Luján Joins Schumer and Wyden to Block Trump From Enriching Himself Off The Backs Of American Taxpayers
NYT: How Trump Has Pocketed $1,408,500,000
Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.), member of the Senate Finance Committee, Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), and U.S. Senators Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member, and Peter Welch (D-Vt.), member of the Senate Finance Committee, introduced the Stop Presidential Embezzlement Act that would claw back any financial benefit to President Donald Trump resulting from his corrupt lawsuits against his own government agencies, including his $10 billion lawsuit against the IRS and Treasury Department.
“As American families struggle to pay their bills and keep up with rising costs under the Trump administration, President Trump and his family have enriched themselves by the billions at the expense of American taxpayers. No president should be allowed to profit from the presidency while so many families struggle to afford groceries, health care, and basic necessities,” said Senator Luján. “This president must be held accountable. That is why we are introducing legislation to stop President Trump from profiting from the presidency and from abusing his power to sue his own government agencies.”
“Donald Trump’s greed knows no bounds,” said Leader Schumer. “As American families struggle to make ends meet or put food on the table, Donald Trump tries to enrich himself at the expense of American taxpayers. Suing your own government to extract billions from taxpayers is corruption, plain and simple. Senate Democrats will fight to stop Trump from turning the presidency into a personal piggy bank.”
“Saying that Trump’s lawsuit against his own government creates a conflict of interest does not begin to describe the depth of corruption behind what he’s doing,” said Senator Wyden. “At a time when so many American families are struggling to get by, it’s a shameful abuse of office for Trump to put himself in line to pocket billions of taxpayer dollars. The only reason Trump is talking about donating this money is because even he realizes what he’s doing is indefensible with the public, and given that he’s a lifelong cheat and conman, there’s no reason to trust he’d even follow through with the donation anyway. Odds are he’d find a way to profit from any settlement or throw it into some vanity project like his fancy ballroom, so Congress needs to shut it down immediately.”
The Stop Presidential Embezzlement Act would impose a 100 percent tax on any settlement a president, vice president, cabinet member, or member of Congress receives from the government as a result of a lawsuit filed while in office.
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