This AP article doesn’t tell us anything we didn’t already know about the corrupt, trashy grift-maven family that is making fat stacks by peddling executive office influence, but it’s infuriating nonetheless:
SHANGHAI (AP) — On April 6, Ivanka Trump’s company won provisional approval from the Chinese government for three new trademarks, giving it monopoly rights to sell Ivanka brand jewelry, bags and spa services in the world’s second-largest economy. That night, the first daughter and her husband, Jared Kushner, sat next to the president of China and his wife for a steak and Dover sole dinner at Mar-a-Lago.
The scenario underscores how difficult it is for Trump, who has tried to distance herself from the brand that bears her name, to separate business from politics in her new position at the White House.
Difficult? Nope — impossible. If Ivanka Trump were able to overcome what must be a massive genetic predisposition to commit fraud, she’d shut down her “brand” and stay far away from the levers of power. But she’s done the opposite because she’s a crook, just like her scam artist father.
To address ethical concerns, Trump has shifted the brand’s assets to a family-run trust valued at more than $50 million and pledged to recuse herself from issues that present conflicts.
“Ivanka will not weigh in on business strategy, marketing issues, or the commercial terms of agreements,” her attorney, Jamie Gorelick, said in a statement. “She has retained authority to direct the trustees to terminate agreements that she determines create a conflict of interest or the appearance of one.”
Similar arrangements are in place for Mr. Ivanka and the elder Trump — who was elected by gibbering idiots supposedly fed up with corruption and getting shafted by “the man,” so we’re told. And we’re supposed to take the word of a family famous for perpetrating frauds that they are behaving ethically? It is to laugh.
China, however, remains a nagging concern. “Ivanka has so many China ties and conflicts, yet she and Jared appear deeply involved in China contacts and policy. I would never have allowed it,” said Norman Eisen, who served as chief White House ethics lawyer under Barack Obama. “For their own sake, and the country’s, Ivanka and Jared should consider stepping away from China matters.”
Instead, the first daughter and her husband have emerged as prominent interlocutors with China, where they have both had significant business ties. Last year, Kushner pursued hundreds of millions of dollars in real estate investments from Anbang Insurance Group, a financial conglomerate with close ties to the Chinese state. After media reports about the deal, talks were called off.
Mr. Eisen’s observations about how the Obama White House handled ethical snags seem quaint in the context of the Trumps’ global grift operation. And not to worry about Mr. Ivanka’s hundreds of millions of dollars in investments; I’m sure once the media dogs are off the scent, he’ll direct his brother to resume negotiations on the QT.
“You can’t separate Ivanka from her role in life and from her business,” said Allen Adamson, founder of BrandSimpleConsulting. “Her celebrity status is now not only being fueled by her wealth and her family connection, but by her huge role in the White House. All that buzz is hardwired to her products.” That, he added, is a competitive advantage other brands just can’t match — though it does come with risk.
The risk is negligible when you consider that it was perfectly obvious to anyone with the sentient capacity of a mollusk that this corrupt and trashy bunch would abuse the office for their own gain if elected. Scamming is what they do. We either let them get away with it or not, and so far, the Trumps have every reason to believe the scam is unfolding gloriously.