Trump Executive Order and the Latest National Emergency

[Lauren Johnson]

Trump quietly signed an executive order a week ago with alarmingly broad language allowing for the taking of assets of persons violating human rights. Here is the key paragraph:

[FONT=&amp]I, DONALD J. TRUMP, President of the United States of America, find that the prevalence and severity of human rights abuse and corruption that have their source, in whole or in substantial part, outside the United States, such as those committed or directed by persons listed in the Annex to this order, have reached such scope and gravity that they threaten the stability of international political and economic systems. Human rights abuse and corruption undermine the values that form an essential foundation of stable, secure, and functioning societies; have devastating impacts on individuals; weaken democratic institutions; degrade the rule of law; perpetuate violent conflicts; facilitate the activities of dangerous persons; and undermine economic markets. The United States seeks to impose tangible and significant consequences on those who commit serious human rights abuse or engage in corruption, as well as to protect the financial system of the United States from abuse by these same persons.

[/FONT][FONT=&amp]I therefore determine that serious human rights abuse and corruption around the world constitute an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security, foreign policy, and economy of the United States, and I hereby declare a [/FONT]national emergency[FONT=&amp] to deal with that threat....[/FONT]

It now appears that the EO is being used to target the core of the Democratic Party. From ZeroHedge:

The Trump Administration quietly issued an Executive Order (EO) last Thursday which allows for the freezing of US-housed assets belonging to foreign individuals or entities deemed "serious human rights abusers," along with government officials andexecutives of foreign corporations (current or former) found to have engaged in corruption - which includes the misappropriation of state assets, the expropriation of private assets for personal gain, and corruption related to government contracts or the extraction of natural resources. Furthermore, anyone in the United States who aids or participates in said corruption or human rights abuses by foreign parties is subject to frozen assets - along with any U.S. corporation who employs foreigners deemed to have engaged in corruption on behalf of the company.

In fact, anyone in the world who has "materially assisted, sponsored, or provided financial, material or technological support for, or goods or services" to foreigners targeted by the Executive Order is subject to frozen assets.

The EO, based on the 2016 Global Human Rights Accountability Act, immediately added 13 foreign individuals to a list of "Specially Designated Nationals" (SDN) maintained by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) - several of whom have ties to the Clintons, the Clinton Foundation, or Clinton associates (details below). Moreover, the Treasury Department sanctioned an additional 39 people, for a total of 52 under the new order - including the son of Russia's prosecutor general.

Last Week's Executive Order could have serious implications for D.C. lobbyists who provide "goods and services" (e.g. lobbying services) to despots, corrupt foreign politicians or foreign organizations engaging in the crimes described in the EO. "Virtually every lobbyist in DC has got to be in a cold sweat over the scope of this EO," said an attorney consulted in the matter who wishes to remain anonymous.

And because the phrase "person" means "an individual or entity" in the order - any US organization which merely employs a foreigner engaging in the listed offenses is also subject to frozen assets. "Consider, what would happen if Apple, say employed a foreign national who bribed a PRC official for government approvals? How about a hypothetical case of a company like Northrop or Boeing where an employee, or consultant, who is a foreign national bribes a Saudi official to direct government purchases of airplanes and military equipment? At least some or all of their assets could be frozen."...

Hypothetically, if the Uranium One deal is deemed corrupt by the Trump administration, and "Russian nuclear officials" indeed routed millions of dollars to the Clinton Foundation, and Tony Podesta lobbied on behalf of the deal for the Clinton Foundation - it stands to reason that this Executive Order could freeze the US-housed assets of quite a few individuals. Of note, assets can be frozen with no prior warning, as Trump has declared a national emergency due to the "scope and gravity" of the threat posed by said individuals.

A national emergency? That means the Unitary Executive can do what he wants.