TRUMP ORGANIZATION ASKING PANAMA PRESIDENT TO STOP ITS EVICTION FROM HOTEL IS CLEAR CONFLICT OF INTE

[Judi Lynn]

TRUMP ORGANIZATION ASKING PANAMA PRESIDENT TO STOP ITS EVICTION FROM HOTEL IS CLEAR CONFLICT OF INTEREST, WATCHDOG SAYS
BY JESSICA KWONG ON 4/9/18 AT 6:08 PM

President Donald Trump’s company appealed to Panama's president to intervene after its hotel business management team was evicted from a luxury hotel in the country.

Britton & Iglesias, the firm representing the Trump Organization, on March 22 sent a letter, obtained by The Associated Press Monday, to Panama’s President Juan Carlos Varela stating that they “URGENTLY request your influence in relation to a commercial dispute involving Trump Hotel aired before Panama’s judiciary.”

The move has struck further alarm bells with ethics experts already concerned by conflicts of interest within the Trump administration.

“This could be the clearest example we’ve seen of a conflict of interest stemming from the president’s role as head of state in connection with other countries and his business interests,” Danielle Brian, executive director of the Washington, D.C.-based watchdog group Project on Government Oversight, told the AP.

More:
http://www.newsweek.com/trump-organization-panama-hotel-president-conflict-878147?piano_t=1

LBN:
https://www.democraticunderground.com/10142033482

[RDANGELO]

1. This is really interesting.

In most cases when Trump is involved in the hotels, his company does not manage the building. There are reports that on the day that they were evicted, the Trump people were frantically shredding documents,

"Fintiklis claimed that the Trump Organization mismanaged the hotel and caused expenses to “bloat” as well as occupancy “to collapse.”

What probably behind this is money laundering. The bloated expenses are a way to bilk the owner of his proceeds. There is low occupancy because the buyers never move in; they pay in cash; the money goes to the bank and then to another account. The bank and Trump take a cut.

[Judi Lynn]

3. Glad to see your comment. It's good to know some people can see through the flim-flam.

Still hard to believe he's in the White House instead of a federal prison.

[Judi Lynn]

2. Warning of repercussions, Trump company lawyers seek Panama presidents help

In this March 5, 2018, file photo, a man removes the word Trump off a marquee outside the Trump Ocean Club International Hotel and Tower in Panama City after an arbitrator declined to reinstate the Trump management team. (Arnulfo Franco/AP)

By Ana Cerrud and David A. Fahrenthold April 9 at 5:56 PM

PANAMA CITY — Lawyers representing President Trump’s company last month wrote directly to the president of Panama, asking him to intervene in a legal fight over the Trump International Hotel in the nation’s capital — and warning that the case could have “repercussions” for Panama’s reputation.

The law firm, Panama-based Britton and Iglesias, wrote in Spanish to President Juan Carlos Varela on March 22 to “urgently request your influence in relation to a commercial dispute regarding the Trump hotel.”

At the time, the majority owner of the Trump hotel — Cypriot-born investor Orestes Fintiklis — had kicked out the Trump Organization as the hotel’s manager, after a ruling from a low-level Panamanian judge. The president’s company was seeking to retake control.

The request was extraordinary: The U.S. president’s company was asking the leader of a U.S. ally to intercede on its behalf, disregarding Panama’s separation of powers.

More:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/warning-of-repercussions-trump-company-lawyers-seek-panama-presidents-help/2018/04/09/9e3fbb8e-3c2f-11e8-8d53-eba0ed2371cc_story.html