Trump Signing Coronavirus Checks is (Aside From A Cheap Tactic) Probably Illegal

``... the Trump administration has already argued that the White House is not an executive agency in order to get out of complying with ethics laws. On the first day of the Trump presidency, the Department of Justice Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) issued an opinion on nepotism, concluding that "the White House Office is not an ‘Executive agency' insofar as the laws on employment and compensation are concerned." This decision reversed long-standing precedent and paved the way for President Trump to hire his daughter and son-in-law as West Wing employees despite federal laws barring nepotism in the executive branch hiring. In the case of the stimulus checks, there still may be a question about whether the White House is an "executive agency" under the disbursing officer statute, and whether the Treasury Department has previously delegated authority to someone employed in the White House to act as a disbursing officer''