In the News

In advance of tomorrow’s House Oversight and Government Reform Forum on the President-elect’s blatant conflicts of interest, Congressman Connolly called on Trump to immediately divest and place his holdings in a blind trust.

“The President of the United States must avoid even the appearance of a conflict of interest. Unfortunately, the President-elect’s vague, and now delayed, twitter promises of a “future plan” fall far short of past practice and our reasonable expectations,” said Connolly.

“The president cannot serve himself while serving the nation, and the president is not above the law,” added Connolly. “It is important that Americans understand what is going on here and how far the President-elect’s conflicts of interest run. That demands transparency.”

“The tentacles of the Trump Organization run far and wide. How is the President-elect to act responsibly, ethically, and in our nation’s best interest, if he is still heavily invested in these holdings?”

“In fact, the problems of turning his business operations over to his children are made pretty obvious by the recent reports of Ivanka sitting in on his meeting with Prime Minister Abe of Japan, and by comments by some foreign dignitaries that they may opt to stay at Trump International Hotel to curry favor.”

“For example, he will be making decisions about regulation of the financial sector and the potential dismantling of the Dodd-Frank banking law, as the Trump Organization, like most real estate empires, is heavily indebted to banks and other lenders.”

“Even worse, if any foreign government or a company controlled by a foreign government does business with a Trump entity with his involvement, the President could be accused of accepting a payment in violation of the Emoluments Clause of the Constitution, creating a constitutional crisis that could even result in threats of impeachment.”

“The only solution is divestiture and a blind trust managed by a neutral party,” Connolly said. “All past presidents in modern history have employed the use of a blind trust so that their presidency is not overshadowed by conflicts such as those found between Trump’s business interests and the public interest.”


Background:

On November 30, 2016, Connolly joined with Ranking Member Cummings of the Oversight and Government Reform Committee and Ranking Member DeFazio and Mr. Carson of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee in asking for information about how the General Services Administration (GSA) plans to address the imminent breach-of-lease and conflict of interest issues created by President-elect Donald Trump’s lease with the U.S. Government for the Trump International Hotel building in Washington, D.C