General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsThe unnerving evolution of Trumps conflict-of-interest troubles
Posted with permission.
http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/the-unnerving-evolution-trumps-conflict-interest-troubles
The unnerving evolution of Trumps conflict-of-interest troubles
12/13/16 09:21 AMUpdated 12/13/16 11:45 AM
By Steve Benen
Step One came a year ago, when Donald Trump was asked about what hed do with his business interests if he were elected president. I would put it in a blind trust, he said last September.
Step Two came literally a couple of seconds later, when Trump said hed actually put his adult children in charge of his international operation, despite what hed vowed moments earlier.
Step Three came last month, when the president-elect argued that the entire subject is unimportant because, The president cant have a conflict of interest
. In theory, I can be president of the United States and run my business 100 percent
. The president of the United States is allowed to have whatever conflicts he wants.
A week later, we saw Step Four, when Trump announced he would hold a press conference to explain his belief that is visually important for him to remove himself from the operations of his business. The president-elect vowed to explain all of this in detail on Dec. 15.
All of which brings us to Step Five. Bloomberg Politics reported last night:
Trump had planned to make the announcement Dec. 15 but wants more time because hes been occupied with filling out his cabinet and top administration posts, according to the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations.
Trump turned to what else? Twitter late last night to explain, Even though I am not mandated by law to do so, I will be leaving my busineses {sic} before January 20th so that I can focus full time on the Presidency. Two of my children, Don and Eric, plus executives, will manage them. No new deals will be done during my term(s) in office.
He added that hed hold a press conference in the near future.
Lets unpack this a bit, because Im reasonably certain Trump has no idea what his conflict-of-interest problems are all about.
While Trumps line has evolved over time, the one common thread is that Trump believes he can resolve questions about his private-sector conflicts by simply ceding operational, day-to-day control over his business operation to his adult kids.
Hes mistaken. If Trump maintains his financial interests in other words, if he and his family still intend to profit from Trumps private-sector enterprises the conflicts of interest arent resolved at all. On the contrary, theyre just as big a problem as they are now, whether or not Trump is personally overseeing the business.
The question is whether or not Trump, as president, will keep his stake in his private-sector enterprise. According to everything Trump has said thus far, the answer is an unambiguous yes which means the conflict-of-interest controversies will continue.
Looking ahead, the watchword is divest. Someone clearly needs to explain to the president-elect that if his personal finances will continue to be directly tied to his business interests, Trump will continue to have a serious legal problem on his hands.
Postscript: We dont yet know why, exactly, this weeks press conference was scrapped. The official excuse is that Trump has been too busy, but thats very hard to believe since hes made plenty of time for a five-stop victory tour in which the president-elect has headlined self-congratulatory rallies in celebration of himself.
I cant say with any certainty why the Dec. 15 announcement was canceled, or if it will ever actually occur, but its worth noting that the Electoral College will officially chose the next president on Dec. 19. Trumps conflict-of-interest troubles raise legitimate constitutional questions, so its of interest that the president-elect wants to delay the answers until hes officially been chosen by the nations electors.
rgbecker
(4,826 posts)Small town mayors will simply point to Trump's arrangements to defend themselves when charged with allowing cars to park ticket free in front of their local shops.
The guy has no - zero - ethics at all. Nothing.