--- title: Trump Inauguration: ACLU Outlines Plan to Tackle Trump description: The American Civil Liberties Union has taken legal action to obtain documents that may show Donald Trump’s potential conflicts of interest. canonical: https://time.com/4640947/aclu-donald-trump-inauguration-plan/ author: Melissa Chan article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-01-20T16:12:52.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:49:12.715Z article:section: Politics og:title: ACLU Outlines Plan to Tackle Donald Trump’s Administration og:description: The civil rights group has taken legal action and plans to hire 100 workers og:url: https://time.com/4640947/aclu-donald-trump-inauguration-plan/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9b2343a0e3ee8303/6988b65f7cdbac1370d56d9b/donald-trump-aclu.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1024 og:image:height: 576 og:image:alt: Donald Trump Holds Campaign Rally In Virginia Beach og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: ACLU Outlines Plan to Tackle Donald Trump’s Administration twitter:description: The civil rights group has taken legal action and plans to hire 100 workers twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9b2343a0e3ee8303/6988b65f7cdbac1370d56d9b/donald-trump-aclu.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # 'President Trump Is Not Above the Law.' ACLU Outlines Plan to Tackle Donald Trump’s Administration > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: September 2026. ## TIME Newsletters: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition TIME publishes seven free email newsletters, written and edited by TIME journalists, reaching more than 1.1 million engaged readers. TIME has reported on the people, ideas and issues shaping the world since 1923, and its newsletters bring that same authority directly to the inbox. 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Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=d54a7abd-3574-41b7-9b61-8aa69f3ac136&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Donald Trump Runs for President: A Look Back [Watch (HLS stream): Donald Trump Runs for President: A Look Back](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/dgn8DCbB.m3u8) (7:19)  _Published 2016-10-31. In one of the most shocking U.S. elections in modern political history, Donald Trump has defeated Hillary Clinton._  by [Melissa Chan](https://time.com/author/melissa-chan/)  ## Melissa Chan Jan 20, 2017 4:12 PM UTC  Donald Trump pauses during a campaign event on Sept. 6, 2016 in Virginia Beach, Virginia. Donald Trump pauses during a campaign event on Sept. 6, 2016 in Virginia Beach, Virginia. Alex Wong—Getty Images  by [Melissa Chan](https://time.com/author/melissa-chan/)  ## Melissa Chan Jan 20, 2017 4:12 PM UTC The American Civil Liberties Union has taken legal action to obtain government documents that may show [President-elect Donald Trump’s](http://time.com/4640703/donald-trump-inauguration-day-2017/?xid=homepage) potential conflicts of interest, [the national organization said Friday](https://www.aclu.org/blog/speak-freely/here-aclus-7-point-plan-action-take-trump-administration). The ACLU, a non-profit civil rights group, outlined its plan to challenge the incoming president’s policies and administration, which includes [filing a Freedom of Information Act request](https://www.aclu.org/blog/speak-freely/first-many-aclu-foia-request-seeks-information-about-new-presidents-conflicts) to get government agencies that specifically handle ethics and law to provide all documents relating to Trump’s business connections. Documents include legal opinions, memoranda, advisories and communications, filed between Election Day and Trump’s official inauguration, from agencies that include the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel and the Office of Government Ethics. The ACLU is also seeking to obtain emails to and from the presidential transition team. “We are bringing this first legal action using the Freedom of Information Act to underscore the fact that President Trump is not above the law,” Anthony Romero, executive director of the ACLU, said in a statement. “Freedom of information requests are our democracy’s X-ray, and they will be vitally important to expose and curb the abuses of a president who believes the rules don’t apply to him and his family.” Part of the ACLU’s plan over the next four years is to beef up its staff by adding up to 100 full-time employees across the country. The group said the nearly 400,000 donations it received since Nov. 8 will help with its mission. The ACLU revealed its outline in tackling Trump’s administration hours before Trump was set to be inaugurated. At a highly anticipated news conference last week, Trump said he has [relinquished control of his business](http://time.com/4631597/donald-trump-business-separation/) empire to his two sons and has moved all assets into a trust to avoid having potential conflicts of interest. ## Transcript [00:00] I am officially running Aah, yeah [ APPLAUSE ]. [00:04] for President of the United States [ APPLAUSE ] and [00:08] we are going to make our country great again. The [00:13] American Dream is dead, but [00:18] if I get elected President I will bring it back [00:22] bigger and better and stronger than [00:27] ever before and we will make America [00:31] great again. I was called by a major [00:35] major reporter whose name I won't use. And he said to [00:38] me what you've done has never been done Male 1: In [00:41] the history of United States politics. And more and [00:44] more people are resonating to what I'm saying. That's [00:47] why I'm leading in every poll. We will have so much [00:50] winning if I get elected that you may get bored with [00:53] winning. I think I have to win. I'm about winning. Male [00:57] 2: It's been amazing to follow and exciting because [01:00] you say some shocking Things [ LAUGH ] You've called [01:04] women you don't like fat pigs, dogs, slabs, [01:09] and disgusting animals. Your Twitter account. Only [01:12] Rosie O'Donnell Look at those hands, are they small [01:15] hands? [01:17] And he referred to my hands, if they're small [01:21] something else must be small. I guarantee you there's [01:23] no problem there, I guarantee it. I could stand in the [01:26] middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody and I [01:28] wouldn't lose any voters okay? You gotta see this guy, I [01:31] don't know what I said. I don't remember. [ APPLAUSE ] [01:36] Here's a guy throwing punches, nasty as hell, [01:38] screaming and everything else when we're talking. I [01:41] mean what can happen, and we're not allowed, you [01:43] know the guards are very gently with him, he's walking [01:45] out like big high fives. Smiling, laughing, like to punch [01:49] him in the face. [ APPLAUSE ] [01:52] USA! [01:54] USA! [01:56] USA! When [02:01] Mexico sends their people, they're not bringing their [02:04] best. They're sending drugs, they're bringing crime, [02:08] they're rapist. I will build a great great wall On [02:12] our southern border. And I will have Mexico pay for [02:15] that wall. The former president of Mexico Vicente Fox, [02:19] he said today, and I'm quoting him. He said, I'm not [02:22] going to pay for that quote, F'ing wall. How [02:27] are you going to make them pay for the wall? I will and [02:31] the wall just got ten feet taller, believe me. Zero [02:35] tolerance for criminal aliens, zero, zero. [02:39] Now a different threat challenges the whole world. [02:43] Radical Islamic Terrorism. Donald J Trump [02:47] is calling for a total and complete shut down. Of [02:52] Muslims entering the United States. Donald Trump, let [02:56] me ask you, have you even read [03:00] the United States Constitution? You have sacrificed [03:03] nothing, and no one [ APPLAUSE ] I think I've made a [03:10] lot of sacrifices. I work very, very hard. I've [03:14] created thousands and thousands of jobs, tens of [03:17] thousands of jobs. Built great structures. I've [03:22] had tremendous success. Those are sacrifices? Sure [03:26] I think they're sacrifices. [ MUSIC ] As [03:32] the proud daughter of your nominee I am here to tell [03:35] you this is the moment and Donald Trump is the [03:39] person to make America great again. [ LAUGH ] I [03:43] humbly and gratefully accept. Your [03:48] nomination for the presidency of the United States. And [03:53] we will make America great again. God Bless [03:57] you and good night. I love you. [ Music ] [04:04] Ladies and gentlemen, the Republican nominee for [04:07] President, Donald J. Trump. And the Democratic [04:10] nominee for President Hilary Clinton .>> You're telling [04:13] the enemy everything you wanted to do .>> No we're [04:15] not .>> See. you're telling the enemy everything you [04:18] wanted to do .>> There are different .>> Secretary, [04:18] is it President Obama's fault? Wrong >> That is [04:22] absolutely Wrong .>> Prove over and over again. [04:25] Wrong. I also have a much better temperament than [04:27] she has, you know? If Hillary knew how she would have [04:31] done it already, period, end of story. I won the debate, [04:33] I stayed calm just like I promised, and it is over. [04:37] Goodnight, [ INAUDIBLE ]. [ LAUGH ] I better use some [04:40] Tic Tacs just in case I start kissing her. You know I'm [04:44] automatically attracted to beautiful. I just start kissing [04:46] them. It's like a magnet. [ LAUGH ] Just kiss. I don't [04:49] even wait. And when you're a star they let you do it. [04:51] You can do anything. Whatever you want. Grab them [04:53] by the ****. I've said and done things I regret, and the [04:57] words released today on this more than a decade old [05:00] video Are one of them. This is nothing more than a [05:03] distraction from the important issues we're facing [05:05] today. You bragged that you have sexually assaulted [05:08] women, do you understand that? No I didn't say that at [05:11] all. I don't think you understood what was said. This [05:13] was lock Locker room talk .>> Just breaking a [05:15] damning report from the New York Times that claims [05:18] Donald Trump inappropriately touched two women, [05:20] the first nearly [ INAUDIBLE ] That more women now [05:22] accuse Donald Trump of improper physical [05:24] contact .>> The People Magazine writer who said that [05:26] Donald Trump kissed her and groped her in 2005 [05:29] while she was interviewing him and his then pregnant [05:31] wife Melania .>> These vicious claims About [05:36] me, of inappropriate conduct with women. Are [05:40] totally, and absolutely false. I didn't know [05:45] any of these women, I didn't see these women. And I [05:47] didn't even apologize to my wife, who's sitting right [05:50] here, cuz I didn't do anything. Thank you. Do you [05:52] make the same commitment that you will absolutely, [05:54] Sir, that you will absolutely accept the result of this [05:57] election? I will look at it at the time. I'm not looking at [06:00] anything now, I'll look at it at the time. And I will totally [06:03] accept the results of this great and [06:08] historic presidential election. If [06:13] I win. [ APPLAUSE ] [ MUSIC ] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4640947/aclu-donald-trump-inauguration-plan/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4640947/aclu-donald-trump-inauguration-plan/"},"headline":"'President Trump Is Not Above the Law.' 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