- Title: Trump's Nordstrom tweets are 'abuse of power' - watchdog
- Date: 8th February 2017
- Summary: WASHINGTON, D.C., UNITED STATES (FEBRUARY 8, 2017) (REUTERS) SCOTT AMEY, GENERAL COUNSEL OF THE WASHINGTON WATCHDOG PROJECT ON GOVERNMENT OVERSIGHT, WALKING DOWN HALLWAY (SOUNDBITE) (English) SCOTT AMEY, GENERAL COUNSEL OF THE WASHINGTON WATCHDOG PROJECT ON GOVERNMENT OVERSIGHT, SAYING: "In the old days when it was just 'CEO Trump,' he might have tweeted these things and that was appropriate. But when you're the president of the United States, all of a sudden it looks like you're trading the power of the position of the president of the United States and the White House for trying to bully a company into doing certain things, and that's not the way public service should operate. We should have a president and we should have government servants that work above reproach, and that aren't biased in decisions and determinations and policies that they're making, and this doesn't fit into that type of instance." WASHINGTON, D.C., UNITED STATES (FEBRUARY 3, 2017) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF NORDSTROM DEPARTMENT STORE WASHINGTON, D.C., UNITED STATES (FEBRUARY 8, 2017) (REUTERS) AMEY SEATED AND TALKING (SOUNDBITE) (English) SCOTT AMEY, GENERAL COUNSEL OF THE WASHINGTON WATCHDOG PROJECT ON GOVERNMENT OVERSIGHT, SAYING: "Well, I don't think it's an illegal, it's not necessarily an illegal abuse of power but I certainly think it's an inappropriate abuse of power. And that's where, you know, someone in the White House should, you know, have kind of a shorter leash on what he's allowed to tweet and what he's working on there to make sure that he doesn't cross the line. Even if that line isn't something that is a violation of law, there should still be inappropriateness that we -- we want the president there to be operating in the best interests of all taxpayers and not in the interest of his own family's business and in his daughter’s business." SCOTT AMEY, GENERAL COUNSEL OF THE WASHINGTON WATCHDOG PROJECT ON GOVERNMENT OVERSIGHT, SEATED AND TALKING (SOUNDBITE) (English) SCOTT AMEY, GENERAL COUNSEL OF THE WASHINGTON WATCHDOG PROJECT ON GOVERNMENT OVERSIGHT, SAYING: "Businesses always have a right to sue. They could sue for some kind of violation of a contract, tortious interference with a business relationship or contract. So there are civil remedies in which these companies could take if they decide that, you know, that some tweet or statement made by President Trump has hurt their business interests, and you know they may decide to take that and you know we'll have to wait and see if there are any repercussions for some of these actions and some of these tweets and statements that the president has made."
- Embargoed: 22nd February 2017 22:25
- Keywords: Donald Trump daughter Ivanka Trump clothing line brand Twitter tweet Nordstrom retail fashion ethical legal
- Location: WASHINGTON, D.C., UNITED STATES / FILE / INTERNET
- City: WASHINGTON, D.C., UNITED STATES / FILE / INTERNET
- Country: USA
- Topics: Government/Politics
- Reuters ID: LVA00362NVSCN
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: U.S. President Donald Trump's Twitter attack on Nordstrom Inc on Wednesday (February 8) for dropping his daughter Ivanka's clothing line raised concerns about the use of his White House platform for his family's businesses.
"My daughter Ivanka has been treated so unfairly by @Nordstrom. She is a great person -- always pushing me to do the right thing! Terrible!," Trump said on Wednesday in his post on both his personal and official presidential Twitter accounts.
Trump's comments underscore the complicated relationship that the wealthy New York real estate developer who became president on Jan. 20 has with his sprawling family business interests amid criticism from Democrats and others about the ethics and legality of the arrangement.
"It's not necessarily an illegal abuse of power but I certainly think it's an inappropriate abuse of power," Scott Amey, General Counsel of the Washington Watchdog Project on Government Oversight, told Reuters.
"In the old days when it was just CEO Trump, he might have tweeted these things and that was appropriate. But when you're the president of the United States, all of a sudden it looks like you're trading the power of the position of the president of the United States and the White House for trying to bully a company into doing certain things. And that's not the way public service should operate. We should have a president and we should have government servants that work above reproach, and that aren't biased in decisions and determinations and policies that they're making. And this doesn't fit into that type of instance," Amey said.
Nordstrom did not respond to requests seeking comment. A spokeswoman for the Ivanka Trump brand declined to comment. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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