CBS News reports Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) is joining other lawmakers in trying to rein in a president’s use of a presidential library fund to curry favor with companies, individuals and foreign governments.
"Donald Trump is using his presidential library as a tool for bribery while he is still in office," said Warren, who is introducing the legislation with Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and others. “Many of the donations to Trump's future library are coming straight from companies and special interests that need a favor from Trump. Right now, there are no rules."
The effort was spurred by a series of recent eye-popping gifts to the “Trump library,” including an opulent Boeing 747 for the president’s use from the Qatari royal family, with the stipulation it is to be dedicated h library after he leaves office.
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Additionally, the proceeds of four large legal settlements that the president reached with Paramount and other companies, stemming from lawsuits Trump launched, are also slated for the library. CBS News reports the total from the four settlements could amount to $63 million.
But the new legislation, if passed, could impose a $10,000 contribution cap per person while the president is still in office, and quarterly disclosures for all donations of $200 or more. The legislation also imposes a two-year "cooling off" period after the end of a president’s term, during which the president cannot accept donations from foreign nationals, federal government contractors or individuals seeking presidential pardons.
Finally, the bill explicitly bars the use of library donations for personal expenses.
Funding for presidential libraries is currently hidden and unregulated says CBS, so the total amount raised for the Trump library to date could be far greater than the amount depicted through the president's publicly announced legal settlements. Leftover funds from the $239 million raised by the Trump-Vance inaugural committee — including millions from Amazon, Apple and Uber CEOs — are headed to the library, CNNand the Wall Street Journal report. And while donations to inaugural funds are required to be publicly reported, presidential libraries have no such requirement.
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"No one will know who is making donations to the presidential library while the president is still in office and making government policy," said Brett Kappel, a campaign finance lawyer who advises tax exempt organizations. This gives grifters a means of effectively ducking campaign finance laws.
While in office, presidents can’t legally solicit money from foreign governments, but they can demand unlimited donations to their library from anyone, including foreign nationals, people seeking a presidential pardon and corporations digging for lavish federal contracts.
And there appear to be no laws stopping a White House occupant from funneling any amount of that cash to his or her personal whim.
Read the full CBS News report at this link.