Trump Decides to Leave His Business ‘In Total’ For The Country

His business holdings have been an issue of major concern for many Americans, especially the media, and initially the president-elect shrugged them off. Trump said on the campaign trail that placing his assets with his children would constitute such a trust, although they are nearly always overseen by independent trustees.

Bedeviled in recent weeks about constitutional conflicts, President-elect Donald Trump tweeted early Wednesday that he will hold a press conference with his children to discuss his business. It is important not to have any conflicts of interest. The problem here, as NBC’s Ken Dilanian writes: Trump would be his own landlord when he becomes president.

He continued: “What he does not seem to realize, or does not want to admit, is that the conflicts arise from his ownership of the Trump Organization”.

Multiple legal and ethics experts have criticized Trump’s assertions that putting his children in charge of his businesses amounts to a blind trust, which is meant to remove any possibility of a conflict of interest by handing assets off to a completely independent stakeholder.

The tweet could be a signal that Trump intends to shut down the USA refugee-resettlement program to people from Muslim-majority or conflict-ridden countries. That could indicate he is going with what he has suggested before, where he will transfer management of his businesses to his children.

We won’t know until his December 15 announcement exactly what President-elect Trump’s plans are for separating himself from the businesses upon which he so much prides himself. For instance, as The Atlantic reported, Trump has golf courses in Scotland, and he recently approached British politician Nigel Farage to oppose offshore wind farms because of the potential effect they could have on the views from his golf courses.

The Republican, who called Mr Trump a “conman” and a “fraud” during the presidential campaign, emerged with a very different perspective after the pair feasted on a meal that included garlic soup with frogs legs. But Don, Jr., Eric, and Ivanka Trump all remain close political advisers and members of his transition team, so it’s hard to see how the Trump Organization and the Trump Administration would remain separate, if that remains the case. “Without an ethics firewall that is set up at once and continues into the administration, scandal is sure to follow”.

As the Republican heads toward taking over the White House from Democratic President Barack Obama, scrutiny of potential conflicts has grown.

Democratic lawmakers and other critics said Trump’s business interests could pose conflicts of interest when he takes office on January 20 because he will be in a position to influence tax laws, environmental regulations and other government policies that could affect his assets.

“What he needs to do is get to the place where Trump’s interest in profit of any Trump entity is the same as my interest or your interest or the interest of the person on the street”, said Gillers.

Trump has noted publicly that there are no laws forbidding a president from having conflicts of interest.

While the president is exempt from many federal conflict of interest laws that apply to other executive branch officials, some legal scholars believe his business ties could violate the Constitution – specifically the Emoluments Clause, which bars the president from accepting gifts, or maybe even payments, from foreign governments. Bharara also played a leading role in the Senate Judiciary Committee’s investigation into the firings of federal prosecutors under former President George W. Bush.

“Foreign diplomats staying in hotels, parties thrown by foreign governments in hotels, loans from the Bank of China, rent paid by foreign governments and companies controlled by foreign governments in office buildings, etc”, Painter said in an email.

“It’s impossible”, said Marshall.