CONYERS: Judiciary Democrats Press Ivanka Trump Brand About Conflicts Of Interest

After Vague Response to Previous Inquiry, Dems Want Real Answers

Washington, D.C. – After receiving a vague response to a previous inquiry, below, House Judiciary Committee Democrats today pressed Ivanka Trump Operations, below, for answers on their business dealings with foreign countries and Ivanka Trump’s involvement with the company. 

On May 3, 2017, every Democratic member of the House Judiciary Committee sent letters to White House Counsel Donald McGahn and to Abigail Klem, president of Ivanka Trump Operations LLC, seeking information about potential conflicts of interest.  The Committee received a response from Mrs. Klem on May 17.  Describing this response as “somewhat incomplete,” today the members wrote again, below, to Mrs. Klem to request additional information.

These letters were prompted by Ms. Trump’s meetings with leaders from China and Japan and the swift, subsequent approval of valuable trademarks for her company by those foreign governments. 

Federal law prohibits the participation of any federal employee in any “decision, approval, disapproval, the rendering of advice, . . . or other particular matter” that will affect his or her own financial interests.  Although Ivanka Trump resigned from her management role with IT Operations LLC before joining the White House as an advisor to her father, she still stands to benefit financially from the expansion of her brand overseas.  Recent reporting suggests that Ms. Trump may have participated in several official meetings with representatives from countries in which her brand seeks to do business.

Today’s letter was signed by every Democratic member of the U.S. House Judiciary Committee, including: Representatives John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI), Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), Zoe Lofgren (D-CA), Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX), Steve Cohen (D-TN), Hank Johnson (D-GA), Ted Deutch (D-FL), Luis Gutierrez (D-IL), Karen Bass (D-CA), Cedric Richmond (D-LA), Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), David Cicilline (D-RI), Eric Swalwell (D-CA), Ted Lieu (D-CA), Jamie Raskin (D-MD), Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) and Brad Schneider (D-IL). 

The May 3^rd letters to the WH Counsel and IT Operations are available here.

The May 17^th letter from IT Operations is, below.

Judiciary Democrats Press Ivanka Trump Brand (IT Operations, LLC) About Conflicts Of Interest 6.12.2017 by Beverly Tran on Scribd

Ivanka Trump Brand (IT Operations, LLC) Response Letter To U.S. House Judiciary Ranking Member Conyers 05.1... by Beverly Tran on Scribd

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Reps. John Conyers, Jr. and Debbie Dingell & Sen. Gary Peters to Meet with Detroit Entrepreneurs at USPTO Patent & Innovation Forum

DETROIT, MI –U.S. Reps. John Conyers (MI-13) and Debbie Dingell (MI-12) and U.S. Senator Gary Peters (D - MI) will meet with entrepreneurs and local small business owners at a patent and innovation forum TOMORROW, April 17^th, at 4:00 PM at the Elijah J. McCoy United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) in Detroit.  They will be joined by Michelle Lee, Undersecretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director, USPTO, and A. Christal Sheppard, Director of the USPTO in Detroit.

WHAT:           Elected officials to meet with Detroit Entrepreneurs at USPTO Patent and Innovation Forum

WHO:             U.S. Senator Gary Peters (D-MI)

                        U.S. Representative John Conyers (MI-13)

                        U.S. Representative Debbie Dingell (MI- 12)

Michelle Lee, Undersecretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director, USPTO

A.    Christal Sheppard, Director, USPTO in Detroit

WHEN:           TOMORROW, April 17, 2015  -  4:00 PM

WHERE:        The Stroh Atrium - Detroit USPTO Office

                        300 River Place, Detroit, MI (map)

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Senate, House Committee Leaders Push to Preserve IP Standards, Market Access for Products Around the Globe

In Letter, Bipartisan Leaders on Senate Finance, House Ways & Means, and Senate & House Judiciary Committees Call for Full Participation of WIPO Members In Negotiations to Amend Lisbon Agreement

WASHINGTON – Today, leaders on the international trade and judicial committees in the U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives called on the Director General of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), Francis Gurry, to ensure all WIPO members have an equal voice in amending the Lisbon Agreement for the Protection of Appellations of Origin. The lawmakers want to ensure that any potential changes to the treaty preserve protections for users of common or generic names and for holders of established trademarks around the globe.

The Lisbon Agreement is a WIPO-administered treaty that allows parties to the agreement to simultaneously register Appellations of Origin with all parties to the agreement.  The proposed changes would substantially expand the scope of the Lisbon Agreement to allow for registration of Geographical Indications (GI’s) and could threaten market access for many common products, such as feta cheese, around the world.

Given that only 28 of the 188 WIPO members are parties to the Lisbon Agreement, lawmakers in Congress are concerned that departing from WIPO’s longstanding practice to allow this limited group of WIPO Members to amend the Agreement could result in unwanted changes that would ultimately harm workers and businesses in the United States and around the world.

“WIPO’s legitimacy as a global forum for the protection of intellectual property throughout the world could be called into question by departing from standard practice and allowing a limited group of WIPO Members to substantially amend the Lisbon Agreement in a way that harms market access and the intellectual property rights of stakeholders from other WIPO Members, including the United States,” wrote the lawmakers. “Such a step would be contrary to longstanding WIPO practice, which is to encourage broad participation because of the far-reaching effect of its decisions.  Therefore, we strongly urge you to do everything possible to ensure all WIPO Members have an equal voice in determining any revisions to the Lisbon Agreement.”

Signing the letter today were: Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) and Ranking Member Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Ranking Member Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont), House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) and Ranking Member Sander Levin (D-Mich.), and House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) and Ranking Member John Conyers, Jr. (D-Mich.)

The Senate Finance and House Ways & Means Committees have jurisdiction over international trade policy and the Senate and House Judiciary Committees have jurisdiction over intellectual property law and the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. 

Senate, House Committee Leaders Push to Preserve IP Standards, Market Access for Products Around the Globe

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