XPost: alt.fan.rush-limbaugh, alt.atheism
Feeble Old Man Trump's deep links to China: From Private Bank Accounts to Suitcases Full of Money
Newsgroups: news.solani.org:alt.fan.rush- limbaugh,mn.politics,alt.politics.republicans,talk.politics.guns,sac.poli tics,alt.war.civil.usa
To: John Doe <
NoOne@private.corp>
Donald Trump disclosed that he owns hundreds of foreign trademarks in
his ethics filings this year.
He didn't disclose any in the same forms while he was president.
Trump owns 114 trademarks in China ù more than any other country by
far, including the US.
Donald Trump's financial disclosures neglected to include hundreds of trademarks he owns ù including over 100 in China and six in Russia ù
until
after he left the office of the presidency.
The hundreds of trademarks include the rights for business opportunities expected for someone with Trump's business record, like real estate,
golf,
beauty pageant, and hotel branding in dozens of countries.
The list also includes more unexpected business opportunities for the
former president, like video games, lash extensions, deodorant, and
nautical instruments.
Trump's complete list of trademarks was first disclosed in a document
known
as OGE Form 278e, which the US Office of Governmental Ethics requires for
US presidents and vice presidents and candidates for president and vice president.
Advertisement
Until this year, the former US president's ethics forms didn't disclose
his
trademarks in foreign countries, which can provide him revenue and are
issued and can be revoked by foreign governments. He didn't disclose them
at all while in office, and he first disclosed the long list in July of
this year and amended it in August.
The belated disclosures mean that Americans had little insight into the
scope of Trump's foreign asset holdings during his presidency, and are
only
learning about them as he runs for a second term in the 2024 election.
The list of countries where the former president owns trademarks includes China, Venezuela, Iran, Cuba, Belarus, and other countries heavily
sanctioned by the United States, as Forbes previously reported.
Trump Atlanta airport
Former President Donald Trump steps off his plane as he arrives at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
The final form Trump submitted during his presidency, dated January 15,
2021, disclosed Trump's financial interests in numerous overseas
companies.
The only indication of trademark holdings noted is his ownership of a
company called "CHINA TRADEMARK LLC." That filing noted the company is "dormant/inactive."
Advertisement
In his following OGE Form 278e form, filed on April 2023, as a
presidential
candidate, Trump disclosed a long list of foreign trademarks. The April
form was made public in July. It notes, without explanation, that he
received two extensions totaling 90 days to submit the document.
The updated August version lists numerous corporate entities that were dissolved in December 2022, including an LLC called "Trump Marks
Menswear"
and another called "Trump Drinks Israel."
Related stories
Trump is already cashing in on his assassination attempt, selling a pair
of
$299 sneakers. They're already sold out.
Read JD Vance's financial disclosure, which includes at least $4 million
in
total assets and $250,000 in bitcoin
The 2024 Republican presidential frontrunner ù who frequently complains
China is "ripping us off" and has falsely claimed President Joe Biden
received more than $1 billion from the country ù disclosed more
trademarks
in China than in any other country by far.
In his latest disclosure, he said he has 114 trademarks in the country.
The
runner-up is the United States, with 57 (including three for "Make
America
Great Again"), followed by the United Kingdom, with 26.
Advertisement
An Insider review of the two forms shows the August update includes
several
more previously undisclosed trademarks, and no longer includes others
that
were first noted in the April disclosure.
One trademark Trump held in Ukraine is no longer included in the August financial disclosure. The April form said the trademark was related to
real
estate development, gambling, and video games. Trump still maintains two
other trademarks in the country, related to hotel and real estate
management.
Trademarks for menswear lines initially disclosed in El Salvador, Mexico,
and Venezuela were also removed in the August disclosure form.
In France, a trademark for furniture and "crest design" was also removed.
And in Saudi Arabia, trademarks for a home cooking line are absent in the latest disclosure.
Advertisement
Among his trademarks in Turkey and the United Arab Emirates, the newest
form no longer includes registrations for perfumery and deodorant
products.
Newly disclosed in the Trump trademarks, however, is one in Albania,
related to advertising, construction, and entertainment.
We don't know how much money Trump made with the foreign trademarks
The disclosures do not include information about how the trademarks are
used in each country and what revenue Trump may receive from them. It's
not
clear why Trump waited so long to disclose the trademarks and why he
asked
for extensions to file his disclosures.
Representatives for Trump's 2024 presidential campaign didn't respond to Insider's request for comment.
Advertisement
Richard Painter, the White House's chief ethics lawyer during part of the George W. Bush administration, told Insider that the forms may not even
capture all of the trademarks Trump owns. Even more, he said, may be
owned
by LLCs, the assets of which don't need to be disclosed in detail.
The forms also don't expound upon how much money each trademark generates
for Trump and where the funds are coming from.
Some of Trump's trademarks have been the subject of previous reporting. Advertisement
According to The New York Times, he first obtained a trademark for Trump
Tower in Russia in 1996 and obtained additional trademarks for Trump-
branded hotels and other opportunities in 2006 and 2007. Trump sought
renewals for those trademarks while he was a candidate during the 2016
election and received some of them on election day, the Times reported.
In China, Trump had 77 trademarks registered before he became president,
the Associated Press reported, many of which were renewed during his
four-
year term. Also during his presidency, China granted several new
trademarks
linked to corporate entities owned by Trump and more than a dozen more to
his daughter Ivanka Trump, according to the Associated Press.
Trump's assets in other countries raise the possibility that he could
violate the emoluments clause of the US Constitution, which is designed
to
limit foreign influence on federal officers.
(Painter was part of a lawsuit against Trump over the clause by the
ethics
watchdog organization CREW, which was dismissed on jurisdictional
grounds.)
Advertisement
Without more insight into his holdings, Painter said, it's impossible to
know if Trump used a trade war with China as a chip in a fight over his personal business interests or dictated foreign policy in the Middle East
to sweeten a deal between his golf courses and Saudi Arabia's investments
in the sport.
"If a foreign government is sending money to Donald Trump to put his name
on a hotel from a corporation controlled by, say, the Saudi Sovereign
Wealth Fund, that's a violation of the emoluments clause," Painter said.
Trump's disclosures as a 2024 presidential candidate include his assets
since November 2021, a year before he officially announced he was running
for a second term.
That leaves a dark period between January and November of that year,
where
his holdings are unknown.
--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)