It seems President Trump isn’t’ the only one under fire these days. His daughter, Ivanka Trump, is now being accused of “improperly leveraging the power of the White House for private profit” by the San Francisco-based clothing company, Modern Appealing Clothing. According to the lawsuit filed by the clothing company last week, Ivanka Trump Marks LLC is has been “exploiting the power and prestige of the White House for personal gain” by promoting products at government events.
It seems President Trump isn’t the only one under fire these days. His daughter, Ivanka Trump, is now being accused of “improperly leveraging the power of the White House for private profit” by the San Francisco-based clothing company, Modern Appealing Clothing. According to the lawsuit filed by the clothing company last week, Ivanka Trump Marks LLC is has been “exploiting the power and prestige of the White House for personal gain” by promoting products at government events.
Many are aware of the drama surrounding the Ivanka Trump brand, especially since her father became the president. Many popular companies, including Nordstrom, have taken steps to disassociate themselves from Ivanka by discontinuing her product lines, and have garnered a great deal of criticism from President Trump in response to their actions. In fact, the lawsuit filed by Modern Appealing Clothing cited “President Trump’s recent criticism of Nordstrom and other retailers that dropped or downplayed the company’s products as an example of the unique advantages the firm enjoys.” Additionally, the lawsuit mentions “presidential adviser Kellyanne Conway’s televised endorsement of Ivanka Trump products with the White House insignia visible behind her.” Even the White House press secretary and communications director, Sean Spicer, is being called out in the lawsuit for using his position “to support the first daughter’s business.”
Because of all of this aid Ivanka’s firm seems to be receiving from White House personnel, the lawsuit claims it’s creating unfair competition and is actually in violation of a constitutional provision, “as well as federal and state laws.” But what does Modern Appealing Clothing hope to get out of the lawsuit? Well, on “behalf of other women’s clothing and accessories businesses in California that have competed with Trump’s fashion firm,” they would like a “court order barring Trump’s company from continuing to compete unfairly.”
But not everyone is on board with this latest lawsuit against a member of the Trump family. According to John Coffee, a professor at Columbia Law School in New York City, this lawsuit “represents a back-door attempt to use the U.S. Constitution’s emoluments clause to support the unfair competition claim.” The clause, which “bars federal officials from accepting payments or gifts from foreign governments,” would only apply to President Trump in this case, not Ivanka Trump. In a statement from Coffee, he said:
“This is a lawsuit against political correctness. I’m all for being a pain in the butt for President Trump. But I’ve got to tell you, as a law professor, the case isn’t very strong.”
Sources:
Ivanka Trump firm accused of exploiting White House for profit
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