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Donald Trump, NATO, Boeing: Your Thursday Briefing New York Times President Trump may ask Stephen A. Feinberg, a billionaire investor and a member of his economic advisory council, to lead an assessment of spy operations. The possibility has top intelligence officials on edge and fearing that a review by a Trump ally ... and more »

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Donald Trump, NATO, Boeing: Your Thursday Briefing - New York Times

Donald Trump gives a thumbs-up before boarding Marine One on his way to Mar-a-Lago on February 3, 2017.

By Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images.

President Donald Trumps first month in office has been dogged by one misstep after anotherbotched executive orders and attacks on the judiciary, punctuated by bizarre, and often inappropriate, boasting about the size of his electoral victory and inauguration crowd. He has done little to address the cavalcade of scandals that have already become a defining feature of his presidency, from the shadow of intrigue hanging over his campaigns dealings with Russia to his undiplomatic threats against U.S. allies, derailing any momentum on his inchoate legislative agenda. Theres an inquiry into his ownership of the Trump International Hotel just down Pennsylvania Avenue, a call to discipline his counselor Kellyanne Conway for giving his daughter Ivankas brand a free commercial on Fox News, and an investigation underway about whether or not theres enough security in place at Mar-a-Lago after the president decided to review national-security documents on a terrace at the Palm Beach resort last weekend in plain view of prying dinner guests.

Still, there is some good news for Trump and his personal brand, if not for his already embattled administration. According to ABC News, Trump received a big, fat gift from China this week in the form of a 10-year trademark on his name for construction.

RELATED VIDEO: Steve Bannon, the Shadow President

The award marks a sudden reversal of fortunes for Trump, who had reportedly been trying to win the valuable rights to his name for a decade. Interestingly, the Chinese government came through for him one month after he took the oath of office and a week after his conversation with Chinese president Xi Jinping during which he endorsed the One China policy. After years of battling to take back the rights to his name from a man named Dong Wei, Trumps registration was made official on Tuesday and announced by Chinas trademark office on Wednesday.

There are several problems with this. First, it is easy to see how the approval of the Trump Organizations application can be viewed as a foreign government giving favorable treatment to a presidents business, even though Trump has allegedly removed himself from day-to-day operations. His two adult sons still run the company, and since he did not divest, he still benefits from any financial gains. Second, with that financial benefit, ethics experts note that this could be leverage for the Chinese government to use over the president. And third, despite the fact that most conflict-of-interest laws dont apply to the president, such a ruling from the Chinese government may violate the Emoluments Clause of the U.S. Constitution, which prohibits a president from accepting any gift or anything of value from a foreign government or entity. A trademark, whichTrump appeared to value for a decade, could be perceived as unconstitutional.

Its fair to conclude that this is an effort to influence Mr. Trump that is relatively inexpensive for the Chinese.

Trumps attorneys in China say the ruling in his favor was made on the strength of his legal claim, not his position. It is not possible that President Trump got favors from Chinese government, Zhou Dandan of Unitalen Attorneys at Law in Beijing told The Washington Post. Alan Garten, chief legal officer at the Trump Organization, told the Associated Press that Trumps trademark application predated the election. The Chinese government has also recently tightened its standards for intellectual property rights, including issuing new rules forbidding people like Dong Wei from trademarking the names of public figures, like Trump.

Critics see an attempt by Beijing to use its influence over Trumps business dealings to control the president. There can be no question that it is a terrible idea for Donald Trump to be accepting the registration of these valuable property rights from China while hes a sitting president of the United States, Norman Eisen, a former White House ethics lawyer for President Barack Obama, told the AP. Its fair to conclude that this is an effort to influence Mr. Trump that is relatively inexpensive for the Chinese, potentially very valuable to him, but it could be very costly for the United States.

Eisen is among a group of former White House lawyers, constitutional scholars, and prominent litigators currently suing the president over foreign governments paying to stay at his hotels and renting space at his office buildings. The group, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, alleges that accepting such payments violates the Emoluments Clause. (Trumps lawyer has stated that it does not, because hotel payments are a fair value exchange, and that cannot be considered an emolument.)

However the lawsuit proceeds, this is a question Trump is likely to face repeatedly throughout his presidency. In China alone, ABC reports, Trump has 49 pending trademark applications and 77 already registered, most of which will come up for renewal while he is in office. At the same time, the Trump Organization is planning to expand its hotel footprint across the U.S., which means more opportunities for foreign governments to try to curry favor with the Trump family by booking rooms and banquets.

The silver lining, and there arent many, is that there is so much chaos surrounding President Trump and his administration that an ethically ambiguous trademark approval easily gets swallowed up. At least business is moving forward just fine.

This article has been updated.

Losing to wind next to his helicopter in Scotland.

Losing to wind at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland.

Losing to wind as he heads to Indiana.

Losing to wind while hes in Scotland to discuss bankrolling an anti-wind-farm campaign in order to fight an off-shore development near his luxury golf resort.

Losing to wind in the presence of Tom Brady.

Losing to wind while waving.

Putting up a good fight but ultimately losing to wind in Scotland.

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Losing to wind next to his helicopter in Scotland.

By Michael McGurk/Alamy.

Losing to wind at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland.

By Nicholas Kamm/AFP/Getty Images.

Losing to wind as he heads to Indiana.

By Timothy A. Clary/AFP/Getty Images.

Losing to wind while hes in Scotland to discuss bankrolling an anti-wind-farm campaign in order to fight an off-shore development near his luxury golf resort.

By Danny Lawson/PA/A.P.

Losing to wind while he talks to Patriots owner Robert Kraft before a game.

From Splash News.

Losing to wind at the house on the Isle of Lewis, Scotland, where his mother was born before she immigrated to the United States in 1929.

From PA/Alamy.

Losing to wind while boarding the Marine One helicopter at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland.

By Jonathan Ernst/Reuters.

Losing to wind while leaving One World Trade in New York.

By Timothy A. Clary/AFP/Getty Images.

Losing to wind in the presence of Tom Brady.

From Boston Herald/Splash News.

Losing to wind while waving.

By Rob Carr/Getty Images.

Putting up a good fight but ultimately losing to wind in Scotland.

By Michael McGurk/Rex/Shutterstock.

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Donald Trump May Have Just Committed an Impeachable Offense - Vanity Fair

On Thursday, President Trump nominated a law school dean as the next secretary of labor after his first choice for the job went down in flames.

R. Alexander Acosta, currently the dean of Florida International University College of Law, served as assistant attorney general for the Department of Justice under President George W. Bush. Acosta is the first Hispanic person nominated to Trumps cabinet.

I just want to begin by mentioning that the nominee for secretary of the Department of Labor will be Mr. Alex Acosta, Trump said at a press conference Thursday afternoon. He has a law degree from Harvard Law School, great student. Former clerk for Justice Samuel Alito. Hes had a tremendous career.

The candidacy of Trumps first choice, Andrew Puzder, collapsed amid a series of high-profile scandals. Puzder withdrew his candidacy on Wednesday after several Senate Republicans said theyd refuse to support him.

Acosta should have an easier time getting through. His CV suggests a relatively typical path to the top of the federal bureaucracy Harvard University; Harvard Law School; clerk on the US Court of Appeals; years in the Department of Justice; work on labor issues for a Washington, DC, law firm.

Acosta also served from 2002 to 2003 on the National Labor Relations Board. He has already been confirmed by the Senate for federal position on three separate occasions, according to his website. The contrast with Puzder a fast-food CEO who had no record of public service, embraced salacious ads of bikini-clad models gorging on burgers, and faced accusations of assaulting his ex-wife could hardly be more stark.

Few Senate Democrats had reacted publicly to Acostas selection shortly after news of it broke Thursday afternoon.

An early look at Acostas record suggests theyll be torn.

The Civil Rights Division under George W. Bush has become a watchword for progressives a model of what conservatives do with parts of the federal government they dont like. The division deemphasized some kinds of cases (like voting rights) and "hired lawyers for career positions based on their political or ideological affiliations, in the words of a DOJ Office of the Inspector General report from 2009.

Acosta didnt direct the politicization of the Civil Rights Division, according to the inspector general that was done by one of his underlings, Deputy Assistant Attorney General Bradley Schlozman. But Acosta certainly failed to stop it. The report concludes that Acosta "did not sufficiently supervise Schlozman, despite red flags about Schlozmans conduct and judgment."

Still, other parts of Acostas record appear likely to comfort Democrats. As Reuters notes, Acosta pursued high-profile defendants such as Jack Abramoff and the Swiss bank UBS while the US attorney for the Southern District of Florida.

And Acosta is already winning praise in left-leaning circles on Twitter for a speech he gave to Congress in 2011 about the importance of protecting the civil rights of American Muslims. Particularly given liberal fears about how Trumps attorney general will go after the rights of minorities, Acostas words about the necessity of prosecuting perpetrators of hate crimes against Muslims may offer some solace:

Starting in September 2001, the Department of Justice took great effort to address post-9/11 backlash against Arab Americans, Muslim Americans, and others, who though members of different faiths (such as Sikh Americans) were nonetheless the target of backlash.

From 2001 through early 2005, the Department investigated more than 630 backlash incidents, which resulted in nearly 150 state and local prosecutions (many with federal assistance), and the federal prosecution of 27 defendants in 22 cases. Some were particularly violent. ...

These efforts following 9/11 were important. They set a tone. They reminded those who might be tempted to take out their anger on an entire community that such actions were wrong.

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Donald Trump just named his next labor secretary nominee - Vox

Experts have raised the possibility that Flynn may have violated the obscure Logan Act, which bars private citizens from interfering in foreign relations. And on Tuesday, Democrats and Republicans on the Hill began questioning whether anyone else, including Trump, knew what Flynn was doing.Spicer denied that Trump ever asked Flynn to discuss the sanctions.But he insisted Trump had no problem with Flynn talking to Russian officials.

I cant state it clearly enough: There was nothing in what Gen. Flynn did in terms of conducting himself that was an issue, Spicer said, adding that the White House counsel agreed with this assessment.

Instead, what bothered the president, according to Spicer, was that Flynn told Vice President Mike Pence that he never discussed sanctions and Pence subsequently went on television and said so, repeating Flynns lie.

The Washington Post reported that the Department of Justice first informed the administration last month that it believed Flynn had misled the administration when he said he had not discussed sanctions during the late December call. Acting Attorney General Sally Yates also said she believed Flynn was vulnerable to blackmail from the Russians because of the information he was hiding. Trump later fired Yates because she refused to defend his ban on refugees and travelers from seven majority-Muslim countries.

NBC reported Tuesday that Pence didnt learn about the Justice Departments concerns about Flynn until Feb. 9, 11 days after Trump and other White House officials heard about them.

That was the same day that the Washington Post first reported and made public the fact that Flynn had discussed sanctions.

Spicer continued to say no conversations with Russian officials took place during the campaign despite reports that members of Trumps team did so and wouldnt say whether the White House would declassify the transcripts of Flynns calls about the sanctions.

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Donald Trump Had 'No Problem' With Michael Flynn Talking To The Russians - Huffington Post

President Donald Trump holds up a signed executive order to advance construction of the Keystone XL pipeline at the White House on Jan. 24. Kevin Lamarque / Reuters

Here's an updated overview of each of Trump's orders:

Executive Order Minimizing the Economic Burden of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act

Hours after being sworn in, Trump signed an executive order aimed at reversing the Affordable Care Act Obama's landmark legislation which Republicans vowed to "repeal and replace" throughout the campaign.

The executive order states that the Trump administration will "seek prompt repeal" of the law. To minimize the "economic burden" of Obamacare, the order instructs the secretary of health and human services and other agency heads to "waive, defer, grant exemptions from, or delay the implementation" of any part of the law that places a fiscal burden on the government, businesses or individuals.

Also in the order are directions to give states more control over implementing health-care laws.

Expediting Environmental Reviews and Approvals for High-Priority Infrastructure Projects

The order outlines how the administration will expedite environmental reviews and approval of "high priority" infrastructure projects, such as repairs to bridges, airports and highways.

The order directs the Chairman of the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ), within 30 days of a request, to determine a project's environmental impact and decide whether it is "high priority." Project review deadlines are to be put in place by the CEQ's chairman.

The order is widely believed to have been issued in response to the protests against the Dakota Access Pipeline.

Enhancing Public Safety in the Interior of the United States

The order outlines changes to a few immigration policies, but most notably it strips federal grant money to so-called sanctuary cities.

In addition, the secretary of homeland security is ordered to hire 10,000 more immigration officers, create a publicly available weekly list of crimes committed by undocumented immigrants and review previous immigration policies.

The order also creates an office to assist the victims of crimes committed by undocumented immigrants and calls on local and state police to detain or apprehend people in the United States illegally.

Border Security and Immigration Enforcement Improvements

The order is aimed at fulfilling one of Trump's key campaign promises enhancing border security by directing federal funding to construction of a wall along the Mexico-U.S. border. It instructs the secretary of homeland security to prepare congressional budget requests for the wall and to "end the abuse of parole and asylum provisions" that complicate the removal of undocumented immigrants.

Other parts of the order call for hiring 5,000 more Border Patrol agents, building facilities to hold undocumented immigrants near the Mexican border and ending "catch-and-release" protocols, in which immigrants in the United States without documentation are not detained while they await court hearings.

Protecting the Nation From Foreign Terrorist Entry Into the United States

The order suspends the entry of immigrants from seven Muslim-majority countries Syria, Iran, Iraq, Libya, Sudan, Yemen and Somolia for 90 days and stops all refugees from entering the country for 120 days. Syrian refugees are banned indefinitely. During the time of the ban, the secretary of homeland security and the secretary of state will review and revise the refugee admission process.

Also in the order is the suspension of Obama's 2012 Visa Interview Waiver Program, which allowed frequent U.S. tourists to bypass the visa interview process.

White House officials have made a number of contradictory statements, at times calling the order a "ban" and at other times referring to it as a "travel restriction." After the order was signed, thousands of protesters popped up at airports across the country to denounce it.

Ethics Commitments by Executive Branch Appointees

This order stops all executive branch officials from lobbying for five years after they leave office and places a lifetime ban on lobbying a foreign government.

The order enacts a number of other lobbying restrictions, including, banning appointees from accepting gifts from registered lobbyists and banning appointees who were lobbyists from participating in any issues they petitioned for within the last two years.

Some raised concerns over how Trump will

Reducing Regulation and Controlling Regulatory Costs

The order states that executive departments and agencies must slash two regulations for every one new regulation proposed. Regulation spending cannot exceed $0, and any costs associated with regulations must be offset with eliminations.

The order also directs the head of each agency to keep records of the cost savings, to be sent to the president.

Core Principles for Regulating the United States Financial System

The order lays the administration's "Core Principles" regarding the U.S. financial system, which includes:

The order directs the treasury secretary to review financial regulations and report back to the president 120 days later with a determination of whether current policies promote the "Core Principles."

Task Force on Crime Reduction and Public Safety

The order directs Attorney General Jeff Sessions to create a task force that would propose new legislation to reduce crime, highlighting drug trafficking, illegal immigration and violent crime. The task force will submit yearly reports to the president.

Throughout the campaign, Trump promised voters a return to "law and order" in the United States and said minorities from inner cities are

Preventing Violence Against Federal, State, Tribal, and Local Law Enforcement Officers

The order calls on the Justice Department to "enhance the protection and safety" of law enforcement by increasing penalties for crimes committed against officers.

The attorney general is also instructed to review and determine whether existing federal laws adequately protect law enforcement and later to propose legislation to better protect officers. The order directs the Justice Department to recommend changes in federal grant funding to law enforcement programs if they do not protect officers.

Enforcing Federal Law With Respect to Transnational Criminal Organizations and Preventing International Trafficking

The order outlines the administration's approach to cutting down on organized crime including gangs, cartels and racketeering organizations by enhancing cooperation with foreign governments and the ways in which federal agencies share information and data.

It identifies human trafficking, drug smuggling, financial crimes, cyber-crime and corruption as "a threat to public safety and national security."

The Threat Mitigation National Intelligence of which Sessions, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, and the secretary of homeland security are co-chairmen will review and recommend changes to federal agencies' practices in a report to be delivered to the president within 120 days.

Providing an Order of Succession Within the Department of Justice

Two weeks after Trump fired Acting Attorney General Sally Yates, this order changes the order of succession for Sessions, who won approval as attorney general last week. The sequence is: the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, the U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Illinois and the U.S. attorney for the Western District of Missouri.

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Here's the Full List of Donald Trump's Executive Orders - NBCNews.com