For the past two years (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 May 2019 update is now available here. A couple of the more notable new developments in this update:

• IRS Commissioner Charles Rettig, who is currently fighting at House Committee request for President Trump’s tax returns, owns two Trump-branded properties from which he receives substantial rental income–the value of which is arguably affected by the overall value of the Trump brand.
• Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s report cites former Trump attorney Michael Cohen’s statement that Trump at several points suggested that his presidential campaign would function as an “infomercial” for Trump-branded properties.
• New information revealed through a Freedom of Information Act request indicates that since 2017 at least seven foreign governments have rented units at a Trump-managed property in New York (the Trump World Tower).

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.