency is illegitimate (not a lawyer so who knows if this paperwork is even required and if the news is just sp sp spinninnnn) but it doesn’t matter because he is telling us and showing us that nothing about society matters.

It’s fine if chaos ensues and I get shot or run over, can’t afford healthcare anyways and if society doesn’t matter then it doesn’t matter about anything about life or death or history or law.

And since that’s the case, it’s completely lawful for me to just go take a yacht from the nearest port because apparently I also own everything and anything now.

Thanks Trump

Comment by Fun-Calligrapher3499 at 01/12/2024 at 00:30 UTC

3 upvotes, 1 direct replies

And this is a surprise? He avoids litigation and of course can claim that he has done nothing wrong.

Welcome back my friends to the show that never ends.

Comment by HuaMana at 30/11/2024 at 15:27 UTC

2 upvotes, 0 direct replies

SHOCKING 🙄

Comment by MrSlippifist at 30/11/2024 at 15:40 UTC

2 upvotes, 1 direct replies

Laws for thee not for me. It was the same with making the miss handling of federal documents a felony crime. We see how that went.

Comment by Junkstar at 30/11/2024 at 15:53 UTC

2 upvotes, 1 direct replies

President Maybelline is a special boy.

Comment by Key_Departure187 at 30/11/2024 at 17:06 UTC

2 upvotes, 0 direct replies

What law. When we as citizens of this country allow a criminal above all laws to be president. All laws are null and void. It's free for all the next 4 years starting jan 20th. Fuck this country !