Two House Democrats push a clever plan that calls Republicans’ bluff on their Biden attacks
Democratic Reps. Katie Porter of California and Max Rose of New York introduced a clever plan this week that will expose whether Republicans’ criticisms of former Vice President Joe Biden in the Ukraine scandal reflect good faith — or if, as many assume, they are just a shameful distraction and a bluff.
The lawmakers announced a bill on Wednesday called the Transparency in Executive Branch Officials’ Finances Act. It has two key components:
First, it would require all politically appointed executive branch officials, as well as the president and the vice president, to “disclose any positions they or any members of their extended families hold with foreign-owned businesses, any intellectual property they own that is protected or enforced by a foreign country, and whether any members of their families have stakes in companies that engage in significant foreign business dealings.”
Second, it will “require the President and Vice President to disclose their tax returns for the previous five taxable years and prohibit political appointees from accepting payments from foreign entities.”
The intergenerational swamp that has allowed Ivanka Trump to continue to get trademarks from East Asia, that has allowed Don Jr. and Eric to globe-trot around the world engaged in secret business dealings.
Much more significant is the Trump family and his their vast and complex business interests overseas, their domestic businesses still accepting foreign payments, and the presidents’ daughter and son-in-law’s conflicted roles as White House employees. The bill will also likely be a tough — or impossible — pill to swallow for Republicans
It would seem, then, that Republicans would be eager to support a measure that casts light on officials’ overseas family business ties and conflicts of interests. Even if they don’t care about the issue that much, they should be thrilled to support a measure that looks like a rebuke to the Bidens.
But it will in fact, presumably, cause some consternation among Republicans, because the Biden issue — while serious — is far from the most egregious example of this problem.
Much more significant is the Trump family and his their vast and complex business interests overseas, their domestic businesses still accepting foreign payments, and the presidents’ daughter and son-in-law’s conflicted roles as White House employees.
The bill will also likely be a tough — or impossible — pill to swallow for Republicans because it would force Trump to release his tax returns.
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