According to New York Times reporter, the president is in a glass house when it comes to going after a political leader's son. When Trump was campaigning in 2016, he made a litany of promises about pulling away from his businesses, putting everything into a so-called "blind trust" and working to ensure nothing seems particularly "swampy." None of those promises have come to fruition as Trump and his children utilize new international connections to build a more profitable Trump Organization.
Times reporter Eric Lipton explained that over the past several years, the Trump children have been traveling around the world promoting projects for the Trump Organization.
"Both Eric and Don Jr. Have been quite active in the last several years," Lipton began. "Don Jr. was in India promoting three different projects that the Trump Organization has and is marketing the sale of luxury condos in cities in India. And then Don Jr. was also in Indonesia in August, promoting a project there that's being built. Two hotel resorts and golf clubs. For example, the project in Indonesia, one of them includes a highway being built that allows that project to go ahead. That’s the state government supporting that highway project that will benefit the sales of condos and other assets there. So these are international deals that the Trump sons are involved with. And they’re actively working on them."
He went on to say that there there's no evidence that the Trump children have met with officials overseas to ask for favoritism. That said, he explained that it's unclear what entities do without being asked to look more favorable in the eyes of Trump.
"...for the children of the politically powerful, personal businesses and public dealings can often be indistinguishable, especially when private projects depend on foreign governments that are looking to bolster ties with Washington," The New York Times reported Tuesday.
Lipton explained that some countries can take steps without being asked so they'll be looked on more favorably.
When asked about it Tuesday morning, Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) dismissed the idea that the Trump children, Rudy Giuliani's son and Bill Barr's son-in-law were doing anything wrong, because they weren't making enough money. In the case of Giuliani's son, he's making under $100,000 a year in taxpayer dollars, so Paul said it wasn't important.
Watch his comments below:
