Built into the new administration is more business for the Trump Organization.
December 6, 2016
By the AP
New York — Vice President-elect Mike Pence (click here) will deliver a speech on Tuesday night to a conservative group at Donald Trump’s new Washington D.C. hotel, raising anew conflict of interest questions surrounding the venue.
The Trump International Hotel has come under scrutiny by government ethics experts since the election. They worry foreign governments, lobbyists and others will book rooms and events there to curry favor with the new president.
The Heritage Foundation said Pence will talk about areas of focus for the Trump administration in the first 200 days. The Washington think tank said he will also talk about the conservative movement.
The Heritage Foundation said its decision to use the hotel was driven by space needs.
The Pence speech is the highlight of the group’s annual gathering for its biggest donors. The event is mostly being held at the Ronald Reagan Center across the street from the hotel.
“The space wasn’t large enough and there are security concerns,” said Heritage spokesman Wesley Denton. “It’s just this one speech.”...
Trump is shutting down DC during his inauguration.
December 9, 2016
By Sophia Tesfaye
Protesters who plan to descend on Washington (click here) in the days surrounding President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration next month will find themselves barred from the nation’s most famous public protest site.
The National Park Service, on behalf of the Presidential Inauguration Committee, filed a “massive omnibus blocking permit” securing much of the National Mall, Pennsylvania Avenue, the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial for Trump’s inauguration festivities, The Guardian reported on Thursday.
“None of these spots will be open for protesters,” the newspaper reported.
The temporary ban mostly affects a planned march from the Lincoln Memorial to the White House on Jan. 21, 2017, the morning after Trump’s inauguration. The morning after the election, organizers began the Women’s March on Washington, which leaders say is an intentional nod to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s 1963 civil rights march at the Lincoln Memorial.
According to the march’s official Facebook event page, 136,000 demonstrators plan to attend and an additional 226,000 are interested in participating. Groups from nearly 50 states have started their own, local Facebook pages for the event, with each state organizing transportation to get to the event....
...The Partnership for Civil Justice Fund argues that the National Park Service and Trump’s inaugural committee have “done a massive land grab inhibiting all those who want to exercise their right to free speech.”...
