Massachusetts senator and 2020 Democratic candidate Elizabeth Warren is demanding the State Department hand over any documents related to Vice President Mike Pence’s controversial trip to Ireland.
Trump, of course, essentially ordered Pence to stay at his Ireland resort during the trip – yet another example of the president using is his office for personal enrichment – and Warren wants answers.
In a letter to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Warren said, “This transaction – another example of what appears to be open corruption in this administration – deepens my concerns about the ongoing ethics issues related to the President’s continued financial relationship with the Trump Organization and the abuse of taxpayer funds to enrich the President and his family through their business interests.”
More from Elizabeth Warren’s letter to Pompeo:
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The recent reports surrounding Vice President Pence’s decision to patronize the Trump International Hotel in Doonbeg, Ireland – and the extent to which the President could potentially benefit financially from the taxpayer expenditures on this visit – are disturbing. I have introduced legislation, the Anti-Corruption and Public Integrity Act, which would require the President and Vice President to place conflicted assets, including businesses, into a blind trust to be sold off. I intend to keep working to make that plan law. In the meantime, to address these concerns, I ask that you provide answers to the following questions by September 18, 2019.
Some of the questions Warren wants to be answered before Sept. 18:
1. What was the total travel cost associated with the Vice President’s trip to Doonbeg, Ireland? Specifically, what was the excess cost associated with the Vice President staying at Doonbeg rather than in Dublin?
2. Which State Department officials were responsible for approving lodging and travel plans for the Vice President and his team in Ireland? Did State Department or White House ethics officials review these plans?
3. Was the State Department aware of this “suggestion” when planning the Vice President’s travels?
4. Did this “suggestion” factor into the decision making process for where the Vice President and his team would stay while in Ireland?
Read Warren’s full letter here
America is sick of Donald Trump’s corruption
Donald Trump ran on the idea of draining the corrupt swamp of Washington D.C. It was one of his most popular slogans, and for good reason: Americans of all political stripes have no patience for abuses of power by their leaders.
But since taking office, Trump has repeatedly shown that he has no problem with the government swamp as long as he’s the one filling it up day in and day out.
Ordering his vice president to stay at his resort in Ireland during an official trip is just the latest example of the willingness by the president to use the government as his personal piggy bank.
It’s unclear if Elizabeth Warren will be the eventual Democratic nominee to take on Donald Trump, but she isn’t waiting until 2020 to go straight after this president’s endless stream of corruption.
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Sean Colarossi currently resides in Cleveland, Ohio. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and was an organizing fellow for both of President Obama’s presidential campaigns. He also worked with Planned Parenthood as an Affordable Care Act Outreach Organizer in 2014, helping northeast Ohio residents obtain health insurance coverage.
