By KAREN YOURISH and WILSON ANDREWS JAN. 18, 2017 Images of Donald J. Trump and his daughter Ivanka have been used extensively by the Trump Organization and its business partners to sell a wealth of products like clothing and jewelry, luxury real estate, hotels and golf clubs.
Over the last week, the Trump Organization and some of its marketing partners have been removing imagery of Mr. Trump and Ms. Trump from their websites. In the last two days, that process accelerated.
Although federal ethics rules prohibit government employees from using their images to sell products, those rules do not apply to the president. Nevertheless, previous White House ethics offices have acted as if they do.
“We would not allow an image of the president or the first lady — or anyone acting as first lady — to be used on a commercial website to make money,” said Richard W. Painter, a former chief White House ethics lawyer for former President George W. Bush.
On Jan. 11, the president elect announced plans that he said would remove conflicts between his company and his presidency, and Ms. Trump said she would sever ties with the Trump Organization and her own company.
Norman Eisen, former chief White House ethics lawyer for President Obama, said he welcomed those changes but said they did not take care of the overall conflicts stemming from Mr. Trump’s continued ownership of his businesses.
“The problem is, like all of the Trump conflict remedies, these are half-measures and Band-Aids that tape over a gaping wound. Until Mr. Trump definitively severs his ownership with these businesses, the conflicts and the myriad of controversies and risk of scandal and corruption that flow from them are going to continue unabated,” Mr. Eisen said.
Trump Towers Pune, India
Trump-branded real estate project
A slideshow originally featured several photos of Ivanka and Donald J. Trump, in addition to a rendering of the two residential towers.
These are the other images that were removed from the slideshow:
Trump Tower at Century City, Philippines
Trump-branded real estate
A large photo of Donald J. Trump has been taken down:
This quote from Mr. Trump that was at the top of the page was removed:
A link and a page advertising Ivanka Trump’s jewelry line were also removed:
Trump Tower Mumbai
Trump-branded real estate
The site changed the “Trump Brand” link to bypass the family photo but the original page is still up.
Trump.com
Ivanka Trump’s bio was taken down from the Trump Organization’s corporate site.
Trump International Realty
Real estate brokerage firm
Photos and bios of Donald J. Trump and Ivanka Trump, as well as a family photo, were taken down from the firm’s leadership page.
The text remains the same and still refers to all four family members. Trump.com
The Trump Golf text that appears on mouse over changed.
But it remains the same on Trump Golf.
Trump International Hotel and Tower Chicago
Owned by Donald J. Trump
The “welcome page” formerly featured a photo of Mr. Trump and text written in the first person. It also linked to a “video introduction by Ivanka Trump.” That link has been taken down but the page still exists.
Trump International Hotel Las Vegas
Owned by Donald J. Trump
But there may be more changes to come.
As of 3 p.m. on Jan. 18, these web pages still featured images of Donald and Ivanka Trump.
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