R
rdean
Guest
Newt Gingrich has a take on how Donald Trump can keep from running afoul of U.S. ethics laws: Change the ethics laws.
And should someone in the Trump administration cross the line, Gingrich has a potential answer for that too.
“In the case of the president, he has a broad ability to organize the White House the way he wants to. He also has, frankly, the power of the pardon,” Gingrich said. “It’s a totally open power. He could simply say, ‘Look, I want them to be my advisers. I pardon them if anyone finds them to have behaved against the rules. Period. Technically, under the Constitution, he has that level of authority.”
But it was Gingrich’s suggestion that Trump could sidestep potential problems inside his administration — through his constitutional right to issue pardons — that prompted an incredulous reply from the NPR program’s host and two of her guests.
“Speaker Gingrich’s statement that wealth trumps the rule of law, basically that’s what he was saying, is jaw-dropping,” added American University government professor James Thurber. “I can’t believe it. He’s a historian. He should also know that we did not want to have a king. A king in this case is somebody with a lot of money who cannot abide by the rule of law."
Gingrich: Congress should change ethics laws for Trump
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Republicans passed a law "The Stock Act of 2012" aimed directly at President Obama and Joe Biden, to keep them from making money while in the White House. Now they are stuck with it because Trump will violate that law on the day he enters office. Hilarious!
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http://www.usnews.com/news/articles...-trump-sold-off-stocks-in-june-spokesman-says
Since Trump has refused to release his tax returns, it is also not immediately clear how much money his investments had netted him over the years. Per the Stock Act of 2012, Trump would have been required as president to file a report within 45 days after overseeing stock transactions exceeding $1,000 in value.
Trump's transition team did not immediately return a request for comment.
Trump said in a Fox Business interview earlier this year that he'd "never been a big investor in the stock market." But a [URL='https://assets.documentcloud.org/documents/2838696/Trump-2016-Financial-Disclosure.pdf']financial disclosure form released in May estimated Trump held up to around $40 million in equity at the time, with a portfolio that included holdings in companies like ConocoPhillips, Halliburton, Apple, Caterpillar and Citigroup.
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Two years is more than enough time to change his gullible base into a pissed off base. There will be no high paying, unskilled jobs requiring no education. By midterms, Trump will be toxic. The GOP will be unwilling to defend his skirting the law anymore. All this information will seep in. People who say la dee dah about his tax returns will be demanding to see said returns.
And Newt's words will be remembered as the words of the GOP.
Change the ethics laws. “It’s a totally open power. He could simply say, ‘Look, I want them to be my advisers. I pardon them if anyone finds them to have behaved against the rules. Period. Technically, under the Constitution, he has that level of authority.”
Wealth trumps the rule of law.
As long as the American electorate is happy, that's OK. But not when they become unhappy. What Republicans do will affect their future vote. The Media has been played by Trump. They understand that now. They will be much less friendly in the future.
To be talking already about "pardons" before he is even sworn in is awful. A telltale sign of where we are headed.
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And should someone in the Trump administration cross the line, Gingrich has a potential answer for that too.
“In the case of the president, he has a broad ability to organize the White House the way he wants to. He also has, frankly, the power of the pardon,” Gingrich said. “It’s a totally open power. He could simply say, ‘Look, I want them to be my advisers. I pardon them if anyone finds them to have behaved against the rules. Period. Technically, under the Constitution, he has that level of authority.”
But it was Gingrich’s suggestion that Trump could sidestep potential problems inside his administration — through his constitutional right to issue pardons — that prompted an incredulous reply from the NPR program’s host and two of her guests.
“Speaker Gingrich’s statement that wealth trumps the rule of law, basically that’s what he was saying, is jaw-dropping,” added American University government professor James Thurber. “I can’t believe it. He’s a historian. He should also know that we did not want to have a king. A king in this case is somebody with a lot of money who cannot abide by the rule of law."
Gingrich: Congress should change ethics laws for Trump
--------------------------------
Republicans passed a law "The Stock Act of 2012" aimed directly at President Obama and Joe Biden, to keep them from making money while in the White House. Now they are stuck with it because Trump will violate that law on the day he enters office. Hilarious!
--------------------------------
http://www.usnews.com/news/articles...-trump-sold-off-stocks-in-june-spokesman-says
Since Trump has refused to release his tax returns, it is also not immediately clear how much money his investments had netted him over the years. Per the Stock Act of 2012, Trump would have been required as president to file a report within 45 days after overseeing stock transactions exceeding $1,000 in value.
Trump's transition team did not immediately return a request for comment.
Trump said in a Fox Business interview earlier this year that he'd "never been a big investor in the stock market." But a [URL='https://assets.documentcloud.org/documents/2838696/Trump-2016-Financial-Disclosure.pdf']financial disclosure form released in May estimated Trump held up to around $40 million in equity at the time, with a portfolio that included holdings in companies like ConocoPhillips, Halliburton, Apple, Caterpillar and Citigroup.
------------------------------------------
Two years is more than enough time to change his gullible base into a pissed off base. There will be no high paying, unskilled jobs requiring no education. By midterms, Trump will be toxic. The GOP will be unwilling to defend his skirting the law anymore. All this information will seep in. People who say la dee dah about his tax returns will be demanding to see said returns.
And Newt's words will be remembered as the words of the GOP.
Change the ethics laws. “It’s a totally open power. He could simply say, ‘Look, I want them to be my advisers. I pardon them if anyone finds them to have behaved against the rules. Period. Technically, under the Constitution, he has that level of authority.”
Wealth trumps the rule of law.
As long as the American electorate is happy, that's OK. But not when they become unhappy. What Republicans do will affect their future vote. The Media has been played by Trump. They understand that now. They will be much less friendly in the future.
To be talking already about "pardons" before he is even sworn in is awful. A telltale sign of where we are headed.
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