In November, Trump promised a press conference on December 15 to explain how he was going to deal with the conflict of interests presented by his ownership of a multi-national business.
Every modern president has effectively eliminated financial conflicts of interest either by placing their assets in a blind trust, as George W. Bush did, or divesting and placing the assets in index funds and treasury bonds, as Barack Obama did.
Jimmy Carter famously gave up his peanut farm, placing it in a blind trust, before assuming the presidency. Republicans in Congress promptly spent six months investigating him — and the conflicts his peanut farm might present — anyway.
Trump’s conflicts are much more dire. His ownership of hotels and office buildings will put him on the receiving end of a stream of payments from foreign governments. Legal experts from both parties believe this will result in Trump violating the Constitution, which prohibits such payments, on his first day in office.
I will be holding a major news conference in New York City with my children on December 15 to discuss the fact that I will be leaving my …
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 30, 2016
It is December 15, but there will be no press conference. Trump announced earlier this week that he was postponing the press conference indefinitely. He did reveal that the business would be run by his two sons, Eric and Don Jr., both members of his transition team.
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.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 13, 2016
I will hold a press conference in the near future to discuss the business, Cabinet picks and all other topics of interest. Busy times!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 13, 2016
Trump’s promise to do “no new deals” is meaningless, both legally and practically. In order to operate the business, Don Jr. and Eric will need to do new deals. For example, hundreds of millions of dollars in debt will come due during the Trump presidency. There is no visibility, moreover, into how many deals are in the pipeline. There are disputed reports, for example, that Trump used his call with the president of Argentina to advance a long-stalled deal in Buenos Aires. It is not a “new” deal, but it is definitely a conflict.
The promise of “no new deals” also does not resolve Trump’s constitutional issues. He will still be receiving payments from foreign governments.
Instead of the promised press conference, Trump sent this tweet.
The media tries so hard to make my move to the White House, as it pertains to my business, so complex – when actually it isn't!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 15, 2016
It is not a complicated issue for Trump because he doesn’t plan on doing anything about it.
He seems poised to maintain full ownership over his businesses while letting his sons, who are also his top political advisers, manage day-to-day affairs. This, according to legal scholars, will ultimately result in an impeachable offense.
The General Services Agency also said that, if Trump does not divest his Washington, D.C. hotel prior to inauguration, he will be in breach of his lease.
Trump is correct: it is not “hard” to simply ignore these issues and count on a complacent Congress to give him a free pass.
Whether this will be a successful political and legal strategy, however, is an open question.