Sell the Business, Not the Presidency, Mr. Trump - NYT Editorial Board

[DonViejo]

By THE EDITORIAL BOARDDEC. 27, 2016

In recent days, the Trump family has announced some steps that it says are intended to address the truckload of conflicts of interest that Donald Trump could bring to the White House next month, and that it is considering further measures. But so far, these steps fall well short of what Mr. Trump must do to protect his presidency from damaging accusations of corruption.

Experts believe that there is but one action that Mr. Trump can take to assure Americans that he is working to promote only their interests rather than his own fortune or his family’s. That is to appoint a trustee to sell his hotels and other businesses and put the proceeds into a blind trust operated by independent managers.

By doing that, he would eliminate the many pay-for-play opportunities and other forms of corruption that could be exploited by him and by corporations and foreign governments seeking to curry favor with his administration. Such a move would also be consistent with recent practice. To avoid the barest perception of wrongdoing, presidents from both parties going back 40 years put their assets in blind trusts or in Treasury securities and mutual funds, even though federal law didn’t require them to do so. Mr. Trump seems determined to flout this standard.

Instead of a detailed divestiture plan, Mr. Trump and his family have discussed several half-measures. One is to shut down the Donald J. Trump Foundation, which is already under investigation by the attorney general of New York, Eric Schneiderman, for alleged violations of state charity laws. According to the attorney general, the foundation solicited donations from people other than Mr. Trump when it was not registered to do so.

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http://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/27/opinion/sell-the-business-not-the-presidency-mr-trump.html?emc=edit_th_20161228&nl=todaysheadlines&nlid=57435284

[Thor_MN]

1. Is there any trustee that could divest the Ponzi scheme that is Donald J. Trump?

There is no doubt that independent managers could do a better job operating his wealth than Mr. Bankruptcy, but Ponzi schemes require new investments to pay off current debt. It seems clear that Trump's long range plans are to die owing as much money as possible to other people, while diverting as much as possible to his family. One would have to be insane to loan him a dime. "His" businesses and hotels are likely owned by others and his actual net worth is negligible compared to his delusional valuations.

[AmericanActivist]

2. Half-Measures won't cut it! nm