John,

President Trump is the most corrupt president in American history.

His continued ownership of his businesses, leading to more than 3,500 conflicts of interest since he took office, would on its own be enough to merit that title. But Trump has repeatedly used the government to try to keep himself in power—in the most notorious instance, his efforts to bribe the government of Ukraine into announcing an investigation into his political rival led to his impeachment. He has surrounded himself with conflicted Cabinet members and advisers, overseen attacks on the rule of law, fired watchdogs, allowed unchecked industry influence over policymaking and fought transparency at every turn.

In short, President Trump’s abuses and corruption are astounding. No wonder CREW has taken more than 800 legal actions since the start of the Trump administration.

Here are just a few of the most memorable examples of Trump’s shameless abuses. For the full roundup, read more on CREW’s site:

• Crimes Committed in Connection with Ukraine: In December 2019, CREW released a report documenting compelling evidence that President Trump likely committed several crimes in his Ukraine conduct for which ordinary Americans would be prosecuted and incarcerated. CREW’s analysis found that those crimes include: Bribery (18 U.S.C. § 201); Soliciting foreign campaign contributions (52 U.S.C. §§ 30109, 30121); Coercion of political activity (18 U.S.C. § 610); Misappropriation of federal funds (18 U.S.C. § 641); and Obstruction of Congress (18 U.S.C. §§ 1505, 1512).
• Conflicts of Interest: As of October 23, 2020, CREW has documented more than 3,500 instances of Trump’s conflicts of interest since day one of his administration. Every time a government official visits a Trump resort, or an event is held on Trump properties, or foreign trademarks are granted to Trump brands, there exists a conflict between Trump’s duty to the American public and his own business and financial interests. CREW has documented 26 government policies and actions under this administration that specifically appear to benefit the Trump businesses.
• Nepotism and Other Abuses by Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner: On the same day that President Trump took the oath of office, the Department of Justice reversed decades-old precedent and approved Trump hiring his daughter Ivanka and son-in-law Jared Kushner to work in the White House. Since they joined the White House, CREW has highlighted the myriad ethical questions around Ivanka Trump’s and Jared Kushner’s employment in the White House including her company receiving numerous international trademarks and her participation in implementation of the Opportunity Zones program while Kushner held financial interests in a company benefiting from it.
• Assault on Inspectors General: Trump has always been hostile toward oversight and accountability, but his attacks on inspectors general have become more frequent in 2020 including firing the State Department OIG investigating misconduct by Secretary of State Pompeo as well as the intelligence Community IG who reported the Ukraine whistleblower complaint to Congress. Since Trump took office, he has left numerous IG posts vacant for significant periods of time, fired two permanent IGs and removed three acting IGs by other means. In their places, he has nominated or installed at least six loyalists. Trump has also appointed four IGs in dual roles, in some cases creating possible conflicts of interest. In total, we have conservatively identified 25 actions by Trump to undermine the IG community since he took the oath of office.

Those are just a few of the ways Trump has abused his power, enriched himself using the office of the presidency, and surrounded himself with corrupt loyalists while attacking independent oversight. Unfortunately, the more we learn about Trump and his finances, the more alarmed we become about his shady financial ties, and the national security risk he presents for the country.

Rest assured that here at CREW, we’ll keep fighting against his attacks on our democracy for as long as it takes—and we appreciate having you with us in the fight.

Thank you,

Noah Bookbinder
Executive Director, CREW

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