Closing scandal-plagued Trump Foundation only tip of the iceberg
Trump will have to do much more if he wants to avoid ethics problems.
“The announcement that the Foundation will be shut down is a necessary first step for the incoming administration to avoid massive ethics problems, but it does not come close to ending the story,” CREW Executive Director Noah Bookbinder said. “The Foundation’s past instances of wrongdoing must be fully investigated and President-elect Trump must sell his businesses and take comprehensive steps to prevent conflicts of interest for him and his administration. If Donald Trump truly wants to ‘drain the swamp’ and usher in a new level of respectability for the government, there are many serious issues that must be resolved and many business and financial interests that must be disclosed — and not just on Christmas Eve when most of America isn’t watching.”
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Not only is Trump’s continued ownership of his business ethically problematic, but it will also result in him violating the Constitution soon after he’s sworn in as President. Article 1, Section 9 of the Constitution bars office holders from accepting “any present, emolument, office, or title, of any kind whatever, from any king, prince, or foreign state.” Foreign governments are already booking events at Trump’s new D.C. hotel — a clear example of a foreign state providing Trump with an emolument (“a salary, fee, or profit from employment or office”) that could be intended to curry favor with the soon-to-be-president.
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