Like most people, I’ve been having a bit of fun with Trump’s stupidity over Pence’s appearance at Hamilton, but it’s important to not get overwhelmed with this little distraction. It’s becoming increasingly clear that Trump does not plan to work as a president, or to treat the presidency as an actual political office. It would be more to point to change the name of this country to The Corporate Interests of the White One Percent, because that’s what is happening right under our collective nose. He plans to install his relatives into his “team” in spite of nepotism laws; he refuses to deal with his personal assets in the permitted ways; he’s more focused on the shoring up of his failing enterprises than anything else. Trump keeps handing key positions to very frightening people, who are more than willing to commit evil acts. So, sorry for the downer, but it’s important to keep up with what’s happening, rather than allow ourselves to be deluded by the idea that this presidency will just be a silly circus for the next four years. It may well be a silly circus, but it’s going to be a damn dangerous one, too.

Trump has decided on Sessions for Attorney General. Might as well change that to Inquisitor General, it’s much more suitable to Sessions’ inclinations and beliefs, which are frightening as all hells. Back when there was still some sanity in the republican party, they turned Sessions down for a federal judgeship as being too racist and extreme. That happened during the Reagan years. Yep. Starting to get an idea of what life might be like for everyone who is not pasty white? Combine Sessions being AG with Trump’s vow to reinstate stop and frisk. Do your homework on Sessions, because this news is every bit as bad as Bannon being appointed, perhaps worse. Sessions One. Sessions Two. Sessions Three. Sessions thinks anyone who smokes weed should not only be in prison, he thinks they shouldn’t get out. He’s also dead against the commutations of drug sentences President Obama recently signed.

Getting back to the President-elect for a bit, the kissing up is right on schedule, because you just don’t want to offend someone with all that money, right? We’re also marching straight into Kleptocracy, barely got to see Democracy leaving the building.

Think Progress has a very good run down on the things which happened on Friday, prior to the now infamous Hamilton tweet.

Trump agreed to settle a 25 million dollar fraud case against him

The case was a class-action fraud lawsuit brought by thousands of students of Trump University, who allege they were deliberately mislead about the quality of the instruction they would receive, and were urged to max out credit cards and wipe out their savings to pay for the expensive programs.

Trump settled, despite having claimed that he never settles and having repeatedly denied any wrongdoing. On Saturday morning, he also tweeted implying that despite insisting throughout his campaign that he was sure to win the case, he could in fact have been liable for much more money than the millions he paid out.

Democracy marched deeper into kleptocracy

Unlike previous presidents, Trump has made no attempt to separate his personal business interests from the presidency. Since his election, he’s made unprecedented moves that undo hundreds of years of democratic tradition separating personal and public interests.

The Washington Post reported Friday that over 100 foreign diplomats gathered at Trump’s new downtown D.C. hotel to “to sip Trump-branded champagne, dine on sliders and hear a sales pitch about the U.S. president-elect’s newest hotel.”

Before the election, Trump’s new hotel was reportedly struggling to attract clientele driven away by Trump’s divisive rhetoric and the bruising election campaign. Now, those looking for access and favor are flocking to the hotel as a way to curry favor with the president-elect.

“Why wouldn’t I stay at his hotel blocks from the White House, so I can tell the new president, ‘I love your new hotel!’ Isn’t it rude to come to his city and say, ‘I am staying at your competitor?’ ” an unnamed Asian diplomat told the Post.

Trump has previously waved aside concerns over the unprecedented conflict-of-interest his business dealings cause, saying that he’ll hand his company over to his children in a “blind trust.”

Handing control of his business to his children, however, is the opposite of a blind trust, in which assets are handed to a neutral third party. Trump has also made his children prominent members of his presidential transition team, meaning the same people shaping the next administration are also the ones in charge of growing Trump’s personal wealth.

Late on Thursday, his team also distributed a picture of Ivanka Trump sitting in on a diplomatic meeting. Ivanka is likely to be the next acting CEO of the president-elect’s companies.

The photo, and Ivanka’s presence in the meeting, sends a message: When you deal with Ivanka Trump as a businesswoman in charge of the Trump empire, you also deal with the power of the American presidency. And as Trump is essentially retaining ownership of his empire, her success means profit in his pockets.

Via Think Progress. Also recommended: Trump team backtracks on ‘drain the swamp’ — Lobbyists find way around ban on working with transition.