Trump just got caught in a new tacky scheme
to make a cheap buck off his presidency
BY GRANT STERN
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| Here is the potentially incriminating photo that ProPublica obtained from Trump’s vendor’s Facebook page |
The Trump Organization
just got caught intending to commit a criminal offense by using the
official Seal of the President of the United States on
their golf courses for commercial profit.
Federal law prohibits the knowing display of the presidential seal for the purposes of a commercial endorsement.
Federal law prohibits the knowing display of the presidential seal for the purposes of a commercial endorsement.
While the President is
allowed to use the seal to brand anything he wants from jelly beans to fine
china, but it’s illegal for the Trump Organization to knowingly display the
seal in a commercial venture or as a form of endorsement.
ProPublica reports:
ProPublica reports:
An order form for the tee markers reviewed by ProPublica and WNYC says the customer was “Trump International.” The Facebook page for Eagle Sign and Design shows a photo of the markers in an album with the caption “Trump International Golf Course.”
It is unclear how many
Trump International golf courses will feature the markers. The Trump
Organization owns four courses with the “International” name in the U.S. and
abroad, with a fifth course in Bali, Indonesia, in the works.
Eagle Sign makes a wide
array of tee markers out of bronze and aluminum, and has made other signs for
Trump’s courses, according to its website.
At some of Trump’s golf courses, tee markers have sported the Trump family crest, which he took from the family that originally owned Mar-a-Lago without permission and then altered by adding his own name.
At some of Trump’s golf courses, tee markers have sported the Trump family crest, which he took from the family that originally owned Mar-a-Lago without permission and then altered by adding his own name.
The federal law also
prohibits the knowing unlicensed manufacturing of presidential seal materials
without permission of the government.
Because the Trump
Organization isn’t the government – though they sure do try – this news means
that their vendor could face up to six months in prison for creating the
offending tee markers and delivering them to the president’s private company.
Since publication,
Trump’s tee marker vendor has removed the image from their Facebook page but
left the photo album in place.
This is yet another
instance of the Trump Administration’s business entanglements bringing disgrace
to the office of the Presidency.
It’s only a matter of
time before someone finds photos of the illegal tee markers at a Trump golf
course somewhere in the world, setting up an interesting legal decision for the
Attorney General to make about pursuing a criminal prosecution.
Donald Trump and his
family’s crass attempts to profit from public office highlight the entire
reason for divestment laws, conflict of interest laws, and the numerous laws
that govern the use of public assets for private gain.
