President Trump's Broken Promises to "Drain The Swamp"

As a candidate, Donald Trump led cheers of "drain the swamp" at campaign rallies as he promised to rid Washington of special interests and lobbyists.

Nearly one hundred days into his presidency, Mr. Trump has thrown open the White House doors to billionaire campaign donors, corporate executives, and special interest lobbyists; his campaign is under investigation for its ties to Russia; and Trump and his family are personally entangled in deals that could violate the U.S. Constitution, the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, and ethics requirements.  

PRESIDENT TRUMP'S BROKEN PROMISES: RETURN WASHINGTON TO THE PEOPLE

PROMISE: CANDIDATE TRUMP PROMISED TO RID WASHINGTON OF WEALTHY SPECIAL INTERESTS

President Donald Trump: "We are transferring power from Washington, D.C., and giving it back to you, the people." [Inaugural Address: 1/20/17]

Then-President-Elect Donald Trump:

TRUMP: We’re doing a lot of things to clean up the system. But everybody that works for government, they then leave government and they become a lobbyist, essentially. I mean, the whole place is one big lobbyist.

STAHL: But you’re, but you’re basically saying you have to rely on them, even though you want to get rid of them?

TRUMP: I’m saying that they know the system right now, but we’re going to phase that out. You have to phase it out. [CBS 60 Minutes, 11/13/16]

BROKEN: PRESIDENT TRUMP HAS FILLED HIS ADMINISTRATION WITH BILLIONAIRES AND SPECIAL INTEREST LOBBYISTS

Washington Post: "Donald Trump is assembling the richest administration in modern American history" [Washington Post, 11/30/16]

ProPublica: “President Trump has stocked his administration with a small army of former lobbyists and corporate consultants who are now in the vanguard of the effort to roll back government regulations at the agencies they once sought to influence, according to an analysis of government records by the New York Times in collaboration with ProPublica.” [Pro Publica, 4/15/17]

Politico: "Since taking office, Trump and his top advisers have met with dozens of industry and business officials, giving the executives an unparalleled opportunity to influence the president's nascent policy agenda." [Politico, 3/28/17]

NY Times: “President Trump is populating the White House and federal agencies with former lobbyists, lawyers and consultants who in many cases are helping to craft new policies for the same industries in which they recently earned a paycheck.” [NY Times, 4/15/17]

PROMISE: ETHICS REFORM TO MAKE GOVERNMENT HONEST AGAIN

Then-Candidate Trump: "I’m proposing a package of ethics reforms to make our government honest once again." [Five-Point Plan for Ethics Reform, 10/17/16]

BROKEN: PRESIDENT TRUMP HAS REPLACED OBAMA'S ETHICS AND TRANSPARENCY STANDARDS WITH WEAKER GUIDELINES, AND HE'S ALREADY VIOLATING THEM  

NY Times: "Appointments may have already led to violations of the administration’s own ethics rules. But evaluating if and when such violations have occurred has become almost impossible because the Trump administration is secretly issuing waivers to the rules." [NY Times, 4/15/17]

Washington Times: "Trump won’t release White House visitor logs, reverses Obama policy" [Washington Times, 4/14/17]

Bloomberg: “In issuing his five-year ban on appointees’ engaging in ‘lobbying activities,’ Trump departed from the approach that former President Barack Obama’s administration used: banning appointees from communicating with employees of their former agencies for two years after leaving government. While Trump’s time period is longer, his ban’s focus on ‘lobbying activities’ may narrow its scope in ways that permit abuse” [Bloomberg, 1/30/17]

PROMISE: CANDIDATE TRUMP PROMISED TO MAKE HIS TAX RETURNS PUBLIC

CNN: "More than a year before he announced his presidential campaign, Trump told an Irish television station that he would ‘absolutely' release his tax returns if he entered the race." [CNN, 4/17/17]

BROKEN: PRESIDENT TRUMP WON'T RELEASE TAXES DESPITE 40 YEARS OF PRECEDENT AND PUBLIC OUTCRY

NY Times: "Trump’s Unreleased Taxes Threaten Yet Another Campaign Promise." [NY Times, 4/17/17]

NPR: “Trump himself stands to gain tens of millions: [His tax] plan would be a windfall for Trump. He pays taxes for his businesses through the income tax code, so his plan would slash his own tax liability potentially in half, saving himself tens of millions of dollars.” [NPR, 4/26/17]

PROMISE: CANDIDATE TRUMP SAID THAT HE HAS HAD “NOTHING TO DO WITH RUSSIA”

@realDonaldTrump: "Russia has never tried to use leverage over me. I HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH RUSSIA - NO DEALS, NO LOANS, NO NOTHING!" [Twitter, 1/11/17]

BROKEN: PRESIDENT TRUMP AND HIS ADMINISTRATION HAVE EXTENSIVE TIES TO RUSSIA

NY Times: “FBI is Investigating Trump’s Russia Ties, Comey Confirms” [NY Times, 3/20/17]

USA Today: "Donald Trump's ties to Russia go back 30 years" [USA Today, 2/15/17]

Washington Post: "Since the 1980s, Trump and his family members have made numerous trips to Moscow in search of business opportunities, and they have relied on Russian investors to buy their properties around the world." [Washington Post, 6/17/16]

Washington Post: “Flynn probably broke law by failing to disclose foreign income, House Oversight leaders say” [Washington Post, 4/25/17]

Washington Post: “’Russians make up a pretty disproportionate cross-section of a lot of our assets,’ Trump’s son, Donald Jr., told a real estate conference in 2008, according to an account posted on the website of eTurboNews, a trade publication. ‘We see a lot of money pouring in from Russia.’” [Washington Post, 6/17/16]

PROMISE: CANDIDATE TRUMP PROMISED TO RELINQUISH CONTROL OF HIS BUSINESSES

Reuters: "Trump, a real estate magnate who owns hotels and golf resorts from Panama to Scotland, said he would spell out at a Dec. 15 news conference how he will separate himself 'in total' from his worldwide business holdings” [Reuters, 12/30/16]

BROKEN: PRESIDENT TRUMP DIDN'T DIVEST FROM HIS BUSINESS

AP: "President-elect Donald Trump said Wednesday he will continue to profit from his global business empire after he enters the White House this month." [AP, 1/11/17]

Huffington Post: Head Of Ethics Office Says Donald Trump’s Conflict-Of-Interest Plan Is ‘Meaningless’ [Huffington Post, 1/11/17]

PROMISE: TRUMP ORGANIZATION PLEDGED NOT TO TAKE “ANY ACTIONS THAT ACTUALLY EXPLOIT, OR EVEN COULD BE PERCEIVED AS EXPLOITING, THE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENCY.” [The Hill, 1/16/17]

BROKEN: THE TRUMP FAMILY IS PROFITING FROM THE PRESIDENCY

AP: "Since her father was elected president of the United States, global sales of Ivanka Trump merchandise have surged and the company has applied for at least nine new trademarks in the Philippines, Puerto Rico, Canada and the U.S." [AP, 4/19/17]

NY Daily News: "Ivanka Trump received Chinese trademark approvals on day she dined with president of China" [NY Daily News, 4/18/17]

PROMISE: CANDIDATE TRUMP PROMISED NO FOREIGN DEALS WHILE PRESIDENT

Trump lawyer Sheri Dillon: "No new foreign deals will be made whatsoever during the duration of President Trump’s presidency." [NPR, 1/11/17]

BROKEN: TRUMP ORGANIZATION IS PURSUING FOREIGN DEALS WHILE TRUMP RESORTS COLLECT HUGE FEES WITH NO TRANSPARENCY

AP: "The Trump Organization is returning to a long-dormant licensing deal involving a beachfront luxury resort in the Dominican Republic, testing the limits of Donald Trump's pledge to halt new international Trump-branded projects during his presidency." [AP, 2/10/17]

New Yorker: "On top of the continual underlying breach of the Emoluments Clause, the Trump Organization’s involvement [in an Azerbaijani property] may also violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, or FCPA." [New Yorker, 3/13/17]

Politico: "President Donald Trump isn’t the only one promoting his private Mar-a-Lago club as the 'winter White House.' His foreign policy team is doing it too." [Politico, 4/24/17]

CNBC: "Mar-a-Lago, the Palm Beach resort owned by the Trump Organization, doubled its initiation fee to $200,000 following the election of Donald Trump as president." [CNBC, 1/25/17