I doubt that the SCOTUS will find the information privileged, if the case gets that far. The Legislative and Judicial Branches know they have to reign in the power of all Presidents, present and future, as Executive Orders erode their power. The pendulum swings, but it always swings back. I suspect that the constant scrutiny will drive Trump crazier, as he can't has always valued the ability to go off the radar after stirring up controversies in the media. Now he can't hide out.
12
OMG, I just discovered that Jerry Brown, current governor of California, did not release his tax returns in 2010 and in 2014. Despite this , the lib Californians still voted him in , overwhelmingly. These same voters are now so upset that Pres Trump did not release his tax returns. Another shining example of lib hypocrisy
4
Donald Trump is super vigilant at applying the law to people that are powerless in our society: yet when a federal court judge orders him to do something; the position that is given doesn't have any trace of the standard that he mercilessly insists on holding others to. This kind of ambivalence is at the core of corruption.
25
Of course DJT will fight it. Or have his lackey JS do it. You can't do back room deals if there is no back room.
15
While any thinking person knew that there would be a moment when this White House would refuse to abide by a legal court order, and initiate a Constitutional crisis, who could have guess it would have been THIS?
10
So William Koch has a membership, but not his brothers and adversaries Charles and David? Are we to think Trump doesn't meet with his bosses? "Mr. Trump, Charles line one, David line two, Bob line three." "Let me speak with Bob."
3
Trump accused Obama of a lack of transparency. By the way Donald we are still waiting for your tax returns. What are you hiding.
22
Brings to mind the scene in "Goodfellas"
where the wife is scanning the prison visitors book.
Maybe he's hiding someone or something more personal than his Russian cronies.
10
The Secret Service has to have a record of everyone who meets with Trump, whether he's at one of his resorts or the White House. If the records aren't classified then perhaps this would be a means of getting the information.
24
Probably a lot of men show up there with women other than their wives...that's what the secrecy is all about.
10
This isn't rocket science. Trump should not be allowed to use ANY of his properties for government business. RESIST!!!
16
What -- whom -- is Trump hiding?
7
Did you vote for Jerry Brown in 2010 and 2014. Gov Brown refused to release his tax returns
5
No worries, I assume David Duke used a pseudonym anyway ...
6
There is misdirection here. The Justice Dept. says the information is not covered by the FOIA. That's not what CREW sued to obtain. The president is in contempt of court.
8
If I were Mr. Trump I too would want to conceal logs that showed visits by the most prominent members of the Russian / Soviet Politburo, heads of the KGB and GRU, all manner of Russian oligarchs, and similar officials who played a role in subverting Facebook and manipulating our elections during the 2016 election contest.
11
When Trump ignores a court with impunity he is in his Dictator mode.
Taking an oath to defend the constitution or follow the norms of the Presidency mean nothing to him. Money. Money Money that's what he and his family have taken an oath to uphold.
19
The headline says Trump "declined" to turn over the records. Seems more like "refused" to turn them over after a court order. He doesn't have a choice.
20
just like the last guy
4
It appears you haven't read the article.
18
I would think that his new chief-of-staff, John Kelly, would be bending Trump's ear on needing to follow the law and the courts. I'd be curious how that conversation goes, and whether Kelly agrees or disagrees withe decision. And if he disagrees, what does he then do?
6
It is my impression that all who meet with Trump are subject to Secret Service scrutiny. Would it be possible for agents to keep track of who is in contact with him? Is that a naive notion?
3
No, not naive. They do. All of this hysteria? God, how rational people are chuckling...
1
Chuckling? No, not at all. Just because the secret service knows who has been meeting with the so called president, doesn't mean that information is public. We, the People, want to know what is going on, therefore, we have every right to know who this man is meeting on our tax dollars.
8
Mr. T should keep national secrets as well as he does his own.
7
Rule of law(s) don't apply here? Or not to Trump, himself?
3
no big deal - just get a warrant.
9
So what can ordinary citizens do about this? Screaming, crying and writing letters don't matter. Shall we all join the Antifa to be heard?
8
He's either protecting more Russians or members of the KKK.
When DONALD pays for his visits to Mar-A-Lago, he can keep his list private, but when you and me pay for his trips down there, his accommodations, his meals and his entertainment, then it becomes MY BUSINESS.
Donald - grow up and start being a president. What do you have to hide?
26
So true, sadly it'll never happen unless he's forced to. Unfortunately the American people are in a bind, if trump ever does get impeached them pence will do just as much damage if not more to our country. This is what we put blood, sweat, and tears into. Its just sad.
6
Trump: when you're unable to lie, withhold.
11
His well of lies is fathomless.
6
At eight-years-old (a long time ago) I asked my Federal agent Grandfather; "What's a Republican?"
He remained thoughtful for a little moment and then mildly replied to me. "A Republican, dear girl, is an American male human being who ardently seeks public office to make quite sure that the working man gets nothing in return for their tax dollars. For the workingman is simple, not good with finance and always needs to be protected by capable Republican men."
My Grandfather stood, wished me a lovely day at school, tucked his Financial Times (the pink newspaper) under his arm and left for his work.
That Republican point-of-view of yesteryear seems to be still quite alive today? Trump, the wily weasel that he has always been makes good use of this false Republican philosophy. No, Trump and his administration will not end well. I hope the rest of us prevail and live to tell of this revolting American predicament. Please people-- catch on now. We are at war with ourselves.
15
Are people convinced yet that this country is one big criminal enterprise?
5
The people running the country certainly are.
14
Not the country, but the fake president and his administration: the worst, most ignorant "president" ever, heading the most corrupt, unqualified and incompetent administration ever.
18
I find the comments here to be naive. You think there is justice? Did you just wake up after 40 years while our laws were being torn to shreds? There is no justice and there are no responsible people in charge. Until we rid ourselves of the rot known as the GOP, will we be saved.
15
Government secrecy is at odds with basic democratic principles. As the U.S. Supreme Court recognized in 1936, “an informed public is the most potent of all restraints upon misgovernment.”
Yet today, much of our government’s business is conducted in secret. There are a multitude of secret agencies, secret committees of Congress, a secret court, and even secret laws. This sprawling—and growing—secret establishment presents an active threat to individual liberty and undermines the very notion of government of, by, and for the people. [ACLU]
While there is an obvious need for caution in the dissemination of sensitive information it is a question of circumstances. Do we put out into the open the keys and codes for the launch or our nuclear forces....for obvious reason...NO. Should the country be made aware of mentally unstable people in places of the United States Government, president, congress etc...when the security and safety of the nation is at stake...yes. A president groveling to another nation attempting to get them to not expose the truth of a situation...that to me would be a danger to the safety and security of the nation. Wars have started over much less. Positions of government come with levels of responsibility not exception.
9
How can he receive his bidders at the White House, which he officially labeled a dump. He won't rest until he he is a the Petersburg Place is a subsidiarity of the TRUMP CORP. or the inverse: the WHITE HOUSE is a subsidiary of the Putin's business empire If you cannot separate official or unofficial business from Trump business -how can he be put on trial for anything? So much for conservative ideals of government.
7
Robert Mueller will get to the bottom of this .......No question...
6
Too many of 'em were female...
6
Can't wait to hear the defenses given if Trump actually does a random killing on the streets of New York. You just KNOW it would be defended! Some people seem to want a king or a dictator.
3
I am not going to hold my breath,but I think that the person who needs to examine these lists which may describe an ongoing criminal conspiracy is Mr. Mueller. Only one way to find out whose hand is in whose glove
9
This constant reporting on Trump got old some 5 months ago. Nothing has changed, nothing improved but the "top of the news" every single day continues to focus on Trump not being a nice guy - I knew that some 20 years ago. Meanwhile I just found out through some European papers that KLM (Dutch airline) is flying its own planes to St.Maarten in the Caribbean to save thousands of lives struck by the worst hurricane ever encountered. They are doing it for free - and all that while good old America is fiddling time and money away telling us that nobody has full details about Trump's guests at Mar-a-Lago.
12
Trump is the king of subterfuge.
Do not expect straightforward or forthcoming behavior from him.
No matter what precedent or a legal ruling might say, he's doing things his way.
1
Trump "declines" to release the names of his visitors to Mar-a-Lago? Well, gosh, isn't the New York Times polite? How about "Trump refuses to release the names of his cronies who hang out with him at Mar-a-Lago"? The way your headline editor has it, it sounds like somebody offered him an after dinner mint. This is a crime boss meeting with his co-conspirators on the taxpayer's dime. Perhaps Mr. Trump would accept our invitation to divulge the names of his distinguished associates at a later date?
14
As with so many other things this President is trying to control, he will lose this battle. It will take time as we know that he sues everyone and everything to control the world. He is now out of his element and the truth shall be revealed. He is such a small man that has not interest in helping our great nation become better. SAD!!!
10
Transparency is really a joke here. We talk about it and care about it until it hits the delicate areas. It seems all the NY Times readers are made about president Trump not releasing his visitors records in Mar-a-Lago. But on the other hand, I couldn't get Houston house sold record in price & date in any public domain. If Houston real estate industry has legitimate reasons, then I am sure president Trump has a much better explanation why he can't release the record. As far as I know, I can find house sold records in California state & Seattle, but not Houston. Can I sue Houston real estate industry? We'll see.
1
Don't even bother asking Trump anything, you know you won't get the truth. It's just a crying shame that this blithering idiot is in charge of our country.
15
Shame the supposed moral compass of our nation has SO MUCH to hide!!!
5
With every passing day we see more clues that the administration is just a front for a well-organized crime operation done at a very high tech level: election meddling via Russian troll farms and hackers, money laundering, skirting business/ethics conflict rules, etc.
Trump is living Michael Corleone's dream.
12
Na na neh na na - I do-ont have to!
sang Don John.
2
I have at long last arrived at the point at which I welcome Mr. Trump's arrogance, and the excesses and overreach they engender in those who admire and share beliefs akin to and even more extreme than his. Trump is hurrying the country down the road to what I now think is an inevitable and probably needed confrontation.
2
The President of the United States, Donald Trump, is the highest officer and Chief of United States. With such responsibilities, he has concurrent duties -- those of POTUS. As such, President Trump can only act as President; that is, he cannot shed the mantle of POTUS and bingo, become a private citizen. It should be understood that President Donald Trump cannot wear the mantle of POTUS and then choose, ipso facto, to become a private citizen. If the President wants to be a private citizen, then resign as POTUS and all of the apparently nagging responsibilities will disappear.
5
Trump claims he's withholding visitors names for reasons of national security. He should not be conducting those meetings there, and in fact, should have been censured when discussing North Korea with Japanese leader Abe right near the bar of the Mara-largo restaurant, as people were within earshot of the Trump table, and using cell phones to photograph the group.
One guy even took a picture of the secret service staffer who carried the nuclear football and posted it on Facebook.
Restaurant patrons were shining lights from the camera of their cell phones onto documents as the administration and foreign dignitaries were meeting on confidential business in the dark restaurant.
Trump gets away with far too much, and Republicans can be blamed for it.
14
Confidentiality--Hillary was raked over the coals for her "lack of transparency". Remember the "lock her up?" Trump should be held to the same standard--but I forgot--his base thinks he is a God.
4
Trump does not want the Republicans to know how many Democrats have visited him at Mar-a-Lago with the express purpose of discussing deals that may be contrary the Republican agenda.
2
No visitor logs, no tax returns, no accountability. If there is nothing to hide why do they insist on hiding everything? Maybe it's time the House and Senate changed the playing field and made the POTUS subject to the same rules as all other Federal Employees. After all that's what he is, a Federal Government employee,right??
18
Mar-a-Lago was born in Russia. Period. Let's see the documentation that proves it wasn't. Isn't that the way Trump operates?
8
What a surprise .... defying a court order ... the "Con Don" strikes again.
10
Over $500 a night, per .....how many guests? Hundreds? And we, the American taxpayers, almost none of whom could afford this type of luxury, are stuck with the bill? At least those needy Trumps are pocketing our tax dollars...
(And people are outraged about Clinton and Obama getting paid --by companies, not us---for giving speeches?? )
I am personally outraged by the lack of outrage!
11
Trump is a loner. No one will meet with him. He's embarrassed to admit it.
I dare him to prove me wrong!
If he won't show a list, it's proof he's a social loser.
5
And what was all that Trumpist indignation over who had dinners, lunches, breakfasts, etc. with the Clinton Foundation? And she was only the Secretary of State, not the president.
20
Gettin Over.
The republicans love this guy. He does everything they wish they could do. He's got Sessions and Pruitt and Price and Mnuchin up to all the segregation, knife cutting and sharpening that republicans have dreamed of. Orrin Hatch just waiting behind 45 as he snatches the pen away after the executive order to begin bulldozing National Monuments, our parks. They want money, money money and they are getting away with MURDER loving every minute of the lies and cheating they drool for.
16
Wrong. President Trump has never been a Republican. And Republicans hate that guy.
Art of the Deal. President Trump wants what President Trump wants. The art of the Deal is trying to get what you want from him.
President Trump is a real estate mogul. He could care less about the fossil fuels and minerals in the National Parks because he knows, for him, it is not worth the fight.
AFAIK, he has never consorted with murders. Stick to the facts you can prove.
2
What about Bedminster? He is there again this weekend.
15
Completely unacceptable. Our DOJ is a shill for a corrupt, for-profit-president.
23
Of course all the pundits and conspiracy theorists who were so worked up about Hillary Clinton giving a perfectly legal talk at Goldman Sachs are silent about all of Trump's real conflicts of interest.
14
The fact that Trump & his cronies are not honest people is called Corruption, which is always caused by Greed. We now have a very greedy corrupt government. How much damage gets done, to human lives and to our planet, before it gets replaced with a sane & caring one remains to be seen.
15
The headline here is all wrong. It should read Trumo Refuses to Comply with court Order or Trumo Defies Court, not Trumo Declines. The headline makes his action sound as insignificant s if someone offered him a cup of coffee. The NYT should be clearer that this phony law-and-order politician is showing contempt for the judicial system and the taxpayers who fund his travels to his little golf playground.
12
As long as my name is not on this list of visitors there it is time to breathe a sigh of relief. Apparently the daily phone log maintained by the Office of Trump was also neglected, and his tax releases were lost in the subway. Please keep this information confidential.
10
It has become increasingly apparent that Donald Trump is irrelevant in domestic affairs (the nuclear codes keep our attention in foreign affairs). His tweeting, his flip-flops, his unstable utterings, etc., all together make it impossible to find a rational action on his part. The result is that no matter what he says or tweets, one can't count on his maintaining ANYTHING resembling a policy nor an agenda.
So, why not try something entirely different. Just ignore him. Congress should pursue legislation without regard to what Trump thinks or might do. He'll sign anything that's put in front of him. That could result in some bad laws, given Mitch and Paul and their agenda. But, they could function quite well without him. And, think of all the time and futile analysis that would be saved if the media just ignored him too.
I'm sure I wouldn't like most of the products, but, things might turn out better with attention paid to what the other side of the aisle wants, rather than trying to guess what a narcissistic egomaniac actually wants to do. Give the country a chance. It's time to start ignoring Trump and get on with governing and living - foreign actions excepted, of course.
6
Remember how he went back on his word to release his back taxes. He is hiding something and doesn't want people to know what he is up to. Congress needs to investigate.
13
Your governor, Jerry Brown , did not release his tax returns in 2010 and 2014. What was he hiding?
2
If you're really from Minneapolis, why are you worried about Jerry Brown's taxes? What's it to you?
Deflection! Stay on topic.
10
He is not the President.
3
The most dishonest Presidency ever in history. No transparency at all, making tons of money from being President and marketing his brand to high rollers and using US Taxpayers as a slush fund. If you are honest and have integrity, you would have no problem releasing such logs and information as have past Presidents done. This guy will cost our government hundreds of billions using his office like a charge card by the time he's done. We knew how he operated as a businessman conning people out of money, so then we should not be surprise to see him now conning the whole country and government for bigger money.
11
As far as I am concerned, trump or any president should not exempt from any laws. Especially when trump and Kobach wanted voters records!
15
President Trump is not concerned with what you think.
Nor has any President limited their powers to ignore any request by any Legislative or Judicial entity.
Voter records - Federal entities can request that the States supply them with information. But many states laws forbid the release of the information that was requested. Our Republic works well when state officials know what to do when the Feds request info they are not entitled to.
1
What is he hiding, the fact that he met and colluded with the enemy to be elected president? We The People already know that and Mueller if collecting the necessary data to impeach and prosecute the twisted fellow.
8
If the legal issue in this case is whether Mar A Lago is private or public, then Trump pas Bolloré argument.
The character of Mar A Lago as private or public has been obliterated by Trump himself. The White House calls MAL the Winter White House. He spends a lot time there, where he says he is working.
Trump conducts affairs of state there. He can fire a nuke at North Korea from MAL. MAL is protected by the US government at great cost and with the power of weekend flight bans and other powers asserted against private citizens.
There are no doubt thousands of pages of government records about who is at Mar A Lago and every detail of the Mar A Lago building. White House communications from MAL involves a ton of government hardware and network infrastructure used there routinely.
The White House(s) forgets that Hillary Clinton`s emails were not a problem until they were requested under FOIA by the right wing organization Judicial Watch, who were implacable. So was the federal judge who continued to order disclosures.
The lawyers advising Trump should take care that they have a basis for this silly argument. Federal courts regularly sanction lawyers who deliberately lie in court.
13
You know 45 is hiding something when he does not want to brag about the visitors to Mar A Lago.
17
My reply - what do you know?
Any fake Colonel can cast innuendo.
1
After 4 years of Trump the country will be trashed, but being president is a better scam than NJ casinos for trump's bottom line.
18
Although it would give rise to too many GOP jokes and talking points about liberal snowflakes wanting freebies and coddling to actually be used in 2020, my design for a political cap would feature the acronym MAMA. It would stand for Make America Moral Again. The cap would be a nice shade of blue and would be made in the USA.
8
By the way, our disrespecter-in-chief has a history of being on the take there.
"Trump received a $17-million insurance payout in 2005 for damage caused by Wilma to the private club. Yet an Associated Press investigation published last year revealed there was little evidence of large-scale damage to Mar-a-Lago, and that Trump also kept some of the insurance money for his personal use rather than spending it on repairs. From the AP:
"Two years after a series of storms, the real-estate tycoon said he didn’t know how much had been spent on repairs but acknowledged he pocketed some of the money. Trump transferred funds into his personal accounts, saying that under the terms of his policy, “you didn’t have to reinvest it.”"
https://qz.com/1072172/hurricane-irma-mar-a-lago-and-trump-have-a-long-h...
More: “That house has never been seriously damaged,” Trump’s long-time (and controversial) former butler Anthony Senecal said in an interview with the AP. “I was there for all of [the hurricanes].”
"The AP also looked at building records and permits that showed no significant construction took place at Mar-a-Lago after the storm, aside from $3,000 in repairs to lighting and a cleaning of a beachfront pool."
No wonder flood insurance is broke. Too busy reimbursing the wealthy to finance moving people with no choice out of harm's way, which would be impossible to enact, though it's stupid to keep throwing good money after bad.
Exploiter-in-chief? Taker-in-chief?
25
No crack down on the T-45 Gang. They operate with impunity, from Mar-A-Lago to the Halls of Congress. The GOP scam continues unabated, unquestioned and unfettered. Any laws that stand in their way will be steamrolled, ignored, or repealed.
Tally Ho! indeed.
12
Trump's organization seems to be acting in ways similar to a criminal enterprise. What crimes are they trying to hide?
14
One of POTUS abnormalities would typically occupy press coverage for a week. His are so frequent and bizarre, we RUSH from one to the next!!
5
Almost none of Trump's supporters would ever be allowed through the gates of Mar-a-Lago.
They fell hook, line, and sinker for the ultimate con in supporting a depraved, know-nothing mountebank.
29
The logic applied in the comments here is wrong because the undelying premise is wrong. In simplest terms, we don't have a president, we have a king--installed and maintained by Republican billionaires and their dutiful servants in congress and the White House, and their enablers in the Supreme Court. For now, and almost certainly the future, the "American Experiment" is over. When you talk to objective observers outside of the US, you'll find the verdict is already entered in the history books.
14
More like a wannabe dictator. Some kings have been decent human beings, and some have been just figureheads. This one fits right in with some of the worst human rights abusers in history.
14
Hmm President Trump has never purported to aspire to be a dictator. I have not seen any human rights abuses from President Trump. Have there been any arrests and disappearances of political rivals? No, President Trump is working with them to further his goals.
If you did not want President Trump as president, you should have demanded that the Democrats or a third party field a candidate that would have defeated him.
Leader of Free World is certainly better.
1
Trump far from draining the swamp has fed it and in addition created a new and bigger one , greener with greed , full of slime , inhabitated by his reptilian friends from his business world .
The antics of Munuchin, Trump ,s sons , Kushner et al , the obvious conflict of interest which would not be tolerated in any Board Room puts our Democracy at risk and works against the best interests of our people.
The refusal of the Justice Department to release the information required by law is a slap in the face of our Justice system and begs the question what do they have to hide.
16
Simple. Check the private email server he uses to avoid governmental oversight. Oh wait...
12
"raises questions about why the administration would want to withhold information that could reveal possible conflicts of interest"
Dah! Because they show conflicts of interest!
13
It is the Winter White House, right? So where is the problem? The president must understand that there is still a lot of work to be done until he will have implemented a full-scale Banana Republic. And before that goal is achieved the complete WWH lists must be published.
8
If it's the Winter White House, we can expect him to be signing the ownership over to the People, right?
1
Another eruption about the corruption. What is it going to take to hold Trump Inc. legally accountable for his actions ( too many to name for this week)n or lack of ie: Mar A Lago list or tax returns? The lemmings and ostriches seem to rule. We the plebeians will rise against this proletariat- it is a matter of time. Mark my words.
7
Kennedy had Hyannis Port, his Massachusetts "White House." Nixon and Reagan had western "White Houses." Johnson and Bush had "Texas White Houses." Trump has a Florida "White House." The request for information was expressly limited to the names of people visiting "the president"; it expressly excluded all others who happened to be guests at Mar A Lago. In other words, these were official visits to Trump in his official capacity as president. Trump's objections to producing the names is utterly frivolous. In addition to being ordered to produce the names, he should be ordered to pay attorney fees to the opposition for any legal work associated with pursuing this information.
10
Did any of the above mentioned PERSONALLY profit by having paying guests stay at their properties (on taxpayers' dime)--in violation of the Domestic Emoluments Clause of the Constitution [Article 2, Section 1, Clause 7]?
12
The mysterious Mr. Trump is apparently too ashamed to disclose his tax returns and his White House visitor list and his secret golf club visitors. How can a ham actor who goes around tweeting bromides for the public reconcile his honesty with his secrecy? He apparently has much to hide. The amazing puzzle is why does the media and Congress let him get away with it. Why are they not jumping up and down demanding that he quit hiding behind the anonymity of his apparently questionable visitors? Have Mr. Putin and Mr. Kim Jong-un been sneaking in to visit or are there others even more surprising he finds it necessary to cover up?
8
Trump demands an apology from ESPN's Jamele Hill for her remarks that the President is a white supremacist, even calls for ESPN to fire Ms. Hill.
Trump never apologized for his years-long racist birther attack on President Obama.
Moreover it is profoundly anti-First Amendment for the government/President to seek to punish a citizen for exercising her right to free speech!
19
I just don't understand how a public servant is allowed to be so opaque in all of his dealings...even after his election
11
Just another way Trump is above the law. And so are his children.
his taxes, his financial dealings in and out of the presidency and
everything else. You didn't know?
9
Lock em up! They owe the American public the list of who is there influencing them on our dime. Who do they think they are? Hope they all land in jail
7
No President Trump does not have to comply with any Legislative or Judicial request. No President in history has ever limited his power to ignore any such request.
Just because you don't like it does not mean that it will change in your lifetime.
So sad. The man is a supreme con artist and incessant liar.
What does anyone expect?
16
Why do we tolerate this?
10
The cost of this particular pay for play: $200,000
The profits to Trump Inc. on this one alone (never mind his other holdings): (nearly) 500 x 200K = $100,000,000
The cost to taxpayers, over and above the security of roughly $3 million per visit: corruption
No wonder T survived those bankruptcies. The US is footing the bill!
18
I would think that this would be considered obstruction of justice down the road. 45's days are numbered.
19
Not quite so much. 3.25 years until the next election.
The President does not have to do anything not specifically required by law. Ya know what? No President have ever limited their powers or their right to refuse to release any personal records.
Anyway impeachment would mean that the Republican-controlled Senate would have to return an indictment of impeachment. Will never happen.
Then the Republican-controlled House would have to hold hearings and return an impeachment verdict. Will never happen.
Y'all are Dreamers.
3
@ S Grant, you mean like bleaching over 33,000 emails after they were subpoenaed? Have any problem with that?
2
The constant nit-picking on the President's every word and deed is tiresome, divisive and ultimately, pointless. Sore-loser liberals have devolved into constant cry-babies whose only aspiration is criticism. Constructive criticism is one thing, but the constant drum-beat of negativity is wearing us out.
5
The constant drum-beat of Trump and his destructive kleptocratic enablers and henchpeople is wearing the United States of America out.
Making America Small and Mean, making America last, making other countries great.
14
The drum beat you hear may be your conscience or perhaps Rbt Mueller.
Don't lose faith in your president, he may eventually keep a promise or two. Better yet, he might keep his answers consistent for more than a day!
Hang in there amigo, he will get what's coming to him eventually, Karma .
8
I guess you missed the part about constructive criticism.
1
Congress does not make the rules for how the White House manages its day-to-day business. The Supreme Court does not make rules for how the Congress does so either. That's called "separation of powers."
Ignorance of the constitution is often the first step in escalating trivia to the level of outrage. Since a federal judge ordered production of the list on the grounds of a technicality of location, the administration has no choice but to fight it in court.
2
Please read the Domestic Emoluments Clause in the U.S. Constitution : Article 2, Section 1, Clause 7.
Trump is not supposed to get one dime beyond his salary from the American taxpayers--his constituents. He's using his position to fill his vacancies in hotel rooms where one night's stay could pay the monthly rent for a family of four! Disgusting waste of our national treasure that should be benefiting the many --not the ONE.
Trump is ripping off the American taxpayers right and left for his own personal gain. His closed-door meetings are reflective of the way he has undermined democracy in America (remember that old "government by the people for the people"?). He is solidifying the hold of the oligarchy.
9
Prove it in court.
In April Trump started keeping the White House visitor logs secret (link below).
Has that been challenged? If it is legal to keep secret who visits him at the
White House, why would it be different at Mar-A-Lago?
Could the NYTimes do a piece explaining why it is legal for the President, paid by taxpayers, can keep secret from us who visits him?
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/14/us/politics/visitor-log-white-house-t...
14
"Democracy dies in the darkness"
It's very dark around the POTUS. He likes it that way........
18
"Law and order" folks have said for years: "If you have nothing to hide, you have nothing to fear." Guess another GOP mainstay has fallen in the muck of this presidency. "so sad" doesn't begin to describe the White house.
17
@Lisa, exactly! So why did Hillary use a secret server? What was SHE hiding?
Wasn't 'secret' it was personal...i.e.-unofficial.
Do a little research on the Bush White House and Rove's and Cheney's 'missing' e-mails...https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bush_White_House_email_controversy
5
Mueller needs to pick up the pace so we can "legally" eject this embarrassing know-nothing fraudulent traitor posing in the White House...
17
That most Trump supporters suddenly don't believe in government transparency or accountability when Trump doesn't want to engage in them proves their utter ethical bankruptcy.
25
This administration represents a large portion of our country that has no problem taking advantage of its fellow citizens for their own benefit. The most obvious wrongs are okay as long as it's their man and team doing them. Trying to reason is useless . . . they just don't care.
15
Curious to know if Trump and his senior staff adhere in any meaningful ways with the requirements of the Presidential Records Act and the Hatch Act, which respectively mandate the preservation of Executive Branch communications (including letters, emails, memos, phone and visitor logs and a range of other documents) and prevents engagement in partisan political matters by staff.
The Bush Administration was caught using email servers at the Republican National Committee to evade the requirements of Records Act. When Congress asked that these emails be preserved, the RNC permanently erased the communications of 73 White House staff members, up to and including those of Karl Rove and VP Dick Cheney. This amounted to more than 20 million emails.
The Republican Congress of the day simply ignored this egregious act. There were no investigations, no subpoenas, no hearings, nada, zippity. Hillary Clinton's server was investigated multiple times. IOKIYAR (It's OK If You're A Republican).
Trump ignores every legal and ethical standard of conduct regarding conflict of interest, emoluments and other distinctions between his personal and political obligations.
Is he even bothering to keep proper records, as federal law requires? Does anyone in his party in Congress care?
Doubtful on both counts.
17
So nice to day dream.
Trump can be impeached over this.
So, who is going to do the impeaching.
Back to earth.
Silly talk after all.
9
This leads to the most obvious question, what's he hiding?
7
Mueller has the authority to see the complete, should he deem it necessary. He can also keep it private. However, if Trump refuses to make the list available to him he could be committing an impeachable offense.
7
Trump's use of his Mar-a-Lago reminds me of the distain I had when George W used his Prairie Chapel Ranch to entertain dignitaries, with a few big differences. George W's ranch was his primary home, paid for by the Bush family. Mar-a-Lago is a private hotel-resort charging taxpayers for its use as a palace for Trump every time he's in town. Even though George W made frequent trips to his Ranch, he didn’t charge taxpayers as if it were a hotel.
If the George W made his Ranch guest list public, then there's a precedent set for other presidents to release visitor logs.
14
If he sees people at the White House, he does not have to disclose their identities, but if he sees them anywhere else, he does?
2
Where did you get the idea that a log of visitors to the White House is not required?
8
The only way to achieve executive transparency is to modify the Freedom of Information Act by eliminating the President's exclusion . At first blush the idea of making public the names of those who visit the president seems right and we feel entitled to know those names . But what if sensitive negotiations in our nation's interest were derailed by exposing those names ?
I also have a problem with the " back door " way these groups are seeking the information by claiming the the Secret Service is not covered by FOIA . That may be true , but can we expect an exempted President to operate without the Secret Service ? Of course not .
I'm a proponent of government transparency and have filed several FOIA and California Public Records Act requests over the years . However , there are limits to what information can be released and materials are often redacted .
The trick would be to craft a new provision of FOIA re. the Presidential visitors list that would not disclose the names of those involved in sensitive or classified discussions while " day lighting " the names of social or business visitors . But who would be empowered to make those distinctions ? A never-ending quagmire of lawsuits would follow .
I am not sure that there is any solution . It is probably best to leave FOIA unchanged . And it sure would help if we had a President that would stop gallivanting around to his luxury properties and wall off his business interests to serve us and not himself .
6
Just look at the menus. If Borscht, Blinis, and caviar was served, then we can take a guess at who was visiting.
21
Thank you for my first laugh of the day.
7
Jeff Sessions has politicized DOJ and misinterpreted the law to the point where DOJ has become an embarrassment.
No wonder Trump called Sessions an "idiot."
10
Trump will follow the pattern of his entire adult life and do whatever he pleases -- legalities, formalities and technicalities be damned -- and end up in court. If he loses, he'll either claim he won, play the victim, or both. And people who don't know better will believe him. His act is stale, and his 15 minutes have exceeded their expiration date.
17
what do you expect from the worlds greatest con artist. Actually, he gives con artists a bad name.
16
Too many visitors from Russia, perhaps? Or organized crime figures, perhaps. We need a lot of good, juicy internet rumors about this to the point where he will have to disclose...
2
I think you mean a good name.
Trump to Judiciary "Who will rid me of this meddlesome priest."
8
Just as with loyalty, the law is for everyone except Donald Trump.
4
I guess we'll just have to wait until someone at Mara Lago leaks it when the Russians come and go.
7
Just see how he admires Kim Jong Un, for having absolute
(1) secrets, and complete control over information
(2) loyalties, from literally everybody and
(3) power
(4) and the list goes on
11
I didn't realize the position of POTUS could be equated with operating a private business for one's own self-interest. Sure, it's different in some backward banana republics but you are still America ...right? Best to stand up for your rights now.
16
On October 30, 2012, Trump tweeted this: "Why does Obama believe he shouldn't comply with record releases that his predecessors did of their own volition? Hiding something?
The following day, he offered this variation on the theme: "Why is @BarackObama spending millions to try and hide his records? He is the least transparent President--ever--and he ran on transparency."
==================================
Those federal judges should have Trump show cause as to why he's not in compliance with their order. Absent any legitimate answer acceptable by the court, a U.S. Marshal should take Trump into custody, just as they would any other person in contempt of a court order.
13
republicans stole the Supreme court seat from Merrick Garland, then toppled the court in their favor by appointing, and immediately confirming, a republican crony, "Gorsuch" who is the accessory after the fact to this theft. Just as guilty as Nicotine McConnell and Illegitimate Trump.
Trump knows that he can dance all the way to any legal confrontation.
He will eventually bring them to his "accessory after the fact" Gorsuch for a Supreme kangaroo determination. Henceforth to be known as The "Gorsuch/Trump Supreme court", stolen from the People of The United States by Nicotine Mitch McConnell and illegitimate Donald Trump.
We The People voted overwhelmingly for Obama, and we expected his nominee for a vacancy on the Supreme Court to be honored. We are actually dealing with traitors here, traitors that are bringing a "python snake" coup, complete with Russian manipulation of the highest office and the dismantling of strategically essential departments that affect our communications, our health and the planet's health.
Trump appointed Ajit Pai as head of the FCC. His plan is to destroy InterNet Neutrality. Then they will eventually be able to control what you see and hear on the internet.
Trump's python coup can eventually squeeze the life/freedom out of America.
Then Lady Liberty will have only this to say.
"Welcome to the Oligarchy, from which there is no return."
11
He still thinks he's running a private company. His rude awakening will involve someone being frogmarched out of a executive branch building.
12
So what's going to be done about it???Trump says "no" and that ends that?How
many times had he done this and it just gores away?Is there no outrage at a President who consistently thumbs his revolting nose at the people who employ him?When will this end???
13
We'll just assume an unending stream of corrupt oligarchs.
11
You can't have it both ways, DJT. We are paying for this and have the right to know how you are using this residence. So, you make money on it, have refused to say who is there, and the taxpayers are paying for your transit, security, etc. NO!
11
Trump refused to divest his business interests at his lackey followers had no problem with it. Why is anyone surprised that they applaud conducting his private business not only on the public dime but quite possibly in conflict with the public interest.
9
Invoice shows U.S. taxpayers billed $546 per night for government officials to stay at Mar-a-Lago. More wasted taxpayer money by the Trump family not to mention Steve Mnuchin flying his wife around on a government plane to buy luxury items and see the solar eclipse. Grifters and takers.
12
This president hides more secrets than a squirrel in the fall. Our laws give Presidents great leeway, probably because as Commander-in-Chief they are supposed to enforce our laws and should understand and abide by them, at least out of respect to our Constitution and the taxpayers that pay their salary. Not so with this guy. I strongly recommend our laws be changed to include the executive branch in all ethics and legal laws and guidelines that other political representatives and Federal employees must follow. This guy has really brought out the shortcomings in our system. And please, get rid of the electoral college. It just plays states against each other in stead of promoting a fair democracy, I.e. One man one vote.
7
Considering all the laws that accompany the office of POTUS, I find the actual person sitting in the chair almost entirely irrelevant, the same way an airline pilot with auto-pilot is. Now that the shaky takeoff is done why not just sit back and try not to think about the landing yet. That's where the headphones are useful.
1
Unfortunately, all those wonderful laws you are referring to are being blatantly ignored by THIS potus - apparently with no consequences.
1
That's super; Trump won't tell the American public who he's been cutting deals with since last November. That's Mr. Transparency for you.
And his base, that steady 35%, will cheer him on for not telling them and the rest of us which rich blokes were skirted in and out of his hotel to cut some or another deal, at the sake of the lower middle class and the poor.
Way to go Trump! What a bastion of civil service you are. A true Leader!!!!
8
Trump doesn't want anyone to know how much money he's making off of being president. Cover-up, pure and simple.
5
About as much transparency as a block of granite.
7
See, that's the reason why we need leaks, It's all about transparency in a democracy. Complainers about leaks need to ponder over the question to what degree those leaks are self-inflicted.
Still waiting for leak on his tax returns...
8
If there are no legal consequences for an administration defying a court order, then what purpose does the order serve?
7
It'll be interesting to see how Republicans, in dealing with a Democratic Administration in the future, will handle the precedent they're allowing Trump to set.
No doubt they'll shout about the Rule of Law and Respecting the Office while conveniently forgetting how they let one of their own get away with oh so much.
10
I am a vocal critic of all things Trump. Unless I'm missing something, he is reverting back to a practice that presidents before President Obama followed. Obama withheld some names that a Federal Court upheld when challenged. It's highly likely that the so this administration cries national security more broadly but is this just a return to historical presidential precedence?
From NYT 4/17
Mr. Trump’s policy is a return to the one followed by presidents who preceded Mr. Obama. During Mr. Bush’s administration, government transparency groups began filing lawsuits demanding information about specific visitors to the White House, only to be stonewalled by the president’s lawyers. The issue had not been resolved by the time Mr. Obama took office, but his administration-which was exclaiming its commitment to transparency-adopted the position that visitor logs would be released with certain exceptions...recognized under the Freedom of Information Act.
Although a federal court ruled in 2011 that visitor logs could be kept secret, the Obama administration continued to provide them. Lawyers still exercised what they maintained was a right to omit some entries, including in cases of highly sensitive meetings...interviews for prospective Supreme Court candidates & those dealing with national security or intelligence matters...the Obamas routinely left out the names of celebrities and top donors who came to personal events at the White House...drawing criticism for doing so.
15
Obama only withheld some Hollywood-based supporters. Not the same. Trump is withholding almost everyone. Not to mention, he is in contempt of court. There is no evidence Obama withheld donors. You made that up.
3
@Joanne,
Read this then maybe you should reconsider your last sentence - you made this up - unless you are more like Trump than you know.
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/14/us/politics/visitor-log-white-house-t...
1
@Joanne -
You made it up that I made it up. I copied the text verbatim from the NYT article dated 4/17. Don't accuse me of fake news please.
And the motivation for President Obama to make the visitors list public was because of his belief in government transparency.
Perhaps you believe that the NYT publishes fake news. Check your facts before you accuse. Just because you are anti-Trump as I it doesn't mean the facts should be ignored.
1
"I'm not a crook" (Richard Nixon).
Will we be soon hearing this from Trump?
8
So if some private individuals visit him at his home everyone has some right to know about them. Now official visitors might be under this idea, but private visitors should not.
2
When you are president of the United States, you no longer have a private life. Anything and everything you say and do directly affects the American people.
4
He uses our tax dollars to pay for Air Force one to fly him there, the secret service protects him and he's on the American government payroll, he works for us. Show the list Donnie or quit.
35
Strangely enough, he doesn't actually work for us. He refuses his salary. Better to throw him out and bring in someone who accepts his salary, and the responsibilities that come with it.
6
BS - b ecause he doesn't accept salary means he doesn't work for us? Garbage logic. The president works for us, I don't care if he pays us his entire salary. Is this another right-wing talking point, that he doesnt work for us because he doesn't accept salary...?? What a bunch of non-sensical right wing garbage. As usual.
32
Actually, he accepts then donates his salary. First time ($78K) to an agency he plans to cut by twenty thousand times that much ($1.6B). That's just insulting.
5
1. I can't believe no one has taken a flame thrower to this tacky, money laundering and tax payer blight in Florida.
2. I call #45 RICO after the decades long crimes for which he will ultimately go to jail. I hope it's Gitmo!
14
Prove anything in court.
President Trump has had multiple residences for at least 25 years, stop being hater.
1
Trump is hiding something. You'd have to be a member of his cult (some who are commenting here) not to realize it.
16
?Think David Duke is on the list?
11
GOP has opened Pandora's Box and its walking around, talking, lying, defying, disrupting, diminishing, and destroying the United States of America.
Now they're realizing what desperation unleashed to get their impossible, regressive, fantasy agenda implemented.
9
Most corrupt administration in HISTORY.
Inept.
Corrupt.
Treasonous.
30
Or closely tied to Harding and Taft--Teapot Dome Robber Baron era.
Give me a break, please! You make this sound as if it's the ethics crime of the century, even as you acknowledge that the inquiry is based on a technicality. Does anyone seriously think anything sinister is taking place in a semi-public setting like Mar-a-Lago? Hiding in plain sight is one thing, but really!
3
There was no Bandar in this reporting. Only statements of fact. If this article comes across to you add the ethics crime of the century, then you must have a problem with the president charging people to meet with him at his private hotel, in secret.
I'm glad we agree.
7
Well, there was something stupid happening when Trump was "briefed on the North Korean crisis in full view of his MAL customers in February, I'd say there was smething stupid going on and a breach of security protocal. Another technicality, from the man who claims Comey "leaked" classified information when heComey spoke solely about his prsonal experience meeting el Presidente of the north, without speaking of anything classified.
What is sinister os selling your products based on your status as President, to any and all comers who come to court you with what look suspiciously like bribes.
6
Exactly the same conflict - the visits taking place at his private home /business in NYC - is now the subject of both criminal and congressional investigations. In the immortal words of St. Ronald of Reagan, "Trust but verify".
4
Mar-a-Fraudo. There, fixed it for you.
22
Trump is charlatan, con-man and grifter par excellence.
America, you are being swindled.
Close your eyes and think of England.
21
As if we aren;t reminded of his numerous gifts every morning, noon and night.
4
Not the full remedy, but I'm guessing the reporters can discover the names and dates of visitors with some focused effort. Example: Florida has a stringent "Sunshine Law". When Palm Beach Sheriff's Office and all the other PB agencies have to plan for visitors they learn who they're "protecting" and identify the overtime charges in their now-deficit spending budgets. Reporters should go to Florida Courts to seek this information. Florida passed this law many years ago in response to corruption and the legislators have been trying to disable it ever since - but it still serves as a powerful flashlight to make the cockroaches scurry.The US can't clamp down speciously on local police, fire, airport security etc. without judicial review... or can they?
12
If this is the "Southern White House," if Trump is using government resources there to conduct official business, then his activities should be disclosed. If he's doing work outside his capacity as POTUS -- especially for his own personal gain -- that needs to be disclosed as well.
Either way, it stinks. Especially when you think of how much time he's spent there since January.
Trump has to learn, as Nixon did, that secrecy and stonewalling only bring more scrutiny and more trouble. The United States is not a wholly owned subsidiary of the Trump Organization -- he can no longer do whatever he wants. He must be held answerable and responsible for what he's doing at Mar-a-Lago, and most important, the legality of what is going on must be determined as well.
Keep on him about this.
22
"... and raises questions about why the administration would want to withhold information that could reveal possible conflicts of interest."
Because they could reveal possible conflicts of interest... that's why.
12
Anything that happens in the world is now under President Trumps' purview.
Cite to me how anything could be a conflict of interest!
Guess which former supreme court justice unwittingly described where we are headed with Trump:
“Every banana republic in the world has a bill of rights,” he told the Senate Judiciary Committee in 2011.
“The bill of rights of the former evil empire, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, was much better than ours,” he said. “We guarantee freedom of speech and of the press. Big deal. They guaranteed freedom of speech, of the press, of street demonstrations and protests, and anyone who is caught trying to suppress criticism of the government will be called to account. Whoa, that is wonderful stuff!”
“Of course,” Justice Scalia continued, “it’s just words on paper, what our framers would have called a ‘parchment guarantee.’”
We currently have a president so corrupt that constitutional law professors have to adjust their classes this year to examine what kind of presidential behavior is unconstitutional or illegal. And former Justice Scalia himself has unknowingly illustrated why Trump's behavior is dangerous to the rule of law in this country.
https://mobile.nytimes.com/2017/08/14/us/politics/trump-constitution-law...
15
Practicing his "Art of the Deal" & all those patriotic Senators & Representatives protecting the royal money all the way.
7
Charles Manson, I suppose, would have made a worse President, but except for
him ....
17
thank you for your take: it hadn't occurred to me that there was a definite worst choice.
5
Did we ever get Hillary's transcript from her speech at Goldman Sachs?
2
She wasn't working in a public office at the time. Trump believe it or not is a public SERVANT .
30
These, "but what about Clinton" arguments only work on Clinton fans.
Those of us that don't like Clinton, a majority of the the country, don't use Clinton as the standard for ethics, and will hold all presidents to higher standards than that.
We are paying the president and we have the right to know what he is doing with his time.
What is he hiding? If he is doing nothing wrong, he should not be embarrassed over his visitor logs.
4
No, we never got those transcripts or access to 33,000 deleted emails and she did NOT get elected. She can blame Bernie all she wants but no one made her hit the delete key or ask her husband to have a quiet little talk on a tarmac with an AG. We were just supposed to believe her word. Politicians of all parties seem to think they can get away with just about anything but its getting harder and harder to commit crimes with everyone running around with a nice camera on their phone.
How much do you want to bet that Trump is now undergoing the sort of embarrassment one gets when one's minions are never told to keep logs of anything?
That this is by design is a theory far too tantalizing to dismiss on its face.
6
You would think the Trump administration would learn its lesson, but apparently there is no learning in this W.H. Hiding meetings with Russians did not work out well for this group. Attempting to hide Trump's tax return, did not work well as one has to believe Mueller has a framed copy of them in his office. This too will not work out well for them. Here we go again. The judicial branch, already engaged in this matter, will now have to yet again ramp up the stakes against Trump until he finally loses this battle as well.
7
Not sure why they would have to ask Trump for the list of visitors, unless they just wanted to see if he would willingly hand it over. If not the Government, then the Private Sector has a list of who is going-in, and going-out of Mar-A-Lago.
1
I suppose this Mar-a-Lago thing could in due course attract Mueller. Secrecy invites suspicion, especially when associated with Trump, friends, and lies.
10
Its time. We have to just pack up and bounce.
3
We know he's hiding more of his unethical practices when this so-called president refuses to comply with a court order. He actually believes he was elected dictator.
12
Ka-ching! Can you hear it? Ka-ching, ka-ching! That is the sound of the purchase of America. Its all up for sale, to the highest bidder. Trump loves the smell of our money in the morning.
20
The right to privacy is an American burthright. We all have it. It is sacred and enshrined in the black letter of our constitution. Sorry media.
1
Actually, no, it isn't "black letter" at all. According to Griswold v. Connecticut and Roe v. Wade, for example, the right to privacy "emanates" from the Fourteenth Amendment. And that's why basing the ability of a woman to control her own body on this numinous right has resulted in the ongoing vicious attacks against our dignity, agency and self-determination. Bummer if it interferes with guy things. Have a tissue.
9
Incorrect, Steve. We have "Ethics in Government" statutes that require all sorts of disclosure of personal information by people who work for the United States Government. Up until now the president has been sort of exempt from many of the mandatory disclosure requirements.
You, however, being nobody in particular, have more rights than our government officials. So, enjoy your privacy.
3
When you become an employee, your employee gas a right to know what you are doing as an employee.
Trump is an employee of the the People of the United States and as his boss we have a right to know what he is doing in our name.
2
Did Hitler publish a list of visitors to his Bavarian fortified castle? Of course not, so why should The Donald? Are we living in a democracy?
12
The intrusive inquisitiveness of the Democrats who all hate Trump has no bounds or limits. Next up, they will be demanding that he release a full accounting of Trump's college grades. Wait, didn't Obama refuse to release his college transcripts? Whatever happened to the full transparency he promised?
1
The intrusive inquisitiveness of the Republicans who all hate the Clintons has no bounds or limits. Next up...
5
What? Release of the thousands of missing government e-mails on Hillary's private server that was mysteriously scrubbed clean?
What happened to Trump's promise of transparency?
4
Trump decides what the law is. A federal judge issues a court order, and he simply refuses to comply and that's that. He is no longer merely president, as our history, culture and constitution define the position. He hasn't anointed himself king just yet, but he has taken on the royal prerogative of authority, privilege, and immunity which belong to a sovereign.
205
Yes. He pardoned Arpaio for contempt of court, a direct attack on the judiciary. (Where are the Democrats?!).
If the president can ignore the courts, then the rule of law, and therefore the constitution become meaningless.
Trump's base loves Putin, because he doesn't let the law stop his policies. Those that think the president should be allowed to over rule the judiciary and interpret the law any way he feels like are against the constitution and traitors to the United States.
(But Schumer is giddy that Trump likes him? The correct statement to make after meeting with Trump is "I had to shower for 3 hours to wash of the sleaze," not, "I think he likes me.")
Trump has left a trail of evidence behind him that he has no respect for the rule of law, the constitution, or the institutions of government (created by democracy to do the people's business). He is a walking constitutional crisis.
I have decried Obama signed some anti constitutional bipartisan legislation, like the weakening of habeas corpus, but he at least pretended to be interested in the rule of law.
Trump has open disdain for the role of law.
2
Can we get the records of everyone who ever met with Nancy Pelosi, Chuck Schumer and every other member of Congress?
2
Sure! Just file an FOIA request! I hope you've got a big garage or shed or something like that though.
7
Yes, you can, of course you can. They serve you, an American citizen, the public. As does the President and everyone in service in his administration. This is a new role for many of them (though not all, Mr. Sessions should know better), and the transparency you are asking for from the Democrats is what you deserve as a citizen paying their salaries. But ditto the Trump administration. This is not Democrats fishing and hating, this is Americans insisting that the President is our servant and not a King to whom we are subservient. We fought a war for this right We do not intend to move backwards regardless of which party is in power.
8
No, as Congress by - law - is exempt from FOIA. Nice little niche they carved out for themselves. Wish it were not so, but I imagine the office would spontaneously combust if the logs, correspondence and records of 535 people, their staff and contacts and those of their predecessors were suddenly fair game.
1
This reeks.
Robert Mueller, God speed. We're counting on you.
13
This, the tax returns, he is the model for those who wish to shirk existing laws. Because he's "so smart".
5
Who are we to suggest that we should know what our President is doing, right?
After all, he's made it clear from day one that he doesn't owe the American people anything.
10
I'm sure that records would show that trumps visits correspond to times of low bookings at his properties and that last minute bookings become full at full price when he comes. much of it paid by taxes in addition to $3 million we pay for each trip to his property. millions per trip going directly into trumps pocket. and that is ploy the beginning.
5
So, what is trump ashamed of. Are all the names Russian? If trump wants to keep his actions private he should be a private citizen.
9
I'd say the 500 members epitomize swamp dwellers
7
What part of PRIVATE does the Times not understand?
2
Jan. 18, 2017, via TWITTER:
“Writing my inaugural address at the Winter White House, Mar-a-Lago, three weeks ago,” Trump wrote. “Looking forward to Friday.”
Nope, Garz - not private; it's the White House. What do YOU not understand?
8
Oh, I dunno... probably the part where he is using the place to conduct official government business... remember the dinner party missile launch? All the official visits?
4
Right, Garz. Didn't say that when it came to Clinton, did you?
4
Remember, Trump's core voters don't care if he meets with Putin or any of the other authoritarian leaders that he has spoken favorably of (el-Sisi in Egypt, Erdogan in Turkey, or Duterte in the Philippines). They just don't care.
12
Is the country being run according to what, at most. 35% of the population wants ? .... Having said that, they are also over 80% of republican voters ... go figure ... better yet, organize and go to the polls at every level .
2
He is incapable OF caring. And he wants to BE Duterte and Putin and that N Korean punk. Above the law doesn't even come close!!!
2
Are we surprised at this? He won't show his income tax returns either. More evidence that he thinks he's above the law.
9
No surprise that Trump wants to operate in secret. He makes everyone who works for him sign non disclosure agreements. He's an extremely paranoid person.
With his track record, of course there are things done at Mar-a-Lago and elsewhere that will not be on the up and up, that's a given.
When has Trump ever demonstrated he cares about ethics? lol
Trump is one of those people who schemes to get away with whatever he can and he's even proud of it!
7
He's just being good to his customers. If I were trying to buy a president, I wouldn't want my name released to the public either.
12
Donald Trump is just trying to implement his version of trickle-down government. Similar to Republican trickle-down economics where all the money is allowed to accumulate at the top, on the theory that wealth will flow down to the masses. With Trump, it would mean that everything flows to him sitting atop "his" empire and beautiful governance will flow down upon all his subjects.
As Trump's senior advisor and Goebbels-esk aide Stephen Miller so in-articulately put it: “the whole world will soon see” that the president’s executive powers “will not be questioned”.
10
He shouldn't be asked to provide this information. This is Presidential business. This is not a story.
The President works on behalf of the American people. If trips to and security for Mar a Lago are being paid for by the taxpayers, what happens there is no longer private business. We deserve complete disclosure.
9
When he's at Mara Lago and conducting government business that location becomes the office of the president of the United States. Refusing to let the American people know who visits him there only means has already begun to turn into the dictator many of thought he would become.
15
One of the phrases that Trump employs to hypnotize his followers is, "Drain the Swamp!" The Trump administration *is* the swamp.
13
You're too too kind - It's a cesspool, and the swamp looks good by comparison.
5
There is a critical issue here. If our President Donald Trump does not have to obey court orders, how can he possibly be prosecuted by Mueller? Clearly, he can not. Donald Trump MUST release names of ALL Mar-a-Lago visitors immediately as the court has ordered. To do otherwise is a direct and frontal and flagrant attack on Constitutional Democracy. Nothing less is at stake here.
218
There must have been many Russian visitors.
1
The logs will go missing as the net is tightened, like when he paid a NYC clerk to misfile papers concerning a housing discrimination case against his company. They were found by the determination of reporters
2
This is our supposed president of the United States, ladies and gentlemen. The most corrupt person - even more corrupt than Richard Nixon - to stalk the halls of OUR white house in recent times. He truly thinks WE are going to let him be the little donny king of America. The boy-man is delusional, as are all his Robber Baron friends like his treasury secretary Steve Manchin. The inherited-stolen-wealth least socially conscious people to ever inhabit OUR planet.
Some years ago I had the pleasure of visiting FDR's "Little White House" in Warm Springs, Georgia, and was pleasantly surprised at the relative ordinariness of it. Take a look, via the link below, and compare it with the gaudy surroundings of The Con Don.
FDR understood the honor of being President of the United States, responsible for the future of the country and ALL Americans. Elanor Roosevelt convinced him that he had to take care of average and poor people if America was to survive as a prosperous nation.
The message has escaped The Con Don and his International Mafia Top 1% Global Financial Elite Robber Baron/Radical religion Good Old Boys' Cabal. Only WE THE PEOPLE, in cooperation with socially conscious lawmakers at every level, can preserve/restore true democracy in America. True democracy is social/economic equity for all.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_White_House#/media/File:FDR-Warm-Sp...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_White_House
13
So, apart from hosting the Japanese delegation one weekend, he's actually not working on any of these trips at taxpayer expense.
9
The only thing transparent in this WH administration is its secrecy, abundant lies, and propagation of fake news.
Evidently no personal Trump empire business was conducted with Japan's prime minister and entourage hence their visitor info was up for grabs. Once more visitor names are obtained through other sources, it will be interesting to see if the Koch brothers or their like, aka multi billion and multi trillion dollar corporate leaders seeking to influence policy, are named as well as any Russian diplomats or oligarchs. One Russian oligarch and his multi million dollar yacht had been spotted anchored off shore the same time Trump was at Mar-a-Lago at least twice since Trump became president.
No doubt there were wealth and influence power meetings going on. Money buying power and influence over America's destiny as envisioned by Trump. The majority of Americans, or 99% of us, only have our votes, so far, and our voices to raise as far as the democratic process. Democracy is fast becoming a thing of the past in America under Trump and the ruling GOP.
9
It's time we clarify the geographic parameters of official presidential governance. While accepting that Trump's sprawling properties may well be within his private dominion, it's doubtful the founding fathers envisioned presidential accommodations comprising eighteen golf courses and numerous other mansions and skyscrapers underwritten at taxpayer expense. It would be even more unthinkable for them to function as potential dens of illegal or unsavory activities.
Such issues were unheard of when people of character served in public office, but those times appear temporarily on hold. With unprecedented arrogance, this man and his nefarious band of apologists repeatedly thumb their noses at every legitimate attempt to understand his personal, medical, psychological, financial and legal circumstances. One wonders, what he's trying to hide.
After all, we are talking about a holder of one of the most powerful offices in the free world.
For all the repeated hand-wringing nothing gets done about this. We have indeed become a feckless nation deserving of whatever consequences may arise out of this horrific excuse for an administration.
9
We should expect the occupant of the White House to obey laws fully, to respond honestly to questions and to not profit off of public sector decisions. He has failed at each of these, when can we expect impeachment proceedings?
8
If you are listening KGB/FSB Russian President Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin can you pretty please release and tell the American people who is visiting your Siberian President Donald John Trump puppy dummy's Mar-a-Lago estate?
And while you are at it can you also pretty please release the contents of Trump's personal and family income tax returns and business records?
6
It's a safe bet they know more than we do.
1
Contact your Congressional delegation, and McConnell and Ryan, and tell them you want any budget to include provisions that no federal funds may be spent on secret service protection for any of the family while they are at a commercial facility with his name on it or that is beneficially owned or operated by any of them. Our taxes should not be renting golf carts from the Crook in Chief. If he wishes to go to his facilities, he should reimburse all expenses. After all, "I am so rich I don't need other people's money." I think that was lie number one in the campaign.
10
Jeff Sessions the anti-immigration zealot is hellbent on keeping his job. Trump treats him with utter contempt so Sessions must have the DOJ come out with rulings that keep Trump happy so he can keep his job. We have two choices, either get used to these kinds of DOJ decisions or get rid of Trump. I vote for the latter.
6
I wouldn't be surprised if the list included a bunch of Russians...
2
Was a log kept of visitors the Obamas had in Hawaii trips? What about when Geo W Bush returned for stays at his ranch?
How far back would a trend go of providing such records? Reagan ranch? Farther back?
Not enough info here.
Add this one to the column marked "Testing the Boundaries".
From day-one Trump has publicly showered disdain on ethic rules and the conventional behavioral norms of our country's government. He feels the rules don't apply to Donald Trump.
This is just another installment daring Congress to stop him or get out of his way on his quest to become America's first strongman presidente'. The authoritarian ruler cut of the same cloth as Putin, Duterte, al-Assad, al-Bashir, etc. Dictators and oligarchs are the club Trump is trying to emulate. As well as trying to gain acceptance in the uber billionaire ranks.
Just one more ultra conservative Supreme Court pick and we're well on our way to a voter suppressed alt-right gun toting immigrant-free Christian-Sharia autocracy fueled and held in power by the secret monied interests the likes of which may well be on this very Mar-a-Lago guest list.
7
I don't want to dig too deeply into the weeds of technicality but I'm going to anyway. Judge Failla ordered the Secret Service to produce any non-exempt records regarding presidential visitors to Mar-A-Lago. The Justice Department is arguing that all records are exempt with the exception of the Japanese visit. All other meetings with the president are not considered "presidential visitors." At the same time, they're arguing the president doesn't need to release an records at all because FOIA exemption.
However, this misses the point. The judge didn't order the Justice Department to provide a list. She didn't order the president to provide a list. She ordered the Secret Service to provide a list. The Justice Department's document is irrelevant. The Secret Service reports to the Department of Homeland Security. They are the ones responsible for producing visitor names. Judging by how things are going, I'm guessing they don't have one. Occam's razor. I don't think anyone in the security detail bothered to log the guests.
Think about it. Trump was photo bombing weddings all summer. Did the Secret Service documented every person at the wedding? Highly unlikely. In all likelihood, the only accurate record of hotel visitors probably belongs to Mar-A-Lago. Ignoring the court order seems like contempt of court but it probably won't change anything. The information the prosecutors want isn't subject to FOIA. Meanwhile, Trump will quietly thank the DHS for their incompetence.
dhs was not being incompetent, they were obeying trump' s orders. proving they wrongly work for him, not us.
1
If ordered by the president, the president is in contempt of court. Nothing here says the DHS was ordered to withhold information though. They haven't provided any yet but that's different.
1
Donald isn't draining the swamp. He's just relocating it to Mar-a-Lago. More crocodiles seem to be moving in every day.
2
Crookedest president ever. Lock him up!
8
Swamp-a-Lago
6
I'm pretty sure any longer list of visitors he released would not be complete and it would take appointing another special prosecutor to get the names that were omitted (covered up). So we, the people, should just accept that all our elected officials talk to all kinds of people in all kinds of places about all kinds of topics and we will never know about all of them. The ethics watchdogs' efforts are worthwhile, however, to remind us of that. "Little people" don't get a private audience with a president or even a Congressman to discuss our wants and needs unless we somehow serve a public relations or political purpose beneficial to him, for example, parents of a daughter murdered by an illegal immigrant. We can, however, as long as we have a free, aggressive and responsible press, know what executive actions he takes and what laws he signs and note who benefits and who is harmed by those actions. The fact that this president so often visits his exclusive clubs and takes meetings with individuals who can afford to join or frequent those clubs should tell us all we need to know about who he listens to in making his official decisions.
3
Why are Americans putting up with this deranged fraud's behavior.? Have we run out of lunatic asylums? Or straight jackets? Or plain old smelly jail cells? The man should not be walking around free! Obviously he is a danger to himself and others and should be put in protective custody.
7
Another embarrassment for America history. Gosh... perhaps there will be a honest President again!
6
It's funny how habitual ethical lapses by the Clintons are forgivable, but a similar pattern by Trump spells the end of the Republic.
2
That's not apples and oranges, it's peas and watermelons.
7
Chris,
Name one instance of "ethical lapses" in which Bill Clinton wasn't aggressively investigated during his presidency, or either Clinton since. The only act for which either was found guilty was Bill lying to cover up an affair while in office. That's almost quaint when compared to the countless indiscretions and outright acts of duplicity committed by Trump throughout his adult life.
6
When we see the same scope, intensity and depth of investigation of Trump as we did either Clinton, feel free to kvetch.
3
Tax returns ....
Visitor logs ......
what is this guy hiding ?
10
The reason (in part) is because the list will show Russians and Saudi's who stayed at his resort. It will be impossible for Trump to ultimately stop the disclosure...when all the facts are in with reference to Trump et al, it will be an historic scandal of proportions now seen since Watergate.
8
Watergate was just a third rate political misbehavior until Nixon attempted, at the presidential level, to cover it up. What trump is doing, and what he intended doing all along, is using the presidency for personal gain and profit, without regards to the public trust that normally goes with the office.
3
Washington was not qualified to be King in his view. However, the Donald jester is totally qualified in his view.
5
If Trump does not release the list of visitors it is proof of his criminality-----something I have never doubted in the first place.
14
See if the courts will start to use their contempt powers? So far the District judges have been afraid to show cause that traitorous cretin.
PROSECUTE RUSSIAGATE!
7
No worries, you can bet your bottom dollar SC Robert Mueller already has that list. The end is nigh for this idiot-in-chief.
DD
Manhattan
15
Creeping socialism? ? Ya right unlrss it s govt. Monry to bsil out the crooks on wall street when they go broke. It s not creeping socialism then.
4
Obama, on many weekends, flew all the way to California for some silly meetings so he could play golf there. Do we have a list of all people meeting with him there and subjects of discussion. Just asking.
4
Has a court asked him for that list and did he refuse to supply this list. Because if no one has even asked for it, it's not really the same. Also, Trump still owns his business. He is open for bribery and blackmail in a way that previous presidents are not. This is why the list is important. If you want the Obama guests lists, ask for them. If they get refused, then you can complain.
15
Any of the places where President Obama held the meetings owned by Obama and his family? Just asking.
7
Don't remember Obama taking out a court order to hide who he was playing golf with, do you?
Just asking.
3
The problem isn`t with Trump not wanting to release his records; his behavior is consistent with the behavior of an immoral narcissist. The problem is with the public and the press who meekly put up with the situation. Trump is the heavy price of civic cowardice.
18
I'm sure the Russians can tell us who's been on the guest list. What are the odds they don't have Mar a Lago bugged top to bottom? Doesn't seem like it would have been that hard to do. given that it's a venue for weddings and other events.
9
Not only the russians, but the Chinese, the Saudis, the Israelis, the Brits, etc.
4
He's King Donald I
He can do whatever he wants, whenever he wants, and nothing can stop him.
When you're the king, you are the boss. Laws that apply to mere mortals do not apply to you.
End of story.
7
Remember this is the law and order president that says says we have to deport all Dreamers and all people who are living here without documents. Yet this this president breaks the law whenever it suits him or fills his pockets! What a hypocrite! Lock him up!
14
I distinctly remember recently when the States had been requested to turn over the information on voter registration (names, addresses, party, SS# etc) to Trump's phony Federal voting commission, many refused to do so, citing privacy and State/Federal authority issues.
Trump snarkily suggested that if they wouldn't turn over voter information, they must have something to hide.
Something about geese and ganders...
13
He choses to use it as an alternate WH, not just an occasional vacation locale. Govt employees, administration members convene there. What happened to getting visitor logs of the WH? We all know he does this to promote his business and line his pocket. While being immoral and unethical isn't against the law, a president profiting from the United States and foreign govts. is.
10
Daily I read of laws and regulations that apply to all members of the government EXCEPT the president. It's long past time to limit the president's power; all members of the government (no exceptions) should be bound by the law equally and while we're at it, by the laws that govern the rest of us. So if you're going to allow people to tote guns in my shopping center, then let them tote them on the White House front lawn too.
It's also long past time that we give the president the exclusive power to launch a nuclear weapon. That needs to be a unanimous 3-person panel with each person sharing a part of the code but not all of it.
And all government persons and entities as well as their peripheral hangers-on (Trump family) should be forbidden to use "social" media while in office or campaigning for office. That would go a long way in slowing down the extreme polarization of issues people in the country embrace. The faction that depends on that form of media before casting a vote would have to get their information elsewhere, from you know, places that require reading and maybe ruminating over what's been read.
8
I'm counting on the records of the Secret Service. I believe that anyone meeting with the President requires clearance - people can't just walk in. It seems to me that finding out with whom Trump met will be less of a problem than finding out what was discussed. Unless, of course, Trump Jr. left email footprints.
5
This article doesn't answer the question; why does CREW want access to the President's guest list at Mar-a-Lago? The law is clear that federal law exempts the White House from the FOIA. The Obama WH operated under that law, so what's changed that the Trump WH shouldn't? The left has made it quite clear that they despise the man, but one would think their efforts would be better spent unifying their party and putting together inclusive platforms that would draw people to them instead of acting like a bunch of cub reporters.
Kurt, had you read the article you'd have noted President Obama opened the White House visitor logs to FOIA requests in late 2009 (with security sensitive exceptions).
5
As Gomer would say ... "Sir prize, sir prize, sir prize"
2
FDR met with Churchill in Argentina, Canada in August 1941 secretly before we entered WWII officially. The Atlantic Charter was created at that meeting. Would Trump need to tell if one of his visitors to Mar-a-Lago was a world leader meeting with him to discuss a strategy against North Korea, for example? We are not privileged as citizens to know about every activity of our President when he deems it necessary to be secretive.
2
You are funny. FDR Churchill and.........Trump.
9
WSF, there are security exemptions from FOIA requests so your point is moot.
3
Mar-a-Lago = Pay-to-Play
7
The only kind of publicly elected people that don't release tax returns or visitor records when they are legally supposed to are crooks.
Trump is a mobster. How can he continue in office when he flaunts laws and uses the position to enrich himself. We are not Russia yet?
Where are the checks and balances, where is democracy in action? Where is hope?
9
"That's just Donald being Donald"......"they knew exactly what they were getting when they elected him", and so on. The sooner he gets impeached, the soon he goes to prison the better for everyone. How he got this far as a private businessman is beyond me, I personally wouldn't do business with someone like him. Now that he's in the White House he thinks the rules/laws don't apply to him. Guess we'll just have to prove him wrong!!!
7
Five Families guest list.
4
If Donald Trump adds a new chapter to Robert Mueller's book every week, he will never finish it.
At what point do we decide we have had enough?
10
And who is paying for security while the Donald is hiding in the sand trap? Us!
2
A US President defying a federal court order is a constitutional crisis. Those Republicans who are not bribed by billionaires, corporations or Russia, start the ball rolling on impeachment. We will NOT tolerate a lawless White House.
8
These constant negatives of Trump are very informative, especially when also reading that he get's away with it. They tell us that pro-Trumps here in the US are in the majority. In short it tells us what most of America is all about: no depth, short sided, no future.
3
Sure its wrong but if the Clintons were in the White House it would be any different. Was Monica on the guest log?
1
Was Monica on the guest log?
Yes, she was.
5
Jim,
had you read the linked article you wouldn't need to post.
Clinton complied with Kenneth Star's request for the White House logs.
8
She was an intern, later employee. Fetching pizza during the week-long government shutdown. So no, she wasn't on the guest log. She was an employee, with a badge, security clearance, and work records.
1
So Trump can break the law and there is no repercussion? If that turns out to be the case, the presidency has way too much power. We also need a backup when for when a billionaire's army takes over congress and subverts the law. Otherwise this isn't a democracy; it's more like a No. Korean dictatorship.
3
It is no wonder that Jeff Session's Department of Justice won't release that information, he's Trump's lackey.
5
And people called Jimmy Carter, Obama, and Warren G. Harding "the worst president(s) ever"?
5
How much more can we take of this criminal president? Hopefully, his Congressional backers will wake up, seize all his assets, impeach him and put him behind bars for life.
3
Hope Hicks would say "You would not understand and it is none of your business". That works in Trump's old job as a private citizen running a private company. Now he is president. No longer private. This is our business. Where are the invoices for all the stays and visitors Trump charges the US for at his own properties, profiting off taxpayer dollars?
9
Rumor has it that DJT plans to turn one wing of Mar a Lago into a recovery ward for cholera-weakened Yemeni children, another wing he will provide to surgeons treating shrapnel-wounded Syrian youngsters.
Release of their names might invite reprisals against families back home, therefore DJT's precedent of caution here is understandable and appreciated, God bless him.
3
Aw, shucks, folks! He likes to keep his ratings up, so he tantalizes us by withholding information (only when his lawyers tell him it's okay). Remember those tax returns???
Some smart person should just hack into Mar-A security video cameras and put the feed out there on the Internet. We'd like to see where our tax dollars are going. Get ready to see is lots of chocolate cake.
1
Still operating as the Trump Organization, Mr. Trump knows no other way than to conceal, cheat and con. This is who he is.
5
The King has spoken: He is the law and he and the royal family are above the law. Just try and impeach a king. Court orders? Not where his profits and influence peddling are concerned.
We no longer have a government we have a ruling junta of billionaires and fascists. They are in power and will never give it up without a civil war. They will not accept any election results unless they win.
4
I fully believe that the likes of Snowdon are absolute traitors however I would agree with congressional immunity for anyone who releases documents on trump whatever the motive.
2
It won't matter. His base wants to establish a white neo-Nazi dictatorship in the USA. Everyone who voted for him is complicit.
4
Appearance the New Swamp
of trumpville is
a very secretive place,
like nixon's White House.
1
we'd expect nothing less from this bunch......
2
Doesn't want us to know which big wigs he's bribing, or selling secrets to.
2
Seems to me if he is charging the government (i.e., you and me) for use of his FL mansion and of Airforce One and of the Secret Service ... all while doing "the people's business" and "governing", then we should be able to see the proof and records of that work.
I can imagine that there is an argument for not releasing his private tax returns (not a good argument, but there is one) but there is no argument for keeping official business meetings taken as President secret.
190
A brief check did not find that he charges for his staying there. Yes there are costs such as those Obama made on many visits.
Oh please. These constant comparisons to Obama is tiring and reveals nothing more than an inability to look at the situation for what it is -- Besides that, at this point Trump is spending far more time away from the White House than in it and actually doing something.
3
Everyone else has to comply with court orders -- but not this corporation? It's not "the swamp" that's being drained by this administration. One invoice that was obtained shows that the government was billed $1092 in March 2017 for a 2-night stay by an unspecified government official. This rate is higher than even the Four Seasons Resort in Palm Beach. It is an outrage, plain and simple.
296
That any taxpayer money is going into Trump's piocket is a violation of the domestic emoluments clause:
U.S. Constitution Article 2, Section 1, Clause 7
"The President shall, at stated Times, receive for his Services, a Compensation, which shall neither be increased nor diminished during the Period for which he shall have been elected, and he shall not receive within that Period ANY OTHER (emphasis mine) Emolument from the United States, or any of them."
He should get ZERO into his own pocket, from the American taxpayers, for accommodating Secret Service or other staff. He is a profiteer plain and simple! He should be banned from using his private properties from which he makes money!!!
1
The American people need to have confidence in their President, but we don't. To keep secret who visits and stays at Mar-a-Lago is beyond bamboozling us as we have the right to know who the President, as long as he is President, interacts with and Mar-a-Lago is the ostentatious proxy White House, for a so-called President who spend more time away from the Government's House than at it! It is our business that he is misusing our tax dollars to pay for his personal business. It doesn't matter what he has been 'decades ago.' He is now POTUS and is an employee of the people of America! Dump Trump is the only solution!
219
Now that he IS POTUS, Everything he HAS done and IS doing is the business of the American people . If he does'nt agree, he can QUIT NOW !
4
You don't, but many do.
How many is many? About a third of the country. Approval rating confirms that. More Americans voted for someone else. Some mandate. "Many" people believe in Sasquatch. Doesn't make it right or true.
1
Where is the guest list for the 'private parties' Obama held at the WH?? What about the ones he held elsewhere while being Prez? No complaints about that, hmmmm. Yeah, we did get some celeb selfies so we have some idea of who was there. You guys just want to destroy Trump. Your agenda is so transparent and despicable.
5
Lol, keep making it about Obama because you Trump supporters don't believe in responsibility or law.
3
Wild--Sure, Barack Obama was downright dangerous, uncontrollable, and crazy! Don't forget he was NOT a citizen of this country. Probably working for the interests of some other country.
1
Wild. Did you know that a Russian mobster named Felix Sater lives in the penthouse below Trump in Trump Tower and that Trump has conducted business with him? Fact. Did you know Trump's son in law Kushner's family is being subpoenaed for trying to sell American citizenship to the Chinese via investments in their New Jersey properties? Fact. Did you know the head of the Treasury requested Air Force plane for his honeymoon? Fact. Did you know that the President has made over $20 million this year from the Hotel in Washington this year, the lease to which is held illegally at this time? Fact. Did you know that Trump is getting rid of ethanol regulations for his dear friend Icahn? Fact. Did you know that your president raised the cost of his Florida golf club to $200,000 a year as soon as he got elected? Fact. I could go on. You must understand that your president is entirely corrupt. It is how dictators behave so don't fall for it. Keep defending him and let me know how any of that helps you. He is destroying himself.
3
Hurry Mr Mueller!
13
Who is he hiding them from, the US taxpayer or Melania?
10
I wonder how many Russians are on that list.
11
That would make for interesting gossip.
Arrest this guy.
9
Would there be a long list of Russian's on the list?
6
As Trump has consistently demonstrated since childhood, rules, ethics, morality and decorum are for patsies.
He never wanted to govern- he wanted to improve the 'Trump' brand and make more money. Nothing else makes sense of his behavior.
22
Crooked Donny makes sure the supposedly people's business he's conducting there isn't the people's business. It's an echo of the classic and equally crooked Chicago pol who said, dismissing a would be volunteer without a referral, "We don't want nobody that nobody sent." Now, Donny, about them tax returns and, while we're at it, those college transcripts.
8
It will be interesting to see what the Red states do when the Blue states refuse to pay taxes -- and thus begin a process of virtual secession. Either the laws apply to all of us -- including Mr. Trump -- or they apply to none of us.
Law and order? Not for the rich and powerful!
12
Seems to be a bit hypocritical to me. Obama did the same on many occasions, no outcry then, except from some, what do you call them, 'right-wingers'. Now the shoe's on the other foot. As for your 'virtual succession', you might want to be careful what you wish for, you may get it.
States exist to perpetuate unequal protection of the law in the US.
1
Trump isn't unique here. Enemies are always looking for dirt, not that he doesn't have something to hide possably, doesn't matter. Who can function with a magnifying glass on every exchange, perceived or real. Do we know every dignitary or friend that visited Camp David in the Obama era? Do private clubs disclose members activities. Is this the part where we bug his residences,lol? Do people go to ball games to conduct business? They sure do.
5
(1) Obama except for national security concerns, did release visitor logs, famously so.
(2) It stops being solely a private club when the president conducts government business there (some of it famously non-secure).
(3) Ball parks. He won't throw out a first pitch. Sorry, but any grown American male who will not do that - much less a President - demands suspicion. Add to that eating KFC with a knife and fork, and you are skating very close to foreign operative territory.
1
Trump is the unlawful and disorder president guilty of malfeasance of office. The morally corrupt Republican controlled congress is equally guilty by allowing said malfeasance.
15
NanaK--VOTE while you still have that right. Even if you have to gather stupid IDs, do that right now, so you'll be ready. Get someone to help you do it. VOTE to save our country.
1
Trump, the man who stated emphatically that he would drain the swamp, has once again proven that he is a man of many swamps - the biggest now including the presidency. Where there is no light there is no truth, no honor, no morality - just swamp.
10
He seems to be fully capable of keeping secrets that protect him and his family, but he can't seem to keep his mouth shut when it comes to national security and other sensitive topics. Another piece of evidence that shows he is only in it for himself.
17
As I recall, Cheney had a meeting with an energy-related topic in the White House, but repeatedly refused to tell the world who attended. So GOPers beleive that the government is their private property. Nov 2018 is the opportunity to correct that belief.
10
Transparency in government is of utmost importance to me, and should be to every citizen of this country.
I hope this sort of secrecy gets fixed once and for all once Trump is gone. We've relied on the intrinsic integrity of the people we elect to be president for too long. Now that we see it is possible to elect a grifter, it's up to us to codify presidential behavior. If they know everything they do and everyone they see will be subject to public scrutiny by law, maybe they'll think twice before running for president.
Message to future presidents: your life, including your business dealings, is no longer private. We didn't elect you so you can be influenced by people we don't know about or enriched by business dealings we know nothing about. Sorry, but that's how it is. Your life is ours for four years.
10
But you voted for Hillary and it is public knowledge that she was guilty of obstruction by deleting 30,000 emails and using her Sec of State office to conduct Clinton foundation business. Enriched by business dealings ? You are talking about Hillary who you voted for knowing all of this. Hypocrisy running rampant by libs
1
I see this going to the Supremes. What irony if Gorsuch took an ethical position and ruled against the Donald. That would be a move worthy of another disloyalty tantrum. All this drama is getting exhausting.
9
Looks like there might be serious competition to my country's well-deserved reputation for sleaze, if things continue in this manner for several more years.
9
Number 45 and his cronies are going to end their days in jail. Good riddance. Couldn't be soon enough.
15
Why am I not surprised?
6
Makes you wonder how many times somebody with deep Russian connections came to visit.
8
Good old Mar-a-Larceny. He even gives golf a bad name.
7
Once again, the administration is hiding something
7
the covfefe is overflowing
6
Trump's Mar a Lago is his Florida swamp. Drain it !!
8
Shut up peons.
The supreme leader and his $100,000,000 a year "influence the president club", are not for you to question.
9
The supreme leader eats beautiful pieces of chocolate cake there. That's all we peasants need to know.
6
AKA the fix is in.
2
Is The NY Times trying to make nice with its headlines regarding the Trump administration? How does someone "decline" to submit to a court order without "defying" the court or being in "contempt" of court? Does that kind of headline just apply to ordinary citizens and not to our Dear Leader?
18
Trump spent how much of our tax dollars at Ma a Lago, while R. Tillerson cuts vital staff from UN Assembly . Save all the money you can, so Trump and family can blow it all. Just what we need when most of our allies think we are idiots, and in a very weak position. Yep save a few bucks, why should you come out of this administration neat and clean. And who thought he would comply , really?
8
Trump's accountants must be working on his taxes (that no one will ever see) at Mar-a-Lago.
7
If you have nothing to hide, then you have nothing to fear. In Trump"s case, he knows he has much to fear. More than anything, Trump fears exposure, exposure that corruption, influence pedaling is at the core of his flawed presidency. Trump, and his adult children, view the presidency as a money making operation, a scam that profits the Trump organization. Sensible people knew that, and more important, Putin does too.
13
So Trump can hide the visitor log from the American people, while at the same time charging the American people through tax dollars for those same visitors and their protection by Secret Service.
13
Time for a contempt of court citation. Trump certainly displays nothing but contempt for the courts (and the press, and the voters).
9
There is the sole fixation of the media and others in seeing Mr. Trump's tax returns, the visitors to Mar-a-Lago, etc. My mother, born on the farm, had advice for these types of people, "Mind your own business."
To quote Ashley Fern, " People who are unable to mind their own business are most likely internally miserable. They seek to find faults within others just to make themselves feel better."
3
I suspect that your mother, born on a farm, would have wanted to know if the Pastor was taking advantage of his position in some way (and indeed she should if it affected the community). If we are in positions of power and responsibility, we need to be held accountable. Scripture is clear on this.
2
True, we should all mind our own business.
The government of the USA is all our own business, not exclusively trump's business to keep hidden.
If he doesn't want US citizens eyes in his house, he shouldn't bring our business into it.
Would you be saying the same if it were a Democratic president conducting themself in the very same way?
2
Conducting state business at a property he privately owns and makes a profit from, with paying guests (we're not allowed to know about) -- So, are we finally ready to reconsider the Emoluments Clause??
19
He and Arpaio have real problems with court orders
refusing to comply is a high crime and misdemeanor
word
4
The "Law and Order" president is exempt from following the law.
7
I thought he was the law and order president?
1
Trump supporters who make less than $1 million per year are dense...they will see none of the benefits of his presidency and yet they continue to defend him with utterly doltish and/or insanely hypocritical beliefs and words.
Were Hillary or Obama to have done anything like this we would have heard about it for the next 20 years...yet it's Trump so "nothing to see here."
8
Won't release his tax returns or visitors to Mar-A-Lago? More and more of his Administration seem to be late in remembering meeting with Russians.
The DNA test just came back. It's a duck!
11
The rooster thinks we, the people, owe him special protection for his private, for profit, resort, and in turn, he doesn't owe anything.
Since he seems to be asserting that what he does at MAL is in his private domain, all government supported protections should stop at the end of his private driveway.
Whomever he sees AS President is part of the official record, and available for review. - - or it - he - doesn't merit the fantastic expenses demanded. And when he starts making money from the deals he makes as THE ultimate insider there will be no way to stop him.
His hubris is expected: it has to be stopped. It makes a mockery of any of the rules, written and unwritten, which have reeled in presidential behavior. Those other two branches had better step up.
10
Looks as if Trump has whipped Sessions into line. Has the DOJ become nothing more than the WH's concierge?
10
What is Mr. trump hiding from Ameticans?
This is like his tax returns. What is he hiding?
5
Without the record of meetings, how do we know that he is not conducting business which may be reveal the pursuit of his financial interests in conflict with his presidential duties.?
16
Federal court orders don't mean diddly to Trump, re his refusal to release list of visitors to his personal Versailles-a-Lago here in Palm Beach, Florida. Make comprehensive visitor logs public, as President Obama did during his entire 8 year Presidency. How long will we the American people allow Humpty Dumpty in his 4 residences (Manhattan, Bedminster, NJ, Washington, DC, Palm Beach, FL) to reign over our disunified American states?
7
Past time for counting impeachable offenses. The road Trump is taking us down is one we will never return from. Trump must go and grifter family with him
3
This man Trump and his entire parasitic family are the hands down champions for defying ethics and being just one step ahead of the law.The guest list, if ever revealed would read like a who's who of the oligarchs and demimondaines of the world. The ridiculous membership fee of $200K plus a $20k dining room minimum far outstrips the fees of the old guard's bastions of The Everglades or Bath & Tennis. For the price of admission one might rub elbows with Joey No Socks or even Victoria Gotti as well as the assorted Russian or Saudi.The disdain for Mar a Lago and particularly its owner is less about class and more about history. When Trump picked up the property for pennies , the State of Florida could no longer afford the upkeep even with the bequest from Mrs.Post who left it to the State as a museum.When Trump came on the scene, he immediately submitted a proposal to break it up for development .You an imagine the reaction.But time healed some of that resentment and events were held there for the most eminent fundraisers. As we all have read, due to Charlottsville, those same institutions have withdrawn elsewhere.
As a Palm Beach resident and former New Yorker I can personally attest to The Family Trump's rejection in both locales.They never participated in any cultural, artistic or social awareness movements.They are just takers, never givers.So the secrecy of it's visitors is quite apparent: the American public might be shocked at just who has entered those gates.
12
Far from the watchful eyes of Washington this is where the seeds of the "deals" (i.e., folk like Koch) are sown and farmer Pruitt then complies.
6
Defying a federal court order just like his buddy Arpaio. And we all saw how that played out. As my 80yr old mother likes to say - it's time for Congress to "bell the cat". We need to know what he's doing, who he's meeting with & what are "the American people" paying for? Also, Trump tends to travel with a big entourage, I doubt they stay at Motel 6 - let's see those costs.
3
"Federal law exempts the White House from the Freedom of Information Act, or FOIA, which requires public disclosure of government documents. "
So, has a bill been introduced in Congress to have the White House and President subject to the same FOIA and ethics laws as other federal agencies and federal employees?
If not, what are they waiting for?
5
Since when does a private club list of visitors become a government document? He's creating a veritable fruit orchard and continues this 'no one tell him he's lost his clothes'. Congress still has not grown a backbone.
3
This is a total conflict of interest and an insult to the democracy and position of the Presidency. How are you going to enforce the laws of the country if you don't obey the laws of the country. This shutters with violations of emoluments clause all over it.
4
Yeah! I know I spelled shudder wrong. Beat me!
Our so called "law and order" President is flaunting the law again. He has no respect for people, countries or the law unless they enhance his wealth and/or perceived power. Trump has taken the people who voted for him for a ride with a disastrous potential ending. Money is king to Trump and his only purpose for running for president was to increase his wealth. So far he is doing well. He has basically removed all Ethics from our government.
5
Let's face it, folks: Trump doesn't care what the law says.
7
Nice. So, Mar-a-lago will remain a safe place for the Russian agents.
1
Just another notch in Mueller's tally of Trump's obstructions of justice.
5
So we just lead readers to believe all these rich people are going to meet Trump there and get richer. A none story since no one knows who has visited. Al Sharpton was at the White House over 70 times during Obamas term. And?
1
Interesting. While Thomas Peterffy is worrying about "creeping socialism" the rest of us are worried about creeping authoritarianism and the creeping dishonesty spreading throughout the Clown's administration.
40
I'm recalling the gratuitously videotape Trump saying Obama the most ''secretive President in our history. From the man with the secret income taxes who went back on the pledge to reveal them. And this Mar-a-Lago deal. P.S. if one did a search of this tape..and sees it...revealing...almost scary.
17
Go to a Motel 6 and get reported to ICE along with every other visitor.
Mar-a-Lago doesn't believe in law enforcement as strongly as Motel 6?
38
Here, again, the question that will not go away: What is Trump hiding?
Donald Trump is a con man, an obfuscator and deflector. Elevating him to president does not alter those facts. The truth will be revealed. The schadenfreud will be off the charts.
38
At Obama's White House, transparency. At Mar-a-Lago, shrimp cocktail.
Without the 2009 lawsuit by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), President Obama probably would not have released White House visitor lists (minus “particularly sensitive” and “purely personal guests"). But he did, fulfilling his campaign promise for greater transparency.
Trump's White House ended the visitor list. So, when Trump does "business" outside the White House, I see nothing wrong with CREW suing to get FOIA requests answered by Homeland Security. Without the nonprofits to challenge them, the new politician-officials are content to fall back to old ways and the People will only get darkness.
20
WRONG
at mar a lago its chocolate cake
not shrimp cocktail
Shocking, eh? A politically-motivated opposition group wearing a ludicrously ineffective mask of public interest is stymied in it's frenzied attempt to "prove" that wealthy, connected, greedy and ambitious types try to influence politics. As if these same check-writers, country-club doyennes, globe-trotting magnates and assorted other wannabee mistresses of the universe did not hobnob with the Obamas, the Bushes, the Clintons (well, even THESE people couldn't stand that woman), the Reagans, Carters, Fords and every other post-WW2 administration. Ho-Hum. Another foray into the root cellar for wine turned vinegar.
4
Sounds to me that Ho hum is the equivalent giving up. It may be boring to you but thank goodness some people take these issues seriously.
4
A group?! There are three and they are, in fact, interested in rooting out corruption and preserving the public's right to know!
"CREW [Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington] and its partners in the effort — the National Security Archive and the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University — sued in April to get access to presidential visitor logs for Mar-a-Lago, the White House and Trump Tower in New York."
Lumping all those presidents together overlooks key differences... in wealth, in self-dealing, in clandestine financial operations, etc.
Trump is in a league of his own -- and the contrast between his excessive secrecy and Obama's release of White House visitor logs is striking.
Note: Your name-calling these three groups as "politically-motivated" ignores the fact that they have sued other presidents, including Obama, to gain public information!
Finally, gratuitously slamming Hillary reveals a latent misogyny even for a woman!
5
You can’t have it both ways, POTUS - taxpayers are already stuck with the bill of you traveling to Florida every weekend. The least that should happen is being able to learn what guests had access to the POTUS on our taxed nickels that paid for those multiple trips.
39
And don't forget the cost of the Secret Service guarding his entire clan -- and the cost of shutting down New York City every time he decides to pop up.
2
It appears that Trump is entirely focused on information secrecy and making as many friends of Congress that he can to win an inevitable impeachment vote that would force him out of the White House.
3
"Information secrecy"? -- Would you care to bet how long it will take before he starts tweeting Obama has bugged Mar-a-Lago???
1
Someone needs to remind Trump that he is not a king, nor an emperor. He is a president that "serves at the will of the people". He is skating on very thin ice (no pun intended) and will certainly reach the comeuppance his actions have earned. I just hope it happens before he damages the presidency beyond redemption.
15
Apparently this real estate mogul needs a refresher course on one of the first distinctions in real estate.
You're a renter, not an owner. The actual owner (the American people), get to take back everything after your lease is up. If you caused any damages, it will be taken out of your security deposit.
If this administration want to refer to Mar-a-Lago as the "winter White House", then this intentionally blurs the distinction between renter and owner. The White House is publicly, not privately, owned.
20
What surprises and annoys me is this president's efforts to make money using his position in government. To me, it reeks of conflicts of interest. The fact that we as a democracy and a republic don't seem to have enforceable laws prohibiting and punishing his behavior in office is our country's greatest failure.
14
Excuse me. It "surprises" you? -- Where on earth have you been for the last seven, no, almost eight months???
The only thing Trump has done since getting into office, and for all his life, is concentrate on himself and making money.
We tried to warn you.
Sad.
2
Is anyone keeping a list of all the lawsuits Trump is engendering? I'd like to know at some point if it's a record.
7
Will his actions ever become so damaging to the Republican brand and reelection prospects that the party leaders scream enough?
Does Sessions get jailed for contempt of court, only to be pardoned?
1
if it's the "winter white house," the visitor log is public information
the president's calendar is public information
the president's guest list is public information
unfortunately, the president is a reality show host with no understanding of government, the constitution, or the law.
9
In the age of the internet, all local, state and federal activities should be immediately available to the public. We pay the taxes and it is our government. Making all information public would cost pennies. And speaking of pennies, all government spending should be made public too. Military and top secret spending could be scrutinized by the public after five or ten years. Sunlight cleans.
6
Apparently The Conman loves defying court orders, just like his good friend Joe Arpaio. How charming that our administrative branch has once again undercut the co-equal authority of our judicial branch. And isn't it the GOP which is always spouting on about preserving our Constitution? Watch what they do, not what they say.
13
so much for the "law and order" party
1
I'm not a lawyer, so, maybe there's a point of law that I'm missing. A court order was issued, and this guy Trump ignores it. He doesn't agree with it or he doesn't like it, so he just ignores it. What the h... is going on?
34
What is going on is Trump and his "Trumpits" have, are and will continue to place themselves above the co-equal branches of our government.
Trump considers himself America's king or emperor and is no longer subject to the niggling little restrictions of a U. S. citizen such as obeying laws.
3
Agree! Why isn't the judge holding the officials involved in contempt of court -- and imposing daily fines?!
That could include a $20,000 per day fine on the so-called President, too, until the information is turned over!
The only thing Trump understand sis money (well, and hiding Russian collusion and shady deals), so hit him where it hurts as in his wallet!
4
You don't have to be a lawyer to understand that this is someone who categorically holds himself above the law.
1
Eventually, Trump will learn by investigation of his actions, that the Presidency is not there to benefit himself, his family and their greed first. The office, which he just happens to temporarily hold is first. And the people of the US should and will eventually come first.
Trump should have put his assets in a blind trust, as all prior Presidents have done. Since he didn't, Trump will pay for his greed.
80
How can all this behavior be accepted..likes it's o.k.? It's the political culture. Has very little if any civic authenticity to it.
4
I hope you are correct but remember he is using the Department of Justice as a shield, filled as it is with his cronies who share his contempt for Constitutional norms.
5
Apologies if somebody has already suggested this, or if the Trumps have already announced their decision to do it, but why not open Mar a Largo to impoverished Floridian families left homeless by Irma? To what better use could all those dry beds and all that legendary chocolate cake be put?
98
Now, that's a good ideia. As a pay back, the visiting impoverished Floridian families could mowe the lawn, do some weeding (the plants must have grown a bit as a result of the rain in the area), paint retouching, clean the gutters, and wash the cars, for say $20/hour, including meals and lodging.
1
Because Trump has said he has a "big, big" heart, and everything he says is a lie?
1
You can be sure that free lodgings were never considered for the newly homeless. Now, if the off-season shelter could have been done in a new tent city (Sheriff Joe could manage it and make the guests wear pink panties) on site and send the bill to Homeland Security it might have been considered.
Federal law exempts the White House from the Freedom of Information Act, or FOIA, which requires public disclosure of government documents. This is an easy situation to solve. Follow the law and don't comply with liberal's foolish requests. Don't try frantically to find loopholes to circumvent the law or the intent of the law. The real story here is the desperation of liberals to take Trump down by ANY means possible. Especially loopholes. Its like having annoying insects buzzing around your head all day while you are trying to work. Get a life.
3
No what Watergate clearly taught every sitting President is that when. federal judge orders you to do something, and release records, you do it. Neither Nixon not Trump are above the law, Trump must learn this, I suppose the hard way. His petty antics that were used as a real estate player won't work as government official. Nixon tried same with tapes, see where it got him
10
Trump is way ahead of us. He took the country "Down" to hatred and anger long before he even took office.
5
Rewind to 2009, Obama is president, same issue. He made them public. I wonder how you felt about it then?
3
America, now a thing of storybooks, is gone.
38
Let the record show that one of Mr. Trump's on stage guests New Years Eve was the colorful gentleman known locally as "No Socks Joey."
Media reports indicate that Joseph Cinque is a convicted felon who is a friend of Mafia boss John Gotti.
If one is curious as to the sort of individuals that one gets to rub shoulders with after paying the recently doubled entrance fee of $200,000, the local newspaper
offers guidance to Donald J. Trump's friends:
http://postonpolitics.blog.palmbeachpost.com/2017/01/03/donald-trump-app...
61
Remember when Republicans claimed that "pay for play" proof of greed and corruption?
53
Actually, no I do not remember Republicans fighting against "pay for play," please enlighten me as to what Republicans have taken that position! Republicans have been the party of big business, and no regulation, since the Roaring 20's. I do, however, remember the Democrats being the party that had a platform that was pro government regulation of corporate excess, way back before the Clinton administrations.
5
Apr 23rd 2015, reported in the Atlantic, "At the start of the week, The New York Times revealed that Peter Schweizer, a Republican researcher, was close to publishing a book delving into the financial dealings of the Clinton Foundation."
Also just look at headlines on Fox News today... http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/09/14/pay-to-play-at-clinton-state-...
What part of "Federal Court Order " is the President of the United States unable to understand, or does Trump believe that had can just say "You're Fired"to the judge?
61
And yet again the Trump and his administration show their contempt for the law of the land. Mr. Law and Order? Only when it's convenient. Sheriffs that break the law? No worries, the Constitution is for other people. Federal judges? Meh, who needs 'em.
62
Defying a court order, and going against his promises of transparency:
seems awfully elite.
40
Remember all the inflamed anger Trump had for Hillary because she used a private email server? But thinks it's fine to meet with people in secret at his private resort and not reveal who they are.
813
Trump demonstrates his hypocrisy daily.
And the American taxpayer gets fleeced for their stay.
Deplorable.
If HRC acted as 45 Ryan would have Impeachment paperwork on the floor for an up or down vote by July 4th and be blind to the irony.
Why does he get to dictate the terms of every single deception--and how does this keep going on--day after day? How does Congress sleep at night--knowing that it's allowing all this to continue? Are we that content to preside over the end of life as we know it?
73
According to this article, "Judge Katherine Polk Failla of Federal District Court in Manhattan ordered the Trump administration to release the “records of presidential visitors at Mar-a-Lago” by September."
Go to the link. The above statement isn't even close to true. In July, the judge simply imposed a schedule. The Secret Service was to search and produce non-exempt records and motions were scheduled. There were no orders directed at the Trump administration. And Trump's refusal to produce records is perfectly permissible for now. After motions are filed, the judge will decide the case, and Trump's obligations will be established..
The article misreads the Court's scheduling order as an order deciding the case. That is simply wrong and this article is one big mistake.
5
OK, lets say you're correct. The President of the United States shouldn't be allowed to meet privately with Corporate Giants. It's a no brainer for people with integrity. He shouldn't need to be forced to comply if he has looking out for our interest. His non compliance demonstrates his real intentions.
1
Thank you for doing research on this. Most people, including myself, don't take time to check out links and we tend to assume accuracy, esp. from NYT reporters.
You ignore the fact that the Times got the story wrong. It matters to me when the media distorts the news, You act as if it's unimportant. If the Times gets the facts wrong, the story is misleading and your conclusions are based on false information. I would think that that would matter to you.
1
I feel that having transparency in a leadership role allows those below you to know that they can trust in you. Our president unfortunately does not operate in a transparent way. I can see how many people could find it suspicious that Trump is not releasing the names of visitors to his tower or Mar-a-lago and I can also see how not letting the entire world know who our president meets with can be beneficial in maintaining foreign relations. You're never going to please everyone, but I think we as Americans should trust in our Justice Department deciding not to release the names and have faith in the checks and balances we have in place,
2
The Checks & balances concept is between the administration, congressional & judicary.
How can we have faith in the checks & balances when the Justice Department, a part of the Administration ignores the judicial.
1
I want to know how much money we are spending there and on whom.
28
So the rules and laws don't apply to Trump Republicans take note as you will likely bear the costs.
22
And thus dies our Constitution. Republicans, you refused to hold a vote on Garland. You have suppressed voting. You don't care about full recounts in close elections and make no attempt to do the right thing when a full recount after certification shows you really lost. You only care about cities' self governing when it suits your masters' interests. You support traitors over patriots. Bye, bye, Miss American Pie.
708
Decaf, Ozark, decaf. We're talking about visitors to his home. I think the Republic will somehow manage to survive,
1
We're talking about dubious members of your so-called elite getting access to DJT & company in the "Winter White House", most likely doing what they always do - enriching themselves at the American people's expense. Who knows who went through those doors, when you consider the shady numbers with whom he is known to surround himself. We need to know. There might even be some valuable information in there for Mr. Mueller.
2
Umm, incorrect. Mar-a-Lago is a resort, not his home...with a 200,000 membership fee, which doubled as the article noted after he became president...so it doesn't take too much cerebral initiative to realize that Mar-a-Lago is a pretty pricey way to cross paths with the president. Hence a need to record the visitors (as paying for time with the president isn't kosher). After connecting dots, punctuation is next up.
1
This president's refusal to conduct himself with dignity, honor and, honesty, reminds me of Dick Cheney who refused to release the names of those who attended his Energy Taskforce. In no uncertain terms, Cheney told the congressional investigators where to stick their demands.
Donald J. Trump, the boy-king who suddenly realized he could expand his fortune when he actually won the presidency, has used Mar-a-Lago in Florida, and his post-office-turned-hotel in Washington D.C. as cash cows for the family business. Hold "official" meetings with foreign dignitaries and put them up in your hotel in lavish rooms (those dignitaries do bring staff members and their own security services requiring many rooms), serving equally lavish meals and the results have added up to tens of millions of dollars in income for the faux president.
Breaking countless laws while thumbing his nose at the Justice Department has become Trump's signature indulgences, and his tiny-brained fan base gobbbles it up as they turn up the applause meter for everything he does and says. Any one of Trump's foibles would have secured any other president's impeachment in a New York second. But this corrupt GOP, formed in Reagan's first term, has brought us to this place in time.
Donald J. Trump, his family and his cabinet secretaries must all be sued ASAP with great force of the law. The GOP must rid itself of this cancer called Trump to save itself. Pence will carry on and look "fairly" honest doing so.
73
Gee, we haven't heard about Trump molesting interns in the Oval Office as one of his predecessors did. Bill Clinton Lied about it under oath and was disbarred. Is that the sort of presidential dignity you are seeking?
He also hasn't repeated the sort of imperial disregard for the law that his boy-king predecessor practiced.
Whatever money he makes is honest, and does not constitute selling of government largesse via payments to his spouse, as is the case with the loser in the election.
If presidential schedules are exempt from FOIA requests, there is a reason. The President's security necessitates that outsiders not be permitted to see them lest their knowledge endanger the President. So get over it.
When Obama released the White House logs, he deleted anyone who he did not want the public to know about having visited him. His aides met off campus to prevent visitors from appearing on the logs.
The Trump logs will be available five years after he leaves office. That will have to satisfy the resistance.
2
Trump will be impeached long before your five year scenario would come to pass.
2
Robert Mueller is going to have a field day with this.
33
Perhaps auditions of younger, Eastern European Models. Bigly.
14
Now that would be fun, at least.
1
Isn't defying a court order not upholding his oath of office?
Isn't this grounds for impeachment?
59
He complied with the court order, but not to the satisfaction of the resistance. The fact that partisan hacks are not happy will be addressed in their objection to the court. What is the big rush?
Why wasn't Obama impeached for his refusal to comply with multiple court orders?
1
They had no merit, unlike this case?
1
Well, who should you be asking about that? If you think there were grounds for impeaching Obama, why didn't your Republican congressmen attempt to impeach him?
2
Then he will surely defy a court order to show his tax returns.
23
You will be hard pressed to find someone with standing to force a court order to show tax returns for a period during which he wasn't even President. Idle curiosity does not create standing, nor do partisan hostilities.
2
How about as part of establishing a larger pattern showing his financial interests have for some time been linked to the same foreign govt that helped him gain office?
3
Not unless California leads the way and requires those tax return. But the current occupant will lose all focus by then, choose not to run and claim to have the best four year Presidency. Ever. The best.
Just another outrage from a president whose every action is designed to show he's above the law.
Most of the things Donald Trump does aren't baked into the constitution and are without precedent because the founding fathers never envisioned a need. Presidents are supposed to be honorable, reasonable, and decent.
Well the founding fathers never could have imagined a scoundrel like Trump occupying the presidency. In fact, I don't think they would have had enough ink back then in which to dip their quills to cover every potential transgression.
83
Who could imagine a country where one sixth of the population are scoundrels who take validation from Trump?
3
I once had the unnerving experience of supervising a new worker who did many potentially harmful things, but when she was presented with them, her response was always along the line of "But you didn't tell me NOT to ---- " There had been instruction, mentoring, and supervision galore, but being that it is impossible to make a list of the hundreds or thousands or of specific actions that someone shouldn't do. It is always left for anyone with a job with responsibilities to be able to generalize, to be follow the spirit of the law and the culture. In fact you can't really challenge rules or tradition if you don;t know what it is in the first place.
DJT's entire life has been lived as if no laws applied to him or his family; and he has a long history of ignoring laws that inconvenienced him, and then using the might of the dollar to beat down opponents and creditors. He's lawless and amoral, as ever.
The FFS thought - some of them - that the electoral college would protect us from an uneducated self involved medicine man - ah, the irony. Could anyone imagine that the person to occupy the Office down the line was someone who disdains our form of government?
Maybe a future Ken Burns will see it differently. but we have an outrageous man who, because he doesn't conform to any rules of behavior or commonly held values, often leaves us without appropriate words to define why he should be removed. Not crazy, just insanely greedy for wealth and power.
Release the witness list of the Crooks handing out with our crooked President at Mira Lago....Get the guest list at Mira Lago...Comey needs to compile a subpoena and witness list..
7
Comey is an unemployed disgruntled former government employee. Try to keep up. He has no legal authority whatever.
2
Dude.....you're four months behind!
What is everyone so uptight about? He probably doesn't want anyone to know about his spelling teacher's visits...
6
Thank you New York times for your crafty reportage. The way this piece is set up it sounds like the dramatis personae for an Agatha Christie mystery. This lavish sultan-ick home is Wonderland, Oz, Manderlay, Tara & San Simeon all rolled into one. Meanwhile the country ha become the Lost Horizon. This is decadence, nor elegance. We experience nt grandeur but excessive posturing. In no waydoes this human being represent average Americans. Many seek a savior. Tis Flim Flam Music Man Pied Piper leads us down a path to annhilation.
7
Duh, that's why he goes there in the first place.
5
What are they hiding? As his emploers, the people of the USA have the right to know.
15
Don't deflect. Do you think it is acceptable for Trump to meet with paid members without our knowledge? You do realize (or, hmm methinks there is a good chance you do not) that people pay for membership to our president's club, essentially paying for the right to cross paths with our president... Paying for face time with a president is not kosher (never in our country's history, in case you wondered), which is why we deserve to see who has paid to cross paths with the president.
Or do you support bribery as long as it's a Republican receiving the graft?
2
And about Trump's academic records.....??
1
And about Trump's Vietnam deferments?
1
As a public official holding such high office, Trump doesn't have the same rights to privacy as private citizens, so the records of those he met with at "Mar-a-lego" should be made public. Of course, his administration's refusal to disclose them is no surprise (What about those long-promised tax returns!?).
The corruption of this man knows no bounds. Disgraceful!
21
As the President of the United States, his schedules are exempt from FOIA requests. There are reporters standing around outside his every location visited. Let them take photos and use face recognition technology rather than insisting someone else do their reporting for them.
2
R-rrightt, I know Trump may have said something to this effect, but most to all news agencies in our country do not have facial recognition software....
The media doesn't use black magic either (but you probably will only believe that if Trump admits this).
You don't see that Trump can meet with people behind closed doors, where the press does not have access?? Do you think all guests are walking in the front door, in front of photographers?
2
Why would any hotel show their gust list unless they were asked by the law. The pretender in the white house is "above" the law and just making hay while the sun shines.
8
It's not the hotel's guest list that is wanted...............it's the list of visitors to the President while he was at Mar-a-Lago. His visitors are not necessarily guests staying at the hotel.
1
The agonising drip of the chinese water torture would be more appealing than what this incompetent, petulant fool is putting the country through right now. A swift end to this presidency is the best we can hope for.
17
I hear the scandal is what's legal.
Money flowing from foreign dignitaries to a "president" is a violation of the emoluments claus in the Constitution. But who cares about that? Obviously the Republicans don't care.
8
It's beginning to look a lot like Nixon...everywhere you go!
19
You mean two terms?
1
I was thinking about the necessary pardon.
Glad I don't have young children. This president is not the role model I would wish for.
14
I'd like to contribute to the President's Mar a Lago trips so he can meet clandestinely with whoever, with no accountability. Oh wait I already do, as a tax-payer.
32
Honest people have nothing to hide.
I guess we know what that makes Trump.
22
When is the last time you posted your visitor log or tax returns on the internet?
2
In reply to the prolific emblem, I posted my visitor log and tax return last time I was POTUS :)
1
Apples and oranges. None of you are the president of the United States, conducting business on behalf (apparently) of the country outside the White House at his private resort. And making $ for himself and his family at the same time.
2
You can bet Trump doesn't want us taxpayers to know the extent to which our tax dollars are lining his pockets.
24
We got to see copies of the Clinton tax returns for multiple years, which clearly demonstrated how much Bill was paid for Hillary influence. No one even looked at the returns, which showed $36 million in taxable income. that is not counting the Clinton Foundation returns which they never corrected after the IRS declared them erroneous.
3
So, now you admit other presidents provided tax returns, but instead of bowing to the elephant in the room...the fact that Trump WON'T EVEN RELEASE HIS...you move on to a different subject.
2
Well, then.............you can plainly see how tax returns can show dubious money games...........so obviously you understand why Trump should release his.
2
He can release his tax returns and visitors list when every single unmasking request by Susan Rice, Samantha Powers, Clapper and others are revealed. I'd like to know how this us even possible, spying on Americans because some people had a meeting with representatives of the UAE? Pathetic, there should be a full blown investigation on this. The Mar-A-Lago visitors list pales in comparison to the Obama administrations abuse of powers.
3
Whoa! Hold those horses.
The ‘Unmasking’ and all the rest of that tosh is not an escape clause for Trump.
This nation was not founded on the idea of ’I asked you first.’ We demand decency from every public employee, in fact from each other. If I do something questionable, underhanded, dishonest, or criminal, I am not less responsible for my actions simply because someone else may have also done something wrong before me.
If Trump truly has any right to the title President, then he’d release his taxes because he has nothing to hide.
If Trump truly has any right to the title President, then he and his family would admit to a full revelation of their meetings with Russian officials and business people, instead of only admitting to each incident, each individual, after they are caught omitting it from their applications for their security clearances or public statements.
If Trump truly has any right to the title President, then he would not refuse to reveal visitor logs at Mar-a-Lago. Again, in theory, he has nothing to hide….
Trump has shown he has no respect for his office. He has shown he has no respect for the American people, and he has demonstrated that for him, American is simply another cash cow.
God help us and our republic.
25
@Greg Hubbard Not saying unmasking is an escape clause for Trump. The visitors list at Mar-A-Lago, its importance, pales in comparison to the unmasking crimes not covered by the press and tacitly accepted by the progressives by their silence. In fact Obamas administration also had to be pressured to release the visitors list in I think 2009. When they finally complied they gave out the visitors logs including hundreds and thousands of tourists all mixed in. They also never listed purpose of visit. So much for transparency.
In general I and many other independent voters abhor the hypocrisy of the left which is why I commented in the first place.
Whatever happened to his tax audit? Not completed yet?
27
Apparently all of them are under audit, and none of the audits has ever been completed. What a surprise.
2
He is just like the other dictators in this world. Get rich off the people they are supposed to help.
Anyone surprised? Did anyone watch this guy during the campaign, and in his earlier life.
19
Are you questioning Obama's wealth? Is it OK because he waited until after he left office to garner his wealth?
2
Yes, it is. What conflicts of interest, or violations of the emoluments clause, would Obama have if he is no longer president?
2
Trump is not taking a salary for being President because he's making a lot more money off the American tax payers in other unethical ways. MAGA!
18
How is this not illegal?
6
"Trump declines". A perfectly good word is more applicable REFUSES
11
Did anyone listen to Barbara Ann Radnofsky on Brian Lehrer today? She was magnificent in explaining why Trump's behavior represents a profound conflict of interest which, if taken too far, demands cries for impeachment.
"According to Radnofsky, the Founding Fathers intended impeachment "to be for conflicts of interest. They worried that, no matter how wealthy the president was, the president would betray trust to a foreign party." Lehrer Website
Frankly, why DJT is still around beats me. Perhaps it's because the law hasn't had the time to catch up with him. Mr. Mueller I hope you are listening!
22
I'm certain that there is a very small group of people who want to see these visitor logs and try to fabricate some sort of conspiracy. However, the vast majority of Americans, most of them middle class to economically disadvantaged, could not possibly care less as to who has the kind of money to visit Mar-a-Lago and possibly see President Trump. The President can't pass any laws that would benefit "rich" people. Only Congress can pass laws. This whole visitor log fiasco really needs to simply disappear. No one really cares.
3
I'm so happy that you feel you can speak for the rest of us, 'the vast majority of Americans, most of them middle class to economically disadvantaged..,' we, who 'could not possibly care less as to who has the kind of money to visit Mar-a-Lago and possibly see President Trump.'
Alright, but just for fun, tell us why we can't see those logs, or the president's taxes, or know who he and his family have met with, without having to have some reporter embarrass them into acknowledging them, or why he selected men and women for his cabinet who are spectacularly unqualified because of easily proved conflicts of interest, or why an important ethics rule has just been eased (how many more will follow?), or why he keeps inventing scandals to make it look like 'they did it too...'
But remember, this is all just for fun.
22
Excellent reply Mr. Hubbard.
First no White House log, now no Mar-a-Lago log. Is the Trump administration a government institution beholden to the public, or a Mafia mob organization with half of its operations underground.
Where there's smoke, there's fire, and Trump's secret meetings have already been regularly documented. The public needs and deserves to know what is going on in the back rooms of this outpost--especially if it involves foreign powers trying to solicit influence as we have come to see on all hands with this administration.
17
I am reminded of the "most transparent President ever" discontinuing release of visitor logs.
It is complicated, and in some cases it is better to empower communication without publication.
1
Not having a "formal log" similar to that kept for the White House is not a FOIA defense. Similarly claiming the white-house FOIA exception for non-white house events should not work as Mar a Lago is not the White House. And claiming the Presidential Schedule exception shouldn't work either, as the dates could be sanitized, rendering it unrelated to scheduling.
5
I am not surprised that Trump and his entourage ignore the Constitution and the president's duty to be accountable to the American people. I am appalled, however, that lawyers at DOJ were willing to defend this position, even with Jeff Sessions in charge.
Just one more way in which this hole administration shreds the rule of law.
10
" the Secret Service did not keep a formal log of visitors to Mar-a-Lago similar to what is maintained for the White House"
My experience is that it's rare for a visitor to attend a meeting in New York these days without being logged in by security. It's hard to imagine the President's security not having a list of who's clear to go in. If the Secret Service is not keeping a log, it's because they were told not to, or someone is destroying their logs.
24
I truly believe Trump would resign before releasing his tax returns. Probably not necessary now that he has his man on the supreme court.
He probably won't go to the mat on this. But, again, he won't have to.
5
How can Trump, Ivanka and Jared conduct their private business deals with all this attention? The White House intel they get greatly enhances their deal making capabilities and more importantly, fees.
Follow the money if they dare report it in future IRS filings or in Trump's case, not.
Trump bragged that he would be the first President to make money WHILE in office. He is just keeping a campaign promise.
This is what being a GRIFTER means.
14
It is being reported in the WaPo tonight that our tax dollars are being used to book and pay for rooms for unknown individuals at over $500 a night at Mar-A-Lago. If so, then that means that we as taxpayers are now paying to support the 'Winter White House' and probably the 'Summer White House' in Bedminster too. And his flights on AF One, and his campaign trips, and Melania's clothes, and the re-decorating of the White House in his golden image, etc. etc. Ad Nauseum.
Trump is a government employee, whether or not he accepts the money he gets as his salary. Why can no one prove that all this money that we are giving to Trump counts as emoluments? He is milking us all and since he is not MY president, and never will be, I want to stop paying any taxes. What are the chances of 200 million American citizens stopping the process of paying our taxes all at once? I would think that we could get the attention of Congress at that point.
20
The problem is that most Americans (who are fortunate to be employed) have their taxes deducted before they receive their paychecks... basically preventing them from doing this very thing. Only rich people have the luxury of being able to not pay taxes...
3
I'm in.
Actually he should hide his blushes.
3
The presidency is Trump's first successful business venture in years...maybe ever. No one would loan him an honest dime (key word is "honest" —cue the Russians) until he found the biggest con of all, the American people. He can't possibly give up this gravy train. Lie, cheat, steal...? Well hey, I won didn't I? It's all that matters.
94
Nothing to hide here. Nope, not a thing. All the reason needed to deny any requests regarding the president and his visits to this fantastic resort.
15
He doesn't release the list for the same reason he doesn't release his tax returns or willingly disclose his foreign contacts; he has something to hide.
214
When is enough, enough? It's time for this president to understand his responsibilities as POTUS> But perhaps this president is incapable of understanding. He certainly seems to be incapable of actually doing what is expected of a POTUS. How sad is that? Donald J. Trump is by far the worst person who has ever attempted to become president. Unfortunately, too many American voters thought he would be just fine in that office. So Sad.
31
Why yes, the Swamp waters are crystal clear, even as we speak......
25
And sewage is chocolate soft-serve. Dream on!
3
I am getting tired of how many ways we, the American people, are getting bamboozled by this so called president, family, and administration. The Trump organization will own more assets than we can count. WHERE ARE THE TAX RETURNS!!!!!!
80
Haven't you heard, according to his people we don't care. I for one do CARE. I agree, I want to see them as well as the guest list my tax dollars are paying for.
11
Russian operatives visiting ? Where are the Tax returns ?
Everything about this illegitimate buffoon has been a lie.
Mueller's team needs to clear this up.
If this stands, then any surreptitious, criminal meeting that the Trump needs to keep secret from investigators, will be at Mar-A Lago.
37
Let's imagine: Some poor functionary in the Trump Administration will be held responsible for violating the court order that requires turning over Mar-a-Lago visitor logs. Then that stuckee is found to be in contempt of court. *And then* President Trump pardons the stuckee ("He was just doing his job")!
11
Everyone is upset with Trump, I am upset with Trump. But why is he allowed to do this? Why is he allowed to get away with it? I thought we had laws? Are these just opinions, or are they laws? Is he a king?
677
The Congress, which is controlled by the republicans, is charged with holding the president to the law. They must present his criminality to the Senate for impeachment. These republicans are not doing their job. They are guilty of Malfeasance, guilty of conspiracy to enable Trump to harm our nation.
13
I think we might be witnessing a very covert, silent coup.
5
The U.S. is not a corporate monarchy! No kings, nor any kind of royal position!
2
The life blood of his club are the major charities renting the ballroom for fundraising gala's and Trump has found a way to alienate them and they have bailed out of their contracts. Even Trump won't sue in this situation.
The Palm Beach socialites who were against Trump when he first came to town finally approved him, but, now, again, Trump's stupidity has put him to the curb.
Impeach Trump. I have predicted a Halloween impeachment since July 2016. I called it "ImpeachOween" and I think I deserve a lot of credit if it happens on that date. Afterall, I went to the best schools, have the best words, and ....
30
Autocratic, arrogant businessmen don't belong in government.
44
He will not do anything because the republicans are not going to let him down or remove him from office as he has the dirt on all of them or they are on his payroll like all his cabinet is.
12
Hey, come on. No surprise. Trump didn't even allow any American press in the White House when the Russians were there.
This is a man who is used to setting his own rules. And that's the way it will be until he continually needs to get his fingers slapped. Who will do the slapping and how hard is the question.
17
It won't be the GOP. They're the most eager collabos since Pétain and Laval in Vichy France.
6
Double standard, Trump's ICE agents have been getting lists of guests at Motel 6's and raiding those with Latino surnames...shouldn't Trump need to provide the same info so that we can scan the list for Russian surnames?
41
Preciouuusssss. why the hiding Precious? We've tasted orcs and there no good, right Precious????
10
He's flouting the law. Lock him up.
68
@Mick H:
"Wait! Lock him up? Without due process?"
"What's 'due process'"?
Y'know, that legal process conservatives think is important only if well-to-do white males are accused of crimes.
New real, strong, specific legislation is urgently needed NOW to prevent crooks like Trump from benefiting from and hiding on his private property, while compromising democracy, while taxpayers pay for his cheating.
13
http://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/350789-california-legislature-pa...
Can the Judicial branch of government order the Executive branch of government?
3
Yes.
1
As long as the Republicans give approval with their silence, nothing will change. As long as Trumpetts get their news from Fox they won't know anything about it.
27
The ruling elite never like to be known.
11
Dupe-a-Lago.
Another example of tax payers being bilked.
Trump, who perceives the world thru a funhouse mirror, thinks DOJ, and watchdog groups are simply pesky flies.
Trump underestimates their tenacity.
15
So what's the surprise here?
He has yet to release his tax returns; do you think he's going to release his Mar-A-Lago guest register? He's plainly hiding something but his 40% don't care and the Republican "leadership" on Capitol Hill plainly aren't interested in how their "president" uses his office to enrich both himself and his family.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know that he promised "transparency" on the campaign trail and 63-million rubes swallowed it. And to think Donald Trump had the nerve, the righteous gall, to whine about President Obama having something to hide!
Trump's got all the suckers sewn up. When Robert Mueller III
finishes with Trump, everyone who voted for him will deny that they did.
I don't know about you but all this "winning" is giving me a migraine. And I don't get them.
33
California Legislature Passes Bill Requiring Presidential Candidates to Release Tax Returns: http://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/350789-california-legislature-pa...
3
Secrets and lies. Secrets and lies. Thus goes Trumpism, which seriously damages the credibility of the USA all over the globe.
10
OK, enough. Time for him to go.
Let him make money the old fashioned way - cheat on his taxes.
9
Well, he and his co-conspirators have consistently lied about meetings with Russians...(oh, I meant to say the story changes almost daily) .so why is this even news? Of course he's met and meeting with Russians...and yes, they're all linked directly to Putin.
15
The public has no right to know. The presidency was privatized in January, hadn't your heard, and it was the biggest private crowd ever!
5
We know Rick carries round the nuclear football and is happy to pose with Mar a Lago guests. And Trump and his pals I mean team, along with Japanese Prime Minister Abe, happy to discuss the latest Nuclear crisis in the Mar a Lago dining room. And he's had 25 trips there in eight months. So what's the even bigger secret hiding in the guest list?
10
XYZ: 25 visits in three months and a few days: inauguration to May 15.
6
"The surprising move by the Department of Justice..."
i.e. Jeff Sessions self-styled "law and order" advocate and toady, apparently trying to reestablish himself after being humiliated by Trump...
7
One word: emoluments.
13
Embezzlement comes to mind too. We've given access to the national treasury and credit line to the likes of Trump and Mnuchin. What could go wrong? Anyone checked Fort Knox lately to make sure the gold is still ALL there after the Mnuchin's play date there? Do we have a list of visitors to Fort Knox?
7
I would like to know how much money has come out of the US treasury to pay for rooms and meals at Mar-a-Lago. I don't care who he met with there, but I'd sure like to know if I helped pay for their golf games, their rooms or their meals.
12
www.washingtonpost.com/politics/taxpayers-billed-1092-for-an-officials-t...
1
Russian spy protocols require this, so it makes sense.
4
Now if Obama was staying at his own resort while having millions spent on the security for himself and his family, the right wing media would be going hysterical. Throw in an attempt to keep any records of his visitors from the public, and the conspiracy theorists would be able to move on from their birther fiction, to make up another implausible, incorrect story about who Obama saw.
Trump's supporters will keep saying this is to keep the nosy media out of the President's business. Any poor, reckless or criminal behaviour from Trump is excused as fake news, while if Obama sneezed without excusing himself, it would be grounds for impeachment.
16
USA Today used publicly posted golf scores at Trump Organization properties to identify more than 50 executives of companies holding federal contracts and 21 lobbyists who have stayed at Trump resorts this year. Two out of three visits occurred when Trump was known to be at the various resorts.
As a result, Senator Wyden, as the ranking Democrat on the Finance Committee, requested of DHS a list of Donald Trump’s golfing partners during his visits to Trump resorts. Wyden set a deadline of October 13 (30 days) for a response.
I am sure the attempt to conceal this information has attracted the attention of the Mueller investigation and the various state attorneys general assisting efforts to hold Trump accountable for money laundering or bribery being run through Trump Organization properties. The states cannot enforce the Constitution's Emollients Clause, but if Trump should leave office he would no longer be able to take the legally uncertain step of pardoning himself for the sort of financial corruption usually associated with banana republics.
And then, as others have mentioned, there are those tax returns Trump is determined to keep hidden despite earlier promises to release them if he is elected. I wonder if Mueller already has some of that information.
12
Don't forget the Federal employee who had to file his travel report containing the costs of a 2-night stay at Mar-a-Lago - $1092. I'm surprised his travel office paid it - mine would have insisted I either stay at the local Comfort Inn or else I'd be paying the difference in price out of my own pocket. So, the president* made a nice little profit there.
12
Until they release the records we are free to speculate. I, for one, think that there may be numerous slender young women visiting at all hours of the night, maybe even during tweeting hours. I don't think Trump is one to let his physical urges go unanswered. I think his real weakness, that he absolutely cannot ignore or control, is his libido, just like a post-pubescent adolescent. This behavior deserves to be broadly and loudly debated until alternative facts emerge that might tell a different story.
6
Jeff Sessions please confiscate Mar-a-lago. It's very suspicious that Trump won't release the visitor log. You may also want to consider confiscating Trump Tower as well.
Secretary Sessions I'm sure that you have confiscated many properties that are a lot less suspicious than Mar-a-lago and Trump tower.
Since Trump likes deals maybe these deals could be made:
Release Mar-a-lago once the visitor log is made available.
Release Trump Tower once Trump,release some his tax returns.
Unless Trump has things to hide providing the information should be easy for the Trump squad.
3
http://www.npr.org/2017/09/15/551342369/watchdogs-try-to-get-mar-a-lago-...
US taxpayers are funding Donald's extravagant boondoggles. The least we should expect in return is full transparency. What are your trying to hide, Donald? President Obama was totally forthright and made visitors lists available to the public. Why shouldn't the leader of the Republican Party be expected to do the same?
8
Here's some logic: IF we're not allowed to know who's visiting, THEN we don't have to pay for secret service. And not just at Mar-a-lago, anywhere. The president wants a private life, then he should foot the bill for security.
13
The direct use of Mar a Lago (let alone the fuzzier private member 'indirect' access to curry favor with the President) for public business is yet another blaring example of the Trump's breathtaking disregard for transparency in doing business that blurs private gain and public 'service'. It seems logical and reasonable that any visitor to Mar a Lago who is there for the purpose of doing business with the President should be of public record. It is bad enough that the President and his family are making additional fortunes from their 'private' property while Donald 'serves' as President.
2
The president doesn't "decline" to provide information thats very much in the public interest about who he associates with-he refuses to. The word choice is extremely important here. You decline to see the dessert menu. You withhold information from the public.
14
Pretty simple: After an extension, at the last minute, the administration merely turned over 22 names from Mar-a-Lag visitors. Actually, presidents' schedules are absolutely part of the historical record.
However, Trump's lawyers claim “the government believes that Presidential schedule information is not subject to FOIA requests."
Good luck with that!!
Bottom line--he can't call Mar-a-Lago the "Winter White House" and hide people seeing him there.
5
If he won't release the names, he must be hiding something just like he is with not releasing his tax returns.
5
It's not as if he were on vacation. After all, the president is supposed to work at least full time, isn't he? 25 "vacations" in 100 days sounds like a whole lot of not-working to me. Any other reader here, I'd venture to guess, would not still have a job, let alone have you and I paying the freight.
4
How dare CREW and others demand that the office of the president not behave, function and dysfunction like a private fiefdom whose kingdom extends to wherever his highness steps! What nerve to sue for disclosure in the name of -- don't laugh -- transparency; to expect the conflict-of-interest presidency to pay heed to the notion of being held to account for the greater good. The greater good is all his, you see; and that's all you'll see. No tax returns either.
2
Just add this to the growing list of " obstruction of justice " charges.
7
It's fine if he doesn't release his list of visitors to his private property, but then the taxpayers shouldn't be paying one cent for any expenses involved there.
Of course, he could be meeting and dealing with the Russians, which means treason.
Make a decision, DJT.
68
No its not fine. meeting with Russian spies is not OK...even in the privacy of your own home.
6
Hey President Trump,
You work for us.
You are not above the law.
Hopefully Mueller will make you understand this, soon.
735
Get real,these folks work for themselves and their kind.
Be quiet,pay tax and send your kids to their wars.
3
He is a strictly temporary employee. I hope he and his cult followers get that this is not a lifetime job and he'll be leaving in a few years, after which all this dirt he's trying so very hard to hide is going to come out.
Hotels have a privacy policy that is essential for client trust. Much like doctor-patient confidentiality and lawyer-client confidentiality.
Once I heard that 9 out of ten businessmen have a woman up to their room on business trips. The source of that is not necessarily reliable — a TV series. No matter what, privacy is still an essential contract in most hotels esp. high end. (Motel 6 notwithstanding).
Trump hotels — of course. But all the more reason, esp.for matters of national security, that cannot happen for a president's frequent holiday glad handing meetup place. Trump needs to stay away from his hotels to honor the privacy contract with his paying guests and to honor his commitment to the US citizens, he is supposed to work for, to not be compromised, by elite club patrons.
Trump appears to be honoring the Hotel host contract but not the one with the US citizens that requires transparency. In other words what he is doing is a hundred thousand times worse than Clintons private email server. Trump has a private club with $200,000 a year membership pay to play access? And several others ? ? ?
Once I heard that 9 out of ten businessmen have a woman up to their room on business trips. The source of that is not necessarily reliable — a TV series. No matter what, privacy is still an essential contract in most hotels esp. high end. (Motel 6 notwithstanding).
Trump hotels — of course. But all the more reason, esp.for matters of national security, that cannot happen for a president's frequent holiday glad handing meetup place. Trump needs to stay away from his hotels to honor the privacy contract with his paying guests and to honor his commitment to the US citizens, he is supposed to work for, to not be compromised, by elite club patrons.
Trump appears to be honoring the Hotel host contract but not the one with the US citizens that requires transparency. In other words what he is doing is a hundred thousand times worse than Clintons private email server. Trump has a private club with $200,000 a year membership pay to play access? And several others ? ? ?
96
Andrea: Hotel "privacy" is nothing whatsoever like doctor-patient privacy. In this instance there is also a Federal court order, which could even supersede the latter.
4
If Trump wants to keep his clients private then we should not protect him there. Pull the secret service and good luck.
5
No, it's not OK....if there is criminal activity the "trust" is broken and the hotel has an obligation to report the illegal activity. I'm a million miler on United Airlines and have indeed had a woman in my room on several business trips. She is my wife....not sure what universe you're living in 9 out of 10?
8
Trump meets repeatedly with Russian spies--in the Oval Office!--and the only way we learn about it is from Russian media. Apparently Trump works for the Russians, there is no other logical explanation.
245
What else can you expect from a President who refuses to release his tax returns to the American public , continues to benefit from his properties that are a clear conflict of interest and has filled the swap with a host of unethical cronies,
209
Not only is Trump not "draining the swamp," he has turned Mar-a-lago into his very own Porta-Swamp™ so that he can enjoy the company of the muck denizens whenever he visits.
Problem is, they don't like the light of day - hence the attempt to avoid the sunshine of disclosure.
92
Some of those visitors might consider lawyering up. It doesn't take a crystal ball to see where some of this is going. Proceed at your own risk if you have any dealing with Trump. Just saying.
86
I think members who can spend 200k to join probably have lawyers on retainer. But good point. They very well might need those lawyers.
3
Trump has much to hide from the public and from investigators. He thinks he is still running his failed family businesses and can do what ever he wants. Wrong!! He can run but he cannot hide!
218
it's not a failed family business. it's a very successful money laundering operation.
10
It is just a matter of time before his unscrupulous dealings are revealed by Mueller. The Miller will grind Trump down.
41
Yeah, just like Hillary will win?
And in what basis does he have s right to decline a court order? Is anyone minding the store? Or must we wait for Mueller.
163
If a president sees fit to defy a federal court order, what kind of example is he sending to the Americans people who elected him to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution, so help him God? Again, the Chief Executive seems to be at odds with the rule of law, although “law and order” was one of his strongest planks in last year’s campaign.
Would his own Attorney General smirk and gloat as he did during last week's DACA address to the nation when he accused former President Barack Obama of criminal behavior and executive overreach? Would the AG excuse the president’s defiance of his noncompliance to release a list of visitors at his Mar-a-Lago estate? What possible harm could result from obeying a federal court order? Unless, of course, visitors to his estate were unknown operatives or “attorneys” from the Russian government seeking back-channel deals with the new president.
185
"So help him God" has become "God help us all."
Won't release tax returns.
Won't release visitors log required by court order.
Trump is certainly hiding some skeletons in his closets.
148
Next move: Trump pardons himself for violating a court order.
7
This is really troubling. Trump uses Mar-a-Lago to host other world leaders. It is no longer his private resort; it is part of the presidential administration. We have a right to know whose company has been kept there.
930
Well I'd assume that the reason the White House is refusing to divulge this information is because it would demonstrate conflicts of interest. Probably also ties to Russia, and how Trump is profiting off of the presidency, taking taxpayers' money by renting out his properties to himself, Secret Service, and others.
The only reason I would naturally assume corruption and lies are involved with anything Trump is doing, is because so far corruption and lies have been involved with everything Trump has done.
349
Mr. Stackhouse, it seems everything involving Donald Trump is a conflict of interest. This latest scuttle nonsense about not releasing or reveling who stayed at Mar-a-Lago is just par for the Trump course.
6
Annual dues at the resort DOUBLED within days of Trump's election.
How much longer will Congress let Trump use the presidency as a means to enrich himself?
393
Only until he starts costing them money.
3
It's not Congress letting Trump & family enrich themselves through the presidency, it's the Republicans in Congress.
Although, I will admit it seems the Democrats are a more than a little slow introducing bills that address with law every single broken 'norm' as they are broken.
3
Not annual dues. $200,000 to become a member, a one shot payment. As it says in the article, the amount of annual dues is different.
1
This is the same group of people that placed oh-so-much confidence in Michael Flynn too. We've been taken over by a private business.
57
Hopefully Mueller will subpoena all of these records so that we can examine whether and to what extent our national security mat have been compromised. As usual. Trump appears to have something to hide.
43
Let's see - 25 trips to Mar A since inauguration while on the job, while on the taxpayer's dime--and we are going to let him get away with not sharing who visits him there? I want to know what my money has paid for. I want to now what visitors have paid for - access that I don't have, that's for sure.
1274
So you are saying you want to hang out with Trump?
I don't think you're missing much.
2
And we want to know how many had the big, beautiful slice of chocolate cake that was served as Mr. Trump announced the missiles hitting the Syrian airbase.
2
Trump should be billed personally for all those trips to Mar-a-Lago and Trump Tower.
If he wants to get away, he can go to Camp David, say, once every other month! Otherwise, all protection would be on his dime!
4
What has he got to hide? Hmmm.
35
Trump reminds me more of Andrew Jackson every day.
16
Wow, against a court order. What are they hiding?
367
No disclosure of tax returns. No disclosure of DC visitors log. No disclosure of Mar-a-Lago vistor log. Do we see a pattern here?
However, full access and security clearance for Ivanka and Jared. Maybe we should ask them for the requested information. Heck, even offer them immunity for the crimes we know they have secretly committed.
Where are Edward Snowden and Chelsea Manning when you really need them?
319
And now he's going to lecture the UN about transparency. Better he sit down and learn it's meaning first. Hope they laugh at him all the way out the building.
4
Let's play (the Trump branded) board game..."Let's Spin A Conspiracy Theory!"...Q: "Why is Trump hiding this information from us"? "What does he not want us to know"? Is it possibly because when all the investigations are over and done we'll find out he was actually born in Kenya and therefore not eligible to be president?
36
Immigrant? Break the law and you're going back.
covfefe? Break the law and defy the court and insult the judge and maybe he might even get a slap on the wrist before tweeting some other nonsense.
Or maybe, with any luck, he'll get the contempt-of-court slap that Curiel still owes him. Would be nice.
48
If he's got nothing to hide...... Oh. I forgot who I was talking about.
67
I guess this must be the most crooked president in history. In American, that's saying something.
222
Watergate, Iran-Contra, Iraq. Trump
Thanks GOP!
7
He is the most bigly corrupt. He's so corrupt you won't even believe it. You'll see so much corruption you'll be tired of it, you'll be bored by it. Believe me. Nobody has ever been as corrupt as Trump. He is the king of corruption.
5
Maybe Mr. Putin was there. I heard he was. Who knows?
96
A lot of people are saying he was ...
6
A lot of good people are saying...
7
This isn't about legal technicalities.
It's about: What are they hiding, and why?
808
It is money they are hiding. I want to know "where" . We need to take it away from them.Then perhaps they might face actual justice in the real world.
2
Precisely. If everything is so above-board, honest, and legal, why the secrecy? What's the big deal? Is he discussing top-secret security issues with trade delegations or other foreign representatives? If so, why are trade delegations filled in on top-secret activities, while Trump's employers -- the American people -- are kept in the dark?
4
Would you like a list of any and all visitors to your home in the past year released to me? Why not?
Trump' administration didn't "decline" to release this, they defied a court order to do so!
How about some accuracy in your headlines - it's not like Trump turned down a dinner invitation!
1016
The full weight of the law should come down on Trump fast and furiously. If he has to start pardoning himself, let him start now.
8
The question is not WHY Trump would want to withhold information that could reveal conflicts of interests...is there really a question about why? The question is WHAT ARE the conflicts of interests. This is what investigative reporting and prosecutorial investigations are about, aren't they? This very wishy-washy characterization of the moment on the part of the NYTimes is normalizing Trump's behavior and hastening the decline of the United States, in my opinion.
2
Defying Court Order, Trump Refuses to Release List of His Visitors at Mar-a-Lago
3
What's the big deal. It was just a bunch of Russians coming to celebrate their candidate's success in the election.
398
How long will we have to endure this monstrosity of a so-called president? No tax returns, no guest list from Mar a Lago. One confounding tweet after another, shaming our friends and partners worldwide, today a slam at the UK. He gets the biggest crowds, he even got the biggest hurricane. He certainly got the biggest dopes, deVos, Carson, Pruitt to destroy our administrative agencies and Sarah Hucksterbee Huckleberry the biggest monotone droner who says absolutely nothing. I'm so tired. The biggest tired I have ever been.
819
The makings of a 5th column...maybe. Or just the "Great UNdoing?
1
I agree with everything and yet I would add that SHS is more than a "monotone droner": she's disrepsectful to the press, and takes the offensive position that she can say incriminating things about public figures with zero legal evidence or accountability. Huckabee-Sanders is malevolence in the making.
8
If he was impeached, removed, whatever, do you really think anything would change except style? The GOP is delighted with the cabinet selection (with the possible exception of Sessions - he's too obvious).
3
Defying a court order ...
418
H just does it in front of everyone and everyone just shrugs their shoulders. Of course Chuck Schumer & Nanci Pelosi are "working behnd the scenes" to get this straightened out. Aren't you Chuck? Aren't you, Nancy?
6
Trump is fond of frothing up his rally crowds by saying things like "Are there any Russians here tonight?" Well, are there any Russians visiting Mar-A-Lago for some more secret meetings with no other Americans present? I guess we have no way of knowing, do we? Every contact with any American President, and this one in particular, should be public knowledge. We need not be privy to what is being discussed, but we should at least know who.
161
He wouldn't DARE shout out, "Are there any Russians here tonight?" at Margo-Largo. The stampede would wipe out the salad bar!
11
Don’t hold your breath. The Trump Organization has always run on keeping things secret. Nothing personal, just business, besides you don’t need to know and it’s none of your business.
This attitude hasn’t changed since Trump was sworn in as President and it is unlikely to change any time soon if ever. His lawyers and his administration are going to fight any attempt at letting anyone outside the inner circle know what is going on and who is being seen by Trump or any of his administration.
Nobody should be surprised. Trump is no different today than he was decades ago when he was fodder for the tabloid press. Unfortunately for Trump big time prosecutors thrive on these attempts at secrecy and every attempt gets their attention. This is not going to end well.
456
I certainly hope it ends well for the rest of us! Truly hope it does not end well for the liar- in-chief.
12
Not well for Trump and the rest of his rogue's gallery, hopefully.
3
What part of PRIVATE club don't you get? Reminds me of the Salem Witch Trials! These attacks are just fishing trips hoping to uncover some sort of wrong doing that these nitwits can't discover themselves. Tax returns, visitor lists, phone logs all in the vain hope of a gotcha moment. Stop the madness already.
If the White House is specifically exempted from the FOIA, who is some lowly federal judge to order the release of this information ? I support the FOIA, certainly, but it says what it says.
If the visitor log is to be in the public domain, -- which it should be, certainly -- the law should be amended. This judge is overreaching and defying the clear intent of Congress in issuing this order.
1
Chad A. Readler, acting assistant attorney general, wrote in response to CREW in a letter dated Tuesday, but delivered on Friday. “The government believes that presidential schedule information is not subject to FOIA."
one thing i do remember from freshman philosophy courses, there is a difference between believing something, and knowing something. until i see that legality cited chapter and verse, i'm going to believe this guy is also lying. if he can prove it, then we'll know.
8
I agree. Legislation to disclose visitors lists and tax returns and business interests. President Obama voluntary released his and most Presidents in recent history. Trump is hiding a lot.
2