Since May 2017, GAB has been tracking credible allegations that President Trump, as well as his family members and close associates, are seeking to use the presidency to advance their personal financial interests, and providing monthly updates on media reports of such issues. The April 2019 update is now available here. A couple of the more notable new developments in this update:

• Ballard Partners, a lobbying firm with close ties to the Trump administration, is apparently explicitly directing the firm’s clients to book rooms and hold events at the Trump International Hotel in Washington, DC, as a way to influence the administration
• The Trump Hotel is selling merchandise with images of the White House, in an apparent attempt to further marketize/monetize President Trump’s official position.

As always, we note that while we try to include only those allegations that appear credible, we acknowledge that many of the allegations that we discuss are speculative and/or contested. We also do not attempt a full analysis of the laws and regulations that may or may not have been broken if the allegations are true. For an overview of some of the relevant federal laws and regulations that might apply to some of the alleged problematic conduct, see here.