Colorado activists push legislator to sponsor Presidential Conflicts of Interest Act

| Denver, CO – Activists, including veterans, protested in Denver today requesting that Senator Cory Gardner (R-CO) join Senator Michael Bennet (D-CO) in co-sponsoring the Presidential Conflicts of Interest Act of 2017. Lima Charlie Senior Correspondent Don Martinez reported from Gardner’s office in Denver.

The bill, introduced January 9, 2017, by Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Rep. Katherine Clark (D-MA), is a response to exemptions for the President and Vice President in conflicts of interest law, Title 18 Section 208. When proposing the bill Sen. Warren stated, “The American people deserve to know that the President of the United States is working to do what’s best for the country — not using his office to do what’s best for himself and his businesses.” The legislation, if passed, would direct the Office of Government Ethics to submit an annual report on the finances of “the President, the Vice President, the spouse of the President or Vice President, and any minor child of the President or Vice President,” which is in line with current requirements for members of Congress. In addition, the bill would require the President, Vice President, and any major party nominee to be President or Vice President, to disclose their three most recent tax returns.

The law would also require President Trump to put his investments into a blind trust and cooperate in annual reports on his financial interests. When placed in a blind trust, the President’s assets would be managed independently; the President would be unable to know how his assets are managed, and wouldn’t be able to intervene in their management.

Over 16,400 people signed the Colorado petition asking Gardner to support the law, which the protesters hand delivered to his office.

Congress is in a recess this week, meaning that legislators have left Washington for their home states. Protestors across the country are taking advantage of this to petition their representatives. As of now, the law only has the support of congressional democrats. Due to the current Republican controlled House and Senate, the chances are slim that the bill, submitted during the 1st session of the 115th Congress, will pass.

Protesters gathering around @CoryGardner office to tell him to #PutUsFirst! pic.twitter.com/teXOLOlGIS

— Don Martinez (@DonMartinezLC) February 21, 2017

#PutUsFirst delivering a petition to @CoryGardner demanding Trump divest his foreign entanglements as they are a threat to national security pic.twitter.com/mNsGZiRCVy

— Don Martinez (@DonMartinezLC) February 21, 2017

#PutUsFirst protesters demanding Trump divest his foreign entanglements because they are a threat to our national security pic.twitter.com/1t6SeMslwY

— Don Martinez (@DonMartinezLC) February 21, 2017

Lima Charlie News recently interviewed Jim Arkedis, a former counter-terrorism and counter-intelligence analyst at the Pentagon, who helped launch PutUSFirst, an organization with a stated goal that is, “focused on the threat posed to American national security by Donald Trump’s refusal to divest his foreign business interests.” Lima Charlie’s Brendan McKinnon discussed with Arkedis his recent article for U.S News & World Report, “Donald Trump Must Divest – Here are 4 ways his business interests threaten U.S. national security.”

LIMA CHARLIE NEWS, with Don Martinez reporting

Don Martinez is a retired Field Artillery officer living in Colorado Springs, CO. He is a veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom with two combat deployments to Iraq where he earned his Combat Action Badge. Don reports on national security, public policy, political management, homeland security, and veterans issues.

Lima Charlie provides global news, insight & analysis by military veterans and service members Worldwide.

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