Donald Trump thumbs his nose at conflicts of interest

Echo opinion letter to the editor, published in the Victoria Advocate, in Victoria Texas:

Is anyone surprised that Trump commuted the prison sentence of former Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich? After all, they’re two of a kind. Blagojevich was convicted of trying to sell the senate seat vacated by Barack Obama when Obama was elected president. Trump shamelessly uses the nation’s highest office for personal gain.

Trump uses his golf resort in Florida as an unofficial White House, giving the phrase “pay to play” a sinister new meaning. He and his family rake in millions when foreign officials stay at Trump hotels and when foreign governments approve Trump projects or grant trademarks for his products.

He even pressured Vice President Pence to stay at his resort in Ireland, although it was far from Pence’s planned meeting with the Irish prime minister. And, sinking to new lows, he has even charged rent for the Secret Service agents who provide protection for himself and his family.

Trump is the first president in over 50 years to refuse to release his tax returns, despite promising several times to make such a release.

He has so many conflicts of interest that the director of the U.S. Office of Government Ethics resigned in protest when he was unable to persuade Trump to divest from his business interests to avoid such conflicts.

No U.S. president in history has so blatantly thumbed his nose at the Constitution’s protections against conflict of interest.

Jim Ford, Victoria