Sunday, October 20, 2019

Trump Blinks; Doral G-7 Emoluments Summit Off


Late yesterday, following a firestorm of criticism from across the political spectrum, nitwit crime boss Donald "The Dumb Don" Trump was forced to cancel his pocket- lining plans to hold next June's G-7 summit at his Doral bedbug dump:
Trump was buffeted by two straight days of allegations of self-dealing and exasperation from lawmakers on Capitol Hill, including some Republican allies who said the selection of Doral as the venue for a gathering of world leaders was indefensible.
The decision — while it lasted — was an unprecedented one in modern American politics: The president awarded a huge contract to himself. The White House promoted Doral as the single best venue in the United States to host the G-7 summit in June, and the meeting would have brought thousands of guests in the offseason to a resort that is struggling financially. [snip]
Doral has been struggling in recent years. The property saw its net operating income decline 69 percent from 2015 to 2017, according to documents the Trump Organization filed with Miami-Dade County.
Hosting the G-7 summit would have been a major boon for the company, filling the hotel in June, a month when the resort is typically less than 40 percent full.
Naturally, he ranted about the media and Democrats being in league to foil his plans.  He should thank them for getting his huuge ass out of this particular sling;  suits are still pending challenging the continuing profits he's making from favor- seekers staying at his properties.  Someone, likely from his rotted- out party in Congress, must have explained to him that such a bald- faced violation of the Emoluments Clause and Federal procurement anticorruption laws would be something even their spineless weasels would have trouble defending:
To be clear, by hosting the G-7 summit at his property, the president is not merely violating the spirit of our laws; he is violating the text of the Constitution’s basic anticorruption provisions — the foreign and domestic emoluments clauses. Those provisions prohibit the president from accepting profits, gains or advantages from foreign and domestic governments. Trump’s acceptance of this contract from the federal government and the likelihood that his business will accept business from foreign governments attending the conference represent the most obvious violation of these clauses to date, even accounting for the fact that he owns a profitable hotel blocks from the White House that is frequented by foreign government officials.
Never fear, though.  The corrupt ignoramus will continue to find ways to line his pockets at the Federal trough, or via his foreign business dealings, as long as he's in office. 

BONUS:

Doral's been cited for health code violations and bedbugs, too, so a Chuck E. Cheese might not have been a bad alternative.

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