# Trump scandal and corruption omnibus thread **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [November 13, 2016, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-scandal-and-corruption-omnibus-thread/771880 "2016-11-13T18:58:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2016, 11:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-scandal-and-corruption-omnibus-thread/771880/81 "2016-11-15T11:55:52Z")
> [@BigAppleBucky](#): > > At present, only two countries, Angola and Liberia, have the president’s family in the government. Trump wants to make the USA the third. He has asked that his three oldest children be given the highest level security clearance. They will be running his business and at the same time participating in government. For what it’s worth, I think this is a premature worry. The president is entitled to ask for advice from people he trusts. If he wants to be able to ask his adult children what they think he ought to offer Iran in a new treaty, they may need a clearance before he can share details, and indeed the process of getting a clearance imposes legal obligations on them related to the protection and handling of the classified information they learn. However, if this is a precursor to appointing one of his family members to a government post, your comment would be relevant, and your concern justified. I think that we’re fifty years past the idea that a US President could appoint a family member to a senior government job. ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2016, 12:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-scandal-and-corruption-omnibus-thread/771880/82 "2016-11-15T12:00:03Z")
> [@k9bfriender](#): > > There is the other way of looking at how this goes down, not just that guliani issaying that these laws do not apply to him, but that guliani will find a way to get other laws not to apply to him. > > In that perception, guliani is in fact enabling trump to do anything. This may not be correct, of course, and guliani may not be able to open up every law to trumps whim, but it does create a negative perception if one of the first things out of the new whitehouse is decrees of laws that do not apply to the new president elect. > > Just saying, if you are going to assure us that our fears are unfounded, then starting with the actual concern, rather than concentrating on the literal formulation of that concern would be a good starting point. Ok. But you, and all other readers, are now clear that while the vast majority of laws DO apply to the President, the conflict of interest law definitely does not. Yes? I ask because despite all this discussion, BAB again says: > [@BigAppleBucky](#): > > But Rudy says Herr Drumpf can do all of this, no problem. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2016, 12:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-scandal-and-corruption-omnibus-thread/771880/83 "2016-11-15T12:12:07Z")
Here’s hoping Donnie’s practicing the launch codes because I can’t take 4+ years of this shit. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2016, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-scandal-and-corruption-omnibus-thread/771880/84 "2016-11-15T12:47:45Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > > [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > > > Suggestion for less assholic way to point out what you said. > > “BigAppleBucky says, ‘Giuliani thinks Trump is allowed to do anything.’ > > That is a misleading and inaccurate reflection of what Giuliani’s tweet says.” > > Honestly. > > In the alternate universe in which I posted that, what’s the reaction? Your comment passes without reaction. Or the reaction is to your words, rather than the obnoxious way you _did_ say it. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2016, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-scandal-and-corruption-omnibus-thread/771880/85 "2016-11-15T13:23:44Z")
> [@BigAppleBucky](#): > > At present, only two countries, Angola and Liberia, have the president’s family in the government. Trump wants to make the USA the third. He has asked that his three oldest children be given the highest level security clearance. They will be running his business and at the same time participating in government. So Hillary Clinton does not actually get credit for any experience as first lady? thanks for telling us now.😃 ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2016, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-scandal-and-corruption-omnibus-thread/771880/86 "2016-11-15T13:43:15Z")
Stop trying to distract us from the crucial issue of **Bricker’s** wounded dignity! ---
**Author:** ![Lightnin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lightnin/32/180_2.png) [@Lightnin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lightnin)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2016, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-scandal-and-corruption-omnibus-thread/771880/87 "2016-11-15T13:45:44Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > So Hillary Clinton does not actually get credit for any experience as first lady? thanks for telling us now.😃 I’m not sure how your comment is related to\*\* BigAppleBucky\*\*'s comment. ---
**Author:** ![Damuri\_Ajashi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/898d66/32.png) [@Damuri\_Ajashi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Damuri_Ajashi)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2016, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-scandal-and-corruption-omnibus-thread/771880/88 "2016-11-15T14:30:46Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > What? You mean to tell me he either CAN’T or WON’T do a single thing that he promised? But but but… What about his “straight talk”? What will his supporters do? > > sorry - rhetorical question. His supporters will of course blame the media, the elite, the Clintons and Obama for Trumps failure to deliver on a single promise. No, I think the right has always been a little skeptical of Trump but no one else was willing to “tell it like it is” They are convinced that if the world were actually fair, all whites would be rich. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2016, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-scandal-and-corruption-omnibus-thread/771880/89 "2016-11-15T14:34:03Z")
“If you can convince the lowest white man he’s better than the best colored man, he won’t notice you’re picking his pocket. Hell, give him somebody to look down on, and he’ll empty his pockets for you.” - Lyndon Johnson ---
**Author:** ![Damuri\_Ajashi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/898d66/32.png) [@Damuri\_Ajashi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Damuri_Ajashi)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2016, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-scandal-and-corruption-omnibus-thread/771880/90 "2016-11-15T14:36:31Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > Is the possibility that he is not using the method you describe supposed to be evidence that he isn’t enriching himself some other way? Might it not be that he is better at this than you are and knows what will work better in the long run? Maybe, but I doubt it. You can’t turn a billion dollar enterprise into a trillion dollar enterprise with cleverly disguised federal policy on highway spending and shit like that. I don’t think Trump is actually going to use his office to enrich himself. He will use his office to get every goddam things in America named after him. He is going to try and put his face on Mount Rushmore. ---
**Author:** ![SteveG1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@SteveG1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SteveG1)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2016, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-scandal-and-corruption-omnibus-thread/771880/91 "2016-11-15T14:38:28Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > What? You mean to tell me he either CAN’T or WON’T do a single thing that he promised? But but but… What about his “straight talk”? What will his supporters do? > > sorry - rhetorical question. His supporters will of course blame the media, the elite, the Clintons and Obama for Trumps failure to deliver on a single promise. That’s obvious. ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2016, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-scandal-and-corruption-omnibus-thread/771880/92 "2016-11-15T14:43:27Z")
> [@Damuri\_Ajashi](#): > > Maybe, but I doubt it. You can’t turn a billion dollar enterprise into a trillion dollar enterprise with cleverly disguised federal policy on highway spending and shit like that. > > I don’t think Trump is actually going to use his office to enrich himself. > > He will use his office to get every goddam things in America named after him. He is going to try and put his face on Mount Rushmore. Maybe you can’t make it a trillion dollar enterprise, but I think he’ll give it the ol’ trump try. So, you are saying that because you don’t think he can enrich himself by 3 orders of magnitude, he won’t enrich himself to a lesser, but still fairly significant extent? Considering that the highway spending that is needed to fix everything is well into the trillions, it would not be that hard to skim off a pretty sizable chunk to his cronies and subsidiaries. I agree with you that his narcissism will cause him to try to immortalize himself in name and graven image, but disagree that he will not collect every dollar his grubby hands can be laid upon. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2016, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-scandal-and-corruption-omnibus-thread/771880/93 "2016-11-15T14:44:19Z")
If he fails to deliver on those promises, I would cheerfully accept the blame. Go into hiding, get my son to change his last name. ---
**Author:** ![BigAppleBucky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigapplebucky/32/178_2.png) [@BigAppleBucky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigAppleBucky)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2016, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-scandal-and-corruption-omnibus-thread/771880/94 "2016-11-15T17:27:21Z")
[**Top Trump adviser Rudy Giuliani: ‘Until the war is over, anything’s legal’**](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2016/09/11/top-trump-adviser-rudy-giuliani-until-the-war-is-over-anythings-legal/) > [@](#): > > Former New York mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani, one of Donald Trump’s most trusted campaign advisers, suggested Sunday that laws don’t apply during times of war. > > In an interview with ABC News’s “This Week” that aired Sunday morning, Giuliani defended Trump for saying last week that the United States should “take the oil” in Iraq as part of the “spoils of war” and to keep it out of the hands of the Islamic State militant group. It’s an idea that Trump has offered on the campaign trail numerous times over the past year, even as foreign policy experts question its legality and practicality. > > Giuliani said Trump does not necessarily want the United States to extract the oil itself but wants to “leave a force back there and take it and make sure it’s distributed in a proper way.” > > “That’s not legal, is it?” ABC’s George Stephanopoulos asked, as the Geneva Conventions forbid seizing the natural resources of a sovereign nation after invading it. > > “Of course it’s legal. It’s a war,” Giuliani said, laughing. “Until the war is over, anything’s legal.” My original intent, based on the thread title, was to say Giuliani thought any old corruption was legal as long as the president did it. Here he is saying other crimes are legal as long as there is a war. Does he mean there is no such thing as a war crime? Is this what Rummy and Ashcroft and their minions said 13 years ago? May be Rudolph is only kidding. IMO, making this guy Secretary of State would be tantamount to declaring war on the rest of the world. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2016, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-scandal-and-corruption-omnibus-thread/771880/95 "2016-11-15T17:42:40Z")
[Article](http://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/15/us/politics/donald-trump-holdings-conflict-of-interest.html) from The New York Times about some of the conflicts of interest that may arise. For example, the Trump International Hotel in Washington DC is in the Old Post Office Building, which is leased from the General Services Administration and Trump will be appointing the head of the GSA. He’ll be appointing members of the National Labor Relations Board, which rules on union disputes at his hotels. Some of his business is with foreign companies and some of these companies are owned in part or in whole by foreign governments. If he receives money from these governments, it _might_ violate the Constitutional clause against accepting titles of nobility from foreign governments. (“No title of nobility shall be granted by the United States: 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.”) ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2016, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-scandal-and-corruption-omnibus-thread/771880/96 "2016-11-15T17:47:13Z")
> [@BigAppleBucky](#): > > [**Top Trump adviser Rudy Giuliani: ‘Until the war is over, anything’s legal’**](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2016/09/11/top-trump-adviser-rudy-giuliani-until-the-war-is-over-anythings-legal/) > My original intent, based on the thread title, was to say Giuliani thought any old corruption was legal as long as the president did it. > > Here he is saying other crimes are legal as long as there is a war. Does he mean there is no such thing as a war crime? Is this what Rummy and Ashcroft and their minions said 13 years ago? May be Rudolph is only kidding. > > IMO, making this guy Secretary of State would be tantamount to declaring war on the rest of the world. Now picture this immoral piece of shit as _our_ Secretary Of State. ---
**Author:** ![Neo-Calredic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/96bed5/32.png) [@Neo-Calredic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Neo-Calredic)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2016, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-scandal-and-corruption-omnibus-thread/771880/97 "2016-11-15T18:12:42Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > What? You mean to tell me he either CAN’T or WON’T do a single thing that he promised? But but but… What about his “straight talk”? What will his supporters do? > > sorry - rhetorical question. His supporters will of course blame the media, the elite, the Clintons and Obama for Trumps failure to deliver on a single promise. Yup, same as it ever was. Half the country is determined to keep fucking that particular chicken until all that’s left is feathers. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2016, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-scandal-and-corruption-omnibus-thread/771880/98 "2016-11-15T18:40:56Z")
It is _not_ half the country! It isn’t even half the _voters_, though it didn’t miss by much. What happens when the I Don’t Give A Shit American wakes up? Dunno, but we are likely to find out. We live in interesting times. Dammit. ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2016, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-scandal-and-corruption-omnibus-thread/771880/99 "2016-11-15T18:57:01Z")
> [@BigAppleBucky](#): > > [**Top Trump adviser Rudy Giuliani: ‘Until the war is over, anything’s legal’**](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2016/09/11/top-trump-adviser-rudy-giuliani-until-the-war-is-over-anythings-legal/) > My original intent, based on the thread title, was to say Giuliani thought any old corruption was legal as long as the president did it. > > Here he is saying other crimes are legal as long as there is a war. Does he mean there is no such thing as a war crime? Is this what Rummy and Ashcroft and their minions said 13 years ago? May be Rudolph is only kidding. > > IMO, making this guy Secretary of State would be tantamount to declaring war on the rest of the world. The cool part is, the US can ALWAYS be at war with someone. So therefore, anything is permissible. Literally anything, according to Giuliani. Corruption, breaking treaties, shitting on the Geneva conventions, murder, killing civilians deliberately… ANYTHING. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2016, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-scandal-and-corruption-omnibus-thread/771880/100 "2016-11-15T19:25:48Z")
> [@BigAppleBucky](#): > > [**Top Trump adviser Rudy Giuliani: ‘Until the war is over, anything’s legal’**](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2016/09/11/top-trump-adviser-rudy-giuliani-until-the-war-is-over-anythings-legal/) > My original intent, based on the thread title, was to say Giuliani thought any old corruption was legal as long as the president did it. > > Here he is saying other crimes are legal as long as there is a war. Does he mean there is no such thing as a war crime? Is this what Rummy and Ashcroft and their minions said 13 years ago? May be Rudolph is only kidding. > > IMO, making this guy Secretary of State would be tantamount to declaring war on the rest of the world. You seem be deliberately misleading. In context, Mr. Guiliani is talking about actions that occur in a war zone, not to any action anywhere. Your post seems to indicate that you think he is saying that any crime is, in his view, excusable as long as there is a war going on. You have a good argument against war crimes and corruption therein; why taint it? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-scandal-and-corruption-omnibus-thread/771880.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-scandal-and-corruption-omnibus-thread/771880.md?page=6)