For Russia Letter, Trump Hires Same Lawyer He Hired To Not Set Up Blind Trust
Donald Trump’s lawyer letter is a total farce.
Donald Trump made a big show this week of saying he hired a prominent law firm to review his taxes and write a letter to Senator Lindsey Graham who was asking questions about Trump’s business connections to Russia.
However, it is now clear that the letter is a total farce.
First, Trump hired the same lawyer, Sheri Dillon, that he hired back in January to avoid setting up a blind trust for his business and personal assets. Dillon’s firm, you will remember, is the so-called ethics firm that won an award for “Russian Law Firm of the Year.”
Second, Dillon’s obligations are to her client Donald Trump and not to the American people. That is why all presidential candidates release their tax returns to the public and not just ask their mommies to write them a note excusing them from school.
Lawyers have clients. This lawyer’s client is Donald Trump. Her obligation is not to the public interest. It’s not to transparency. And it’s not to enforcing government ethics laws. Her obligation is to her client Donald Trump – it is that simple. And we have no way of knowing what she was instructed to do or what arrangement they made beforehand about the letter.
Remember that during the sham press conference that Trump held with Dillon in January, to pretend that Donald Trump was doing something about his massive conflicts of interest, Dillon falsely made the case for Trump that the Emoluments Clause doesn’t apply to Donald Trump’s businesses. The Washington Post later said “her claim is misleading, at best.”
Dillon said that the Emoluments Clause “has never been interpreted” to apply to fair value exchanges, such as foreign government leaders purchasing hotel rooms at Trump’s properties. However, the Emoluments Clause has also never been interpreted not to apply to these kinds of exchanges making her claims fiction.
The Washington Post noted that “The Department of Justice Office of Legal Counsel has taken the position that the clause “prohibits government employees from accepting any sort of payment from a foreign government, except with the consent of Congress.”
Another important consideration about the silly letter from Trump’s lawyer is that even if all the sources of income came from non-Russian companies that doesn’t mean the money didn’t come from Russia. Russian oligarchs, and wealthy people around the world, generally set up shell companies in other countries to shelter their income and avoid scrutiny.
It’s Official: Donald Trump to do Nothing to Resolve Conflicts of Interest
