It's Even Worse Than You Think

by David Cay Johnston

  The documentary filmmaker Libby Handros provided material related to her 1991 film, Trump: What’s the Deal?, which Trump suppressed for a quarter century with litigation threats.

  As years have turned into decades, my admiration for my literary agent, the lawyer Alice Martell, and her assistant, Stephanie Finman, at the Martell Literary Agency has steadily grown. Alice guided my nascent idea for an exposé of the casino industry and its regulators into my first book in 1992 and has nurtured seven more books with others planned. I am grateful that Bob Bender and Jonathan Karp of Simon & Schuster saw the value in this book documenting what Trump is doing and agreed to publish it.

  It’s Even Worse Than You Think is a sequel to my 2016 book, The Making of Donald Trump, published by Melville House Press, which in turn drew on Temples of Chance, my 1992 casino industry exposé, as well as the proposal for a movie about Trump that director Tim Burton commissioned me to write in 1999. In these works, I relied on public records to illuminate Trump’s conduct, from his deep lifelong entanglements with heavyweight criminals, including a major drug trafficker for whom he risked his casino licenses for reasons that to this day have never been properly explained, to his appointments of manifestly unqualified cabinet secretaries.

  This book was conceived in late 2016, after the elections, as my friends David Crook and Adam Leipzig joined me in founding DCReport.org, a nonprofit and nonadvertising news organization. DCReport covers what the current president and Capitol Hill politicians do, rather than what Trump tweets and they say. We are grateful to more than a thousand Americans who have made gifts of five dollars and up.

  Many of the stories DCReport’s writers broke later made their way into the mainstream news, though sadly some important issues did not. I am especially grateful to Jim Henry, DCReport’s investigative economist. Jim, a lawyer, former McKinsey & Co. chief economist, and former General Electric executive, has devoted his life to exposing money laundering and illicit cash, work that helped me in writing parts of this book. At various places this book relies on the DCReport articles of Isabella Alves, Jillian S. Ambroz, Sarah Okeson, Vic Simon, and Laura Vecsey, who received tiny honoraria for yeoman work. Ambroz and Okeson also worked as reporters on this book.

  We plan to continue DCReport long past this administration because of a need to cover our government, not just politics and controversy. For so long as our United States of America endures, the need to shine spotlights on the actions and inactions of our government will never diminish, nor will our duties as American citizens to be engaged with our government.

  My hope, dear readers, is that you noticed the repeated use of the word “our” in the previous paragraph. As David Crook says, “It’s our government. We own it. We ought to act like owners.”

  Like this book, DCReport.org grows from a belief that American journalism should refer to our Constitution and our government, instead of using the, which we consider alienating in that context. The use of the encourages the idea that our United States of America is a power unto itself rather than a creation of we the people for our benefit. The idea that our government is an alien force has long been promoted by some of the fringe ideologues I have tracked for nearly five decades, some of whom obtained high positions in the Trump administration.

  We could not have launched DCReport.org without the help of Andy Alm and GoGo Lidz; the continuing social media skills of Tod Hardin at thisiscrowd.com; and the many volunteers who acted as copy editors, proofreaders, and tipsters. Thanks, too, to Ian Isaacs, introduced to us by the great and sadly late journalist Jack Rosenthal, for trying to develop the resources to expand our capacity to cover the actions, and inactions, of our government, not just what our politicians say about our government.

  Writers Danelle Morton and Dana Kennedy offered encouragement when it was needed most. So did Julia Kagan, Joshua Greenman, and Harry Siegel. I am also grateful for the valuable assistance of Seth Heald, president of the Sierra Club in Virginia, Mieke Eoyang, Christine McEntee, the excellent Freedom of Information Act devotee Michael Ravnitsky, and many others who, because of my shortcomings, or their wish to remain uncredited, will not be named.

  As always, I relied on help from some of my eight children, now long grown. Amy Boyle Johnston, a writer, photographer, and glass artist, researched the public record and had the daunting task of keeping my files organized. Amy, or Number Four as I call her sometimes, set aside completing her deeply researched biography of Rod Serling to find obscure documents, often making connections neither I nor anyone else had made between distinct events. Molly Leonard, a lawyer in the Toronto suburb of Brampton, took time from representing children in court proceedings to copyedit some chapters. So did her younger sister Kate, who makes eight, and who has worked as the script coordinator on House of Cards, The Breaks, and the forthcoming The Looming Tower while developing her own skills as a lyricist, comedy writer, and performer in Manhattan.

  My loving wife of more than thirty-five ever better years, Jennifer Leonard, whose last name we gave our two daughters, was, as always, unsparing in her support both for this book and the Rochester Area Community Foundation, which she has led since 1993. Jennifer, like Molly and Kate a better writer than me, gave the honest appraisals we verbally preface with a warning that what comes next is “unvarnished criticism.” She embodies my firm belief that your best friends tell you not just what you are glad to hear, but more importantly what you need to hear.

  David Cay Johnston

  Rochester, New York

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  © PHOTOGRAPH BY BONK JOHNSTON

  DAVID CAY JOHNSTON is a Pulitzer Prize–winning investigative reporter and bestselling author of The Making of Donald Trump. He has lectured on economics, journalism, and tax policy on every continent except Antarctica and is a former president of Investigative Reporters & Editors (IRE). Johnston teaches at Syracuse University College of Law. He has been a frequent guest on MSNBC, CNN, the BBC, ABC World News Tonight, Democracy Now!, and NPR’s Morning Edition, among other shows, and was a consultant for the Netflix series House of Cards.

  Visit the author at www.davidcayjohnston.com.

  MEET THE AUTHORS, WATCH VIDEOS AND MORE AT

  SimonandSchuster.com

  Authors.SimonandSchuster.com/David-Cay-Johnston

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  ALSO BY DAVID CAY JOHNSTON

  The Making of Donald Trump

  Divided: The Perils of Our Growing Inequality

  The Fine Print: How Big Companies Use “Plain English” to Rob You Blind

  Free Lunch: How the Wealthiest Americans Enrich Themselves at Government Expense (and Stick You with the Bill)

  Perfectly Legal: The Covert Campaign to Rig Our Tax System to Benefit the Super Rich—and Cheat Everybody Else

  Temples of Chance: How America Inc. Bought Out Murder Inc. to Win Control of the Casino Business

  We hope you enjoyed reading this Simon & Schuster ebook.

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  NOTES

  My policy is to promptly and forthrightly correct any errors. Readers who find any factual error are asked to point it out and send supporting documentation to davidcayjohnston@gmail.com.

  THE TRUMP FACTOR

  “Moscow and Bejing are deeply envious”: Kate Reilly, “Read Hillary Clinton’s Speech on Donald Trump and National Security,” Time, June 2, 2016 (with video), http://time.com/4355797/hillary-clinton-donald-trump-foreign-policy-speech-transcript/.

  KLEPTOCRACY RISING

  known as The Beast: Trump Inaugural Parade Motorcade, C-SPAN, Jan. 20, 2017, https://www.c-span.org/v
ideo/?422243-102/trump-inaugural-parade-motorcade.

  On the night before the Inauguration: Matthew Nussbaum, “Spicer on Trump Going to Hotel: ‘Shouldn’t Be a Shocker,’ ” Politico, Jan. 19, 2017, http://www.politico.com/story/2017/01/2017-trump-inauguration-hotel-visit-233837.

  Average room rates: “Donald Trump’s Conflicts of Interest,” Economist.com, Nov. 26, 2016, https://www.economist.com/news/business/21710828-weakness-trump-inc-may-pose-more-problem-its-sprawl-donald-trumps-conflicts.

  revenue per guest night was $653: Jonathan O’Connell, “Trump D.C. Hotel Turns $2 Million Profit in Four Months,” Washington Post, Aug. 10, 2017, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-dc-hotel-turns-2-million-profit-in-four-months/2017/08/10/23bd97f0-7e02-11e7-9d08-b79f191668ed_story.html?utm_term=.8f752b647aa0.

  “during my term(s) in office”: Donald J. Trump, Twitter, Dec. 12, 2016, https://twitter.com/realdonaldtrump/status/808529888630239232?lang=en.

  13 cents: Bruce Feirstein, “Trump’s War on ‘Losers’: The Early Years,” Vanity Fair, Aug. 12, 2015, https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2015/08/spy-vs-trump.

  separate lawsuit: Daniel Wagner, “Here Is Donald Trump’s Newly Released Videotaped Deposition,” BuzzFeed, Sept. 30, 2016, https://www.buzzfeed.com/danielwagner/trump-video-depositions.

  revocable trust: www.gsa.gov/portal/getMediaData?mediaId=157798.

  180-page report concluded: John F. Berry and Ted Gup, “Inquiry Clears Carter Family’s Peanut Business,” Washington Post, Oct. 17, 1979, https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1979/10/17/inquiry-clears-carter-familys-peanut-business/ca5371c9-f0a7-4809-9b7d-7a57e78b76b0/.

  EMOLUMENTS

  early 1800s: Norman L. Eisen, Richard Painter, and Laurence H. Tribe, “The Emoluments Clause: Its Text, Meaning, and Application to Donald J. Trump,” Governance Studies at Brookings Institution, Dec. 16, 2016, https://www.brookings.edu/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/gs_121616_emoluments-clause1.pdf.

  NASA scientist accept: United States Attorneys General, “Emoluments Clause Questions Raised by NASA Scientist’s Proposed Consulting Arrangement with the University of New South Wales,” Court Listener, Free Law Project, May 23, 1986, https://www.courtlistener.com/opinion/4343778/emoluments-clause-questions-raised-by-nasa-scientists-proposed-consulting/.

  profit, gain, benefit, and advantage: Samuel Johnson, A Dictionary of the English Language (W. Strahan, 1755), https://books.google.com/books?id=cNrI9Y4bY_QC&q=%22emolument%22#v=onepage&q=%22Emolument%22&f=false; John Mikhail, “ ‘Emolument’ in Blackstone’s Commentaries,” balkin.blogspot, May 28, 2017, https://balkin.blogspot.com/2017/05/emolument-in-blackstones-commentaries.html.

  remains in print today: A modern printed set sells new for about $450; there are many versions of the Commentaries in print, https://www.amazon.com/Blackstones-Commentaries-Constitution-Government-Commonwealth/dp/1886363153.

  extensive business holdings: Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington v. Donald J. Trump, https://www.courthousenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/Emoluments.pdf.

  “their bottom line”: Author interview, June 17, 2017.

  pending in summer 2017: Erika Kinetz, “Ivanka Trump Brand Applies for, Wins More China Trademarks,” Chicago Tribune, June 12, 2017, http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/national/ct-ivanka-trump-china-trademarks-20170612-story.html.

  the Trump family owned: Sui-Lee Wee, “Trump Adds More Trademarks in China,” New York Times, June 13, 2017, https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/13/business/trump-china-trademarks.html.

  “decisions made that quickly”: Erika Kinetz, “China Approves 9 Trump Trademarks Previously Rejected,” Associated Press, June 14, 2017, https://apnews.com/a891967cfe12428cb2f7ad05f8fcf594/China-approves-9-Trump-trademarks-previously-rejected.

  identify foreign government business: Trump Organization Brochure, “Donation of Profits from Foreign Government Patronage,” https://democrats-oversight.house.gov/sites/democrats.oversight.house.gov/files/documents/Trump%20Org%20Pamphlet%20on%20Foreign%20Profits.pdf.

  REFUSALS TO PAY

  lying, denying, or concealing: Office of Government Ethics, Form 450, 5 CFR Part 2634, Subpart I U.S., https://www.oge.gov/web/OGE.nsf/OGE%20Forms/A3FD8C0DFF0A2DAF85257EC10065A07F/$FILE/oge450_accessible%20(Jan2017).pdf?open.

  more than $50 million: Executive Branch Personnel Public Financial Disclosure Report (OGE Form 278e), Donald J. Trump, https://assets.documentcloud.org/documents/3867112/Trump-Financial-Disclosure-2017.pdf.

  broke the story: Jeff Ostrowski, “EXCLUSIVE: Donald Trump Sues Over Taxable Value of Jupiter Golf Club,” Palm Beach Post, July 13, 2017, http://www.mypalmbeachpost.com/news/exclusive-donald-trump-sues-over-taxable-value-jupiter-golf-club/LhGqsVNiBirUNR6JOAbUoI/.

  money for Russian oligarchs: Brian Bandell, “Trump Boosts Loan on Doral Golf Resort,” South Florida Business Journal, Aug. 13, 2015, https://www.bizjournals.com/southflorida/news/2015/08/13/trump-boosts-loan-on-doral-golf-resort.html.

  ordered them out immediately: Debra Cassens Weiss, “Trump’s Gold Club Must Pay $5.7M to Locked-Out Members, Judge Rules,” ABA Journal, Feb. 2, 2017, http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/trumps_golf_club_must_pay_5.7m_to_locked_out_members_judge_rules.

  Six months later Trump appealed: Andy Reid, “Trump Golf Club Fighting Millions in Reimbursements to Former Members,” Sun Sentinel, Aug. 8, 2017, http://www.sun-sentinel.com/local/palm-beach/fl-pn-trump-golf-lawsuit-appeal-20170808-story.html.

  Gloria Fried: Allan Dodds Frank, “Trump Organization Seeks Hefty Tax Break for Westchester Golf Club,” ABC News, June 21, 2017, http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/trump-organization-seeks-hefty-tax-break-westchester-golf/story?id=48179222.

  APPOINTEES

  “subglacial speed”: Karen Yourish and Gregor Aisch, “The Top Jobs in Trump’s Administration Are Mostly Vacant: Who’s to Blame?,” New York Times, July 20, 2017, https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/07/17/us/politics/trump-appointments.html.

  124 nominees confirmed: Kevin Uhrmacher and Kevin Schaul, “At August Recess, Trump Remains Behind on Confirmations,” Washington Post, Aug. 4, 2017, https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2017/politics/slow-pace-of-trump-confirmations/?utm_term=.66a5785ba9af.

  pipeline was empty, too: Partnership for Public Service, “Political Appointee Tracker,” https://ourpublicservice.org/issues/presidential-transition/political-appointee-tracker.php.

  took his oath: Julie Hirschfeld Davis, “In Break with Precedent, Obama Envoys Are Denied Extensions Past Inauguration,” New York Times, Jan. 5, 2017, https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/05/us/politics/trump-ambassadors.html.

  36 of 188 ambassadors: American Foreign Service Association, “Appointments—Donald J. Trump,” http://www.afsa.org/appointments-donald-j-trump.

  “Want approvals”: Donald J. Trump, Twitter, June 5, 2017, https://twitter.com/realdonaldtrump/status/871722020278587393?lang=en.

  “I want to thank him”: Gregory Korte and Jessica Estepa, “Trump Thanks Vladimir Putin for Expelling U.S. Diplomats from Russia: ‘We’re Trying to Cut Down Our Payroll,’ ” USA Today, Aug, 10, 2017, https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/onpolitics/2017/08/10/donald-trump-thanks-vladimir-putin-expelling-u-s-diplomats/557356001/.

  Mieke Eoyang: Author interview, July 31, 2017.

  Revolving Door Project: Center for Economic and Policy Research, biography of Jeff Hauser, http://cepr.net/about-us/staff/jeff-hauser-executive-director-of-the-revolving-door-project.

  “wholly inadequate”: Remarks of Walter M. Shaub, Jr., Director, U.S. Office of Government Ethics, as prepared for delivery at 4:00 p.m. on January 11, 2017, at the Brookings Institution, https://www.brookings.edu/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/20170111_oge_shaub_remarks.pdf.

  “undermines confidence in government”: David Smith, “Trump Risks US Being Seen as ‘Kleptocracy,’ Says Ex-Ethics Chief Walter Shaub,” The Guardian, July 31, 2017, https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/jul/31/trump-ethics-chief-walter-shaub-kleptocracy.

  HIDING IN THE BUDGET

&
nbsp; first report on the Trade and Development Agency: U.S. Trade and Development Agency Fiscal Year 2018 Congressional Budget Justification, n.d., https://www.ustda.gov/sites/default/files/Congressional%20Budget%20Justification%20-%20FY%202018.pdf.

  “doing business with North Korea”: Donald J. Trump, Twitter, Sept. 3, 2017, https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/904377075049656322.

  third largest buyer of American exports: Office of the United States Trade Representative, “The People’s Republic of China,” n.d., https://ustr.gov/countries-regions/china-mongolia-taiwan/peoples-republic-china.

  “over 2,400 megawatts of new renewable energy”: U.S. Trade and Development Agency, “Our Mission,” n.d., https://www.ustda.gov/about/mission.

  greater extraction and use of fossil fuels: Mathew Daly and Josh Boak, Associated Press, “Trump Plan Would Expand Oil Drilling in Arctic and Atlantic,” PBS NewsHour, June 29, 2017, http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/trump-plan-expand-oil-drilling-arctic-atlantic/.

  A MIGHTY JOB CREATOR

  signed five executive orders: The White House, Office of the Press Secretary, “Presidential Memorandum Regarding Construction of the Keystone XL Pipeline,” Jan. 24, 2017, https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2017/01/24/presidential-memorandum-regarding-construction-keystone-xl-pipeline.