CONTACT: Jordan Libowitz
202-408-5565 | [email protected]

Washington — In the two years since he took office, President Trump racked up more than 1,400 conflicts of interest involving the government, those trying to influence it and the Trump Organization, according to a report released today by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW).

President Trump used the presidency to enrich himself by repeatedly promoting his businesses as extensions of his administration. Political allies, wealthy donors, special interests and foreign governments adopted a key tactic of patronizing Trump’s businesses to curry favor with the Trump administration. Here are some of the key findings from CREW’s tracking of Trump’s conflicts of interest:

  • President Trump made 118 visits to his properties in his second year in office, bringing his two-year total to 281 visits to properties he still profits from in office.
  • In his second year in office, President Trump and other White House staff promoted Trump businesses on at least 87 occasions.
  • 119 federal officials, 53 members of Congress and at least 33 state officials made visits to Trump properties during Trump’s second year in office.
  • More than 150 political committees, including campaigns and party committees, have spent nearly $5 million at Trump businesses since he became president.
  • At least 13 special interest groups lobbied the White House since Trump’s inauguration, some for the first time, around the same time they also patronized a Trump property.
  • At least three foreign countries held events at Trump properties during Trump’s second year in office—two of them did so after having held similar events elsewhere in previous years.
  • Four Mar-a-Lago members have been considered for ambassadorships since his election, and three other members—with no federal government experience—acted as off-the-books shadow officials in Trump’s Veterans Administration.

“It is hard to imagine that the President of the United States could rack up a staggering 1,400 conflicts of interest, yet here we are,” said CREW Executive Director Noah Bookbinder. “Not only has President Trump still refused to divest from his businesses, he seems to have doubled down by reinforcing the idea that the Trump Organization is an extension of the Trump Administration.”

In total, CREW found more than 900 conflicts in the second year of the Trump administration. This presents a clear picture of a presidency used to turn a profit and the president’s businesses serving as points of access to the corridors of power.

“This report shows that as special interests, foreign governments and political allies continue to pour money into Trump’s coffers, the American public is left in the dark about whether presidential decisions and policy are being made in the best interest of the country or in the best interest of the president’s own bottom line,” Bookbinder said.

Click here to read the report.