In interviews and on his reality television show “The Apprentice”, President Donald Trump has said he didn’t promote ACN in exchange for money and called ACN executives his “friends.” | Tasos Katopodis-Pool/Getty Images Legal Liberal watchdog group asks FTC to probe Trump's involvement with company

A liberal watchdog group on Monday asked the Federal Trade Commission to investigate President Donald Trump’s involvement with a company that he has been accused of promoting to investors in unfair get-rich-quick schemes.

Public Citizen, a consumer group that has often criticized the president, said in a letter to FTC Chairman Joseph Simons that Trump and his family members failed to disclose that they were paid to endorse the company, American Communications Network, or ACN, in violation of FTC rules.


The complaint follows a lawsuit filed in federal court against Trump in October on behalf of investors in ACN. The suit, which is funded by a progressive group, claims Trump and his family members accepted millions of dollars from ACN starting in 2005 in exchange for promoting the company in speeches and other public appearances, even though they knew the investments “did not — and could not — offer a reasonable probability of success.”

Public Citizen called Trump’s promotion of ACN “a clear-cut infraction” of an “obvious” FTC rule that could lead to a civil fine.

“It’s hard to imagine a more clear-cut example of deceptive advertising,” said Remington Gregg, a consumer rights lawyer for Public Citizen. “Companies are using social media and endorsers, and oftentimes the public doesn’t know.”

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The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Alan Garten, a lawyer for the president's business, did not immediately comment.

In interviews and on his reality television show, “The Apprentice,” Trump has said he didn’t promote ACN for money and called ACN executives his “friends.”

The FTC, which is independent of the administration, has issued warnings to celebrity endorsers for failing to disclose payments from the companies they pitch. In April 2017, following another Public Citizen complaint, the commission sent letters to 90 celebrities, athletes and influencers telling them to “clearly and conspicuously” disclose their relationships to brands when making endorsements on social media.

