http://time.com/4578431/donald-trump-conflicts-of-interest-list/
1. U.S. Properties
At the top of this list is the Trump International Hotel, a few blocks from the White House. Once the Old Post Office building, Trump’s organization renovated it and turned it into a luxury hotel to compete with others in downtown Washington. The most expensive suite could sell for as much as $20,000 a night. A five-night stay in that suite by those seeking an audience with the president-elect in the Oval Office would cost $100,000.
The “emoluments clause” is the only conflict of interest law that applies to the presidency. It is designed to keep foreign interests from essentially buying influence with U.S. government officials, including the president. Trump may tread on this clause literally during the first week of his presidency as foreign agents pay vast sums to stay at his hotel during inauguration week. Here’s the exact language from the “Emoluments Clause” in the Constitution: “No person holding any (U.S.) office of profit or trust…shall, without the consent of the Congress, accept of any present…of any kind whatever, from any king, prince, or foreign state.”
The central question will be this: if foreign agents spend $5 million—or $500 million—to stay at Trump properties as a way to curry favor with the White House, does this constitute an emolument given to directly benefit the president-elect? The clause’s applicability to a president has never really been tested in court. It might during a Trump presidency if he chooses not to sell his assets, or set up a true blind trust that shields him from knowing if anything valuable is offered to him.
2. Foreign Interests
While American voters largely know Trump from his American real-estate properties and his stint as a reality network television star, his organization has any number of business deals that are connected either directly with foreign governments or individuals with deep ties to those governments. Any one of those business deals is likely to come under intense scrutiny when administration proposals affect governments involved in those business deals.
More than 100 Trump companies have done business in 18 countries. One extraordinary conflict of interest is an effort by eight mysterious Trump companies established on the eve of Trump’s campaign to develop luxury real estate projects in Saudi Arabia—a country that Trump explicitly said he hopes to protect as president.
be with affairs of state.
3. Family Matters
Relatives and family members who are currently making important decisions about what a Trump administration will look like will come under intense media scrutiny—especially for those who choose to work in the White House or take on official advisory council posts. Trump’s closest advisors have said in recent weeks that they would like to see his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, become a senior White House official, reflecting his clear and obvious role in major decisions the President-elect has made since the election.
Kushner, for instance, has been widely credited with the decision to replace Gov. Chris Christie as the head of the Trump transition efforts. There is, however, a large, potential conflict of interest looming. After former President John F. Kennedy made his brother, Robert, the attorney general, Congress passed an anti-nepotism law. That 1967 law is still on the books, and there isn’t an easy way around it—even if Kushner chooses not to take a salary as a senior White House official. It bans public officials, especially presidents, from hiring their relatives for jobs in federal agencies and Cabinet posts.
Trump advisors, however, believe the anti-nepotism law doesn’t apply to the White House—a conflict that could be tested early in Trump’s presidency if he allows his son-in-law to operate out of the West Wing. “This falls right in the bull’s eye of the statute. I think it’s illegal,” Norm Eisen, who was President Obama’s chief ethics counsel, told Politico. Other legal experts, though, feel Kushner can serve as an unpaid advisor in the White House.
4. Ongoing Legal Disputes and Union Fights
One potential area where conflicts of interest between Trump’s business interests and his role as president overseeing the entirety of the national government’s activities seem certain to collide are in a series of ongoing legal fights with unions—a core constituency of the Democratic Party—as well as in a handful of lawsuits involving his business deals. Trump settledhis biggest, most publicized legal fight (a class action lawsuit against Trump University) recently, but more are waiting in the wings.
5. Lending, Financial Institutions and Economic Policy
Finally, the Trump organization has many financial ties to lenders outside the U.S.—including Russia and China. Decisions he makes on economic policies that directly affect international financial lending institutions, interest rates and monetary policy will have a direct bearing on the hundreds of millions of dollars his organization owes to financial interests abroad. Any one of those international lending arrangements is likely to come under media scrutiny when he weighs in on decisions that will directly affect them.
1. U.S. Properties
At the top of this list is the Trump International Hotel, a few blocks from the White House. Once the Old Post Office building, Trump’s organization renovated it and turned it into a luxury hotel to compete with others in downtown Washington. The most expensive suite could sell for as much as $20,000 a night. A five-night stay in that suite by those seeking an audience with the president-elect in the Oval Office would cost $100,000.
The “emoluments clause” is the only conflict of interest law that applies to the presidency. It is designed to keep foreign interests from essentially buying influence with U.S. government officials, including the president. Trump may tread on this clause literally during the first week of his presidency as foreign agents pay vast sums to stay at his hotel during inauguration week. Here’s the exact language from the “Emoluments Clause” in the Constitution: “No person holding any (U.S.) office of profit or trust…shall, without the consent of the Congress, accept of any present…of any kind whatever, from any king, prince, or foreign state.”
The central question will be this: if foreign agents spend $5 million—or $500 million—to stay at Trump properties as a way to curry favor with the White House, does this constitute an emolument given to directly benefit the president-elect? The clause’s applicability to a president has never really been tested in court. It might during a Trump presidency if he chooses not to sell his assets, or set up a true blind trust that shields him from knowing if anything valuable is offered to him.
2. Foreign Interests
While American voters largely know Trump from his American real-estate properties and his stint as a reality network television star, his organization has any number of business deals that are connected either directly with foreign governments or individuals with deep ties to those governments. Any one of those business deals is likely to come under intense scrutiny when administration proposals affect governments involved in those business deals.
More than 100 Trump companies have done business in 18 countries. One extraordinary conflict of interest is an effort by eight mysterious Trump companies established on the eve of Trump’s campaign to develop luxury real estate projects in Saudi Arabia—a country that Trump explicitly said he hopes to protect as president.
be with affairs of state.
3. Family Matters
Relatives and family members who are currently making important decisions about what a Trump administration will look like will come under intense media scrutiny—especially for those who choose to work in the White House or take on official advisory council posts. Trump’s closest advisors have said in recent weeks that they would like to see his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, become a senior White House official, reflecting his clear and obvious role in major decisions the President-elect has made since the election.
Kushner, for instance, has been widely credited with the decision to replace Gov. Chris Christie as the head of the Trump transition efforts. There is, however, a large, potential conflict of interest looming. After former President John F. Kennedy made his brother, Robert, the attorney general, Congress passed an anti-nepotism law. That 1967 law is still on the books, and there isn’t an easy way around it—even if Kushner chooses not to take a salary as a senior White House official. It bans public officials, especially presidents, from hiring their relatives for jobs in federal agencies and Cabinet posts.
Trump advisors, however, believe the anti-nepotism law doesn’t apply to the White House—a conflict that could be tested early in Trump’s presidency if he allows his son-in-law to operate out of the West Wing. “This falls right in the bull’s eye of the statute. I think it’s illegal,” Norm Eisen, who was President Obama’s chief ethics counsel, told Politico. Other legal experts, though, feel Kushner can serve as an unpaid advisor in the White House.
4. Ongoing Legal Disputes and Union Fights
One potential area where conflicts of interest between Trump’s business interests and his role as president overseeing the entirety of the national government’s activities seem certain to collide are in a series of ongoing legal fights with unions—a core constituency of the Democratic Party—as well as in a handful of lawsuits involving his business deals. Trump settledhis biggest, most publicized legal fight (a class action lawsuit against Trump University) recently, but more are waiting in the wings.
5. Lending, Financial Institutions and Economic Policy
Finally, the Trump organization has many financial ties to lenders outside the U.S.—including Russia and China. Decisions he makes on economic policies that directly affect international financial lending institutions, interest rates and monetary policy will have a direct bearing on the hundreds of millions of dollars his organization owes to financial interests abroad. Any one of those international lending arrangements is likely to come under media scrutiny when he weighs in on decisions that will directly affect them.
