Thick as thieves

Ivanka Trump, who is acting as an advisor on her father’s transition team, and her husband Jared Kushner, who is likely to serve as an advisor to Donald Trump, are house hunting in Washington, D.C.:

The couple's planned move with their three children reflects the expectation that Kushner will serve as an adviser to President-elect Donald Trump in some capacity, though the precise role -- potentially complicated by nepotism laws -- remains to be seen. "I think Jared Kushner, obviously [Trump's] son-in-law is going to be very involved in decision-making," White House chief of staff Reince Priebus said on NBC's "Today" show the week after the election.

Besides the obvious nepotism of Jared Kushner being a senior Trump advisor, there is also the matter of Ivanka Trump being tapped to run the Trump Organization in a so-called “blind trust.” She’s sitting in on meetings with potential Cabinet and administration picks nearly every day. People that will influence and negotiate things like the lease on their new D.C. hotel. In his first meeting with a world leader, Donald Trump and Ivanka Trump were photographed meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. Here’s why it is a huge deal that she not only sat in on that meeting, but Team Trump intentionally released those photos to the public:

Ms. Trump is nearing a licensing deal with the Japanese apparel giant Sanei International, both parties told The New York Times. The largest shareholder of Sanei’s parent company is the Development Bank of Japan, which is wholly owned by the Japanese government. Discussions for the deal have been active for about two years, Ms. Trump’s company said. In that time, she has become something of a local fascination. “At the moment,” said Sayumi Gunji, a lifestyle-magazine editor who attended the viewing, “Ivanka is even more popular here than Mr. Trump.”

This is a blatant attempt to influence those negotiations. Is Japan going to play hardball with the daughter of the President of the United States? Will they give her more favorable terms that the Trump family will ultimately profit from? Two weeks ago, Ivanka Trump and her team hosted approximately 100 foreign diplomats to pitch them on expensive, luxury packages at the Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C. where rooms climb to $22,000 per night for the penthouse suite. Several of these diplomats spoke to the Washington Post and said of course they will stay there:

“Believe me, all the delegations will go there,” said one Middle Eastern diplomat who recently toured the hotel and booked an overseas visitor. The diplomat said many stayed away from the hotel before the election for fear of a “Clinton backlash,” but that now it’s the place to be seen. In interviews with a dozen diplomats, many of whom declined to be named because they were not authorized to speak about anything related to the next U.S. president, some said spending money at Trump’s hotel is an easy, friendly gesture to the new president. “Why wouldn’t I stay at his hotel blocks from the White House, so I can tell the new president, ‘I love your new hotel!’ Isn’t it rude to come to his city and say, ‘I am staying at your competitor?’ ” said one Asian diplomat.

Releasing those photos of Ivanka Trump sitting in the meetings with the Prime Minister of Japan sent a clear message to business executives and world leaders alike, Ivanka Trump and Donald Trump are one and the same. Tied together in all ways. When it comes to the business of the Trump family, she speaks for him. In fact, she’s such an integral part of his operations, when Donald Trump took a call with Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi, he inexplicably handed the phone over to his daughter to discuss policy:

When Nancy Pelosi, the minority leader of the House of Representatives, called Donald J. Trump shortly after the Nov. 8 election, they talked about domestic policy and infrastructure. But when Ms. Pelosi raised the specific subject of women’s issues, the president-elect did something unexpected: He handed the phone over to another person in the room — his 35-year-old daughter, Ivanka.

Aside from the fact that the President-elect handled a call about women’s issues and child care like he was caught standing in the middle of a drug store with a box of tampons in his tiny hands (icky lady stuff!), how inappropriate is it that she would be featured in such important policy matters while she is allegedly transitioning to run her family’s business? Are those ties going to magically disappear next month when he takes the oath of office?

The New York Times further details Ivanka Trump’s controversial intertwining of family business and the business of the nation:

A month and a half before Mr. Trump is scheduled to be inaugurated, Ms. Trump and her husband, Jared Kushner, 35, are key advisers to the president-elect, with Ms. Trump poised to be perhaps the most influential first daughter since Alice Roosevelt Longworth. They have attended meetings with political advisers, job seekers, foreign leaders and real estate developers eager to sell $2 million apartments as “president-elect branded.”

This is the groundwork for massive network of corruption by the President of the United States and his family. And it is all happening right before our very eyes.