this post was submitted on 11 Jan 2024
150 points (94.1% liked)

politics

19120 readers
2941 users here now

Welcome to the discussion of US Politics!

Rules:

  1. Post only links to articles, Title must fairly describe link contents. If your title differs from the site’s, it should only be to add context or be more descriptive. Do not post entire articles in the body or in the comments.

Links must be to the original source, not an aggregator like Google Amp, MSN, or Yahoo.

Example:

  1. Articles must be relevant to politics. Links must be to quality and original content. Articles should be worth reading. Clickbait, stub articles, and rehosted or stolen content are not allowed. Check your source for Reliability and Bias here.
  2. Be civil, No violations of TOS. It’s OK to say the subject of an article is behaving like a (pejorative, pejorative). It’s NOT OK to say another USER is (pejorative). Strong language is fine, just not directed at other members. Engage in good-faith and with respect! This includes accusing another user of being a bot or paid actor. Trolling is uncivil and is grounds for removal and/or a community ban.
  3. No memes, trolling, or low-effort comments. Reposts, misinformation, off-topic, trolling, or offensive. Similarly, if you see posts along these lines, do not engage. Report them, block them, and live a happier life than they do. We see too many slapfights that boil down to "Mom! He's bugging me!" and "I'm not touching you!" Going forward, slapfights will result in removed comments and temp bans to cool off.
  4. Vote based on comment quality, not agreement. This community aims to foster discussion; please reward people for putting effort into articulating their viewpoint, even if you disagree with it.
  5. No hate speech, slurs, celebrating death, advocating violence, or abusive language. This will result in a ban. Usernames containing racist, or inappropriate slurs will be banned without warning

We ask that the users report any comment or post that violate the rules, to use critical thinking when reading, posting or commenting. Users that post off-topic spam, advocate violence, have multiple comments or posts removed, weaponize reports or violate the code of conduct will be banned.

All posts and comments will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis. This means that some content that violates the rules may be allowed, while other content that does not violate the rules may be removed. The moderators retain the right to remove any content and ban users.

That's all the rules!

Civic Links

Register To Vote

Citizenship Resource Center

Congressional Awards Program

Federal Government Agencies

Library of Congress Legislative Resources

The White House

U.S. House of Representatives

U.S. Senate

Partnered Communities:

News

World News

Business News

Political Discussion

Ask Politics

Military News

Global Politics

Moderate Politics

Progressive Politics

UK Politics

Canadian Politics

Australian Politics

New Zealand Politics

founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS
 

Donald Trump says his businesses received payments from foreign governments because he was "doing services" for them.

Trump was at a Fox News town hall on Wednesday, commenting on a recent report from Democratic lawmakers on the House Oversight Committee. The report, published on January 4, said Trump's businesses had received at least $7.8 million in foreign payments during his presidency.

"That's a small amount of money. You know, it sounds like a lot of money. That's small," Trump said at the town hall.

The former president then explained that the payments were for accommodation at his clubs and hotels.

top 19 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[–] pottedmeat7910@lemmy.world 33 points 10 months ago

I love it when he just stands up there and blithely admits to all the crimes and then nothing happens.

[–] FlyingSquid@lemmy.world 26 points 10 months ago (1 children)

“That’s a small amount of money. You know, it sounds like a lot of money. That’s small,” Trump said at the town hall.

So he's a cheap bribe.

[–] RedditWanderer@lemmy.world 20 points 10 months ago (1 children)

He just means it's a small amount of money for billionaires. They paid outrageous markups.

The joke is he completely misses the point that he shouldn't have used his private businesses to host foreign government officials, or to conduct official business. That's a conflict of interest in itself no matter how much they spent.

[–] psmgx@lemmy.world 5 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Lol he's not a billionaire

[–] UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world -1 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago)

What's the difference between a guy who got a billion dollars the hard way, selling cocaine down in Florida, and the guy who got it the easy way, by scamming a bunch of dumb shit bankers to extend him loans on extremely shady terms and using the credit to speculate in foreclosed golf courses and failing casinos?

It all spends the same, either way.

[–] athos77@kbin.social 16 points 10 months ago (1 children)

The former president then explained that the payments were for accommodation at his clubs and hotels.

Like the ones where they could meet with official and unofficial members of the trump administration? Or the ones where top secret material was stored in a ballroom and later a bathroom?

[–] Theprogressivist@lemmy.world 1 points 10 months ago

All the above. Including Ivana Trump's grave.

[–] IzzyScissor@kbin.social 13 points 10 months ago (2 children)

So, openly admitting it was "quid pro quo". Cool.

[–] Cethin@lemmy.zip 3 points 10 months ago (1 children)

I don't want to defend Trump, but If I understand what he said correctly, then yes but because all business is quid pro quo (this for that). You don't do business for free. The argument is whether they did business with him to influence him. That's where it becomes illegal.

Trump has done plenty wrong that we don't need to grasp for straws. Getting paid for "work" is the way capitalism functions. It's always "I'll give you this for that" and that's not illegal or even wrong usually.

[–] dhork@lemmy.world 3 points 10 months ago (1 children)

I don't see the bit in

And no Person holding any Office of Profit or Trust under them, shall, without the Consent of the Congress, accept of any present, Emolument, Office, or Title, of any kind whatever, from any King, Prince, or foreign State.

That says "unless it's a business transaction, that's just fine"....

[–] Cethin@lemmy.zip 1 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago)

Sure, I don't totally disagree, but it should be required that they dissolve any holdings in any company, or that interpretation is just "they can't run or have an interest in any business." Even just holding a stock in a company, especially one paying dividends, would break that in the most strict interpretation.

The point is this isn't the hill to die on. This is minor compared to everything else he's done.

[–] Goferking0@ttrpg.network 1 points 10 months ago

Unfortunately for his supporters and the GOP it's only that when the exact words are used/said out loud

[–] jordanlund@lemmy.world 9 points 10 months ago (1 children)

For those wondering why this is a big deal:

US Constitution, Article 1, Section 9, Clause 8:

"no Person holding any Office of Profit or Trust under them, shall, without the Consent of the Congress, accept of any present, Emolument, Office, or Title, of any kind whatever, from any King, Prince, or foreign State."

Emolument:

https://en.m.wiktionary.org/wiki/emolument#Noun

emolument (plural emoluments)

(formal) Payment for employment or an office; compensation for a job, which is usually monetary. synonyms ▲quotations ▼Synonyms: compensation, fee, payment, remuneration

[–] billwashere@lemmy.world 10 points 10 months ago

For fucks sake, they made Jimmy Carter give up a damn peanut farm, but not the orange chucklefuck who has a DC Hotel…

no way that was used to buy access or influence… none at all /s

[–] NegativeLookBehind@kbin.social 9 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Trump: Yeah, I fuckin did it. So what? What are you gonna do?

DOJ: Um, well, you shouldn’t do mean stuff, um, HELP

[–] UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world -1 points 10 months ago

"Well, when the president does it, that means that it is not illegal"

[–] Pistcow@lemm.ee 4 points 10 months ago

dont neglect the balls

[–] autotldr@lemmings.world 2 points 10 months ago

This is the best summary I could come up with:


Trump was at a Fox News town hall on Wednesday, commenting on a recent report from Democratic lawmakers on the House Oversight Committee.

The report, published on January 4, said Trump's businesses had received at least $7.8 million in foreign payments during his presidency.

Foreign governments and government-controlled entities had made payments to Trump's hotels in Washington, Las Vegas, and New York.

"President Trump never sought or received Congress's approval to keep these foreign payments, as the Constitution requires," the authors wrote.

Trump was indicted in four separate prosecutions last year and faces 91 criminal counts, ranging from falsifying business records to election interference.

Trump remains the frontrunner for the Republican presidential nomination, and recent polls suggest a close fight between him and President Joe Biden.


The original article contains 319 words, the summary contains 126 words. Saved 61%. I'm a bot and I'm open source!

[–] UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world -1 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago)

Money laundering for foreigners has been the basis of the Trump Inc business model since the 1980s. Hell, I think this goes back to his father's rise to fortune back in the 1950s, even.

Like, yeah. He's a crook. But he's the kind of crook this country has been gleefully manufacturing and showering with praise for their genius and entrepreneurial spirit and innovative efforts for over a century.

If he'd been a bit smarter and a bit more ambitious, he could have been a Bernie Madoff or a Sam Bankman Fried, even.