Donald Trump entrusts management of his affairs to his children
Donald Trump entrusts management of his affairs to his children
This decision is criticized for the risks of conflict of interest. The president-elect is also the boss of an economic empire linked to consortia of foreign countries and debtor of big banks.
Donald Trump, 156th world fortune according to the US magazine Forbes (3.7 billion dollars) and now president of the United States: Of dollars), is subject to conflicts of interest. "This is unprecedented in the history of the United States in particular because we do not know the extent and nature of its financial ties," Kathleen Clark, a law professor at Washington University, told AFP. This expert in ethical issues is a particularly worrying fact for this businessman who financed his expansion by debt. "One does not know to whom it owes money and duty of money is a financial link much more significant than an investment", she maintains.
During the presidential campaign, the American billionaire pledged to resort to a blind trust, an independent financial structure depriving him of any right of control over his group. But the decision, formalized this Friday, to entrust the management to its three oldest children, Donald Junior (38 years), Ivanka (35 years) and Eric (32 years) has revived the controversy. Above all, on the same day, we learn that they will be part of his presidential transition team. "This does not meet any of the independence standards of a blind trust if children run the company," Kenneth Gross, a lawyer in Washington and an advisor to Transparency and compliance with the law. Same on the side of the American press.
If your children manage it, that's just a regular trust, not a blind one. politico.com/story/2016/11/…
Donald Trump’s questionable "blind trust" setup just got more questionable wapo.st/2fsOwBX
Very flexible US legislation
As an entrepreneur, the elected president made a fortune by building an extensive network of hotels and luxury properties (2.8 billion euros in assets) as head of the Trump Organization, Its activities and would employ, according to CNN Money, 22,500 people.
"In the end, you're measured not by how much you undertake but by what you finally accomplish." @realDonaldTrump
However, the German bank, implicated in the United States for its role in the financial crisis of 2008, will soon be imposed a very heavy fine the amount of which is still debated in Washington. Finally, Donald Trump would have lent 950 million dollars (876 million euros) by a consortium of banks including Bank of China and Goldman Sachs to acquire 30% of a building located on 6th Avenue in Manhattan, according to The New York Times. And would have another in the process of $ 360 million that was used to finance the Trump International Hotel in Washington, next to the White House.
For the moment, Donald Trump has spoken little about these potential conflicts of interest, first because no one really imagined him to settle in the Oval Office, but also because American law is very flexible in this matter . Under the Government Ethics Act of 1978, the president or vice-president can thus combine their mandates with economic activities, while obligations imposed on non-elected members of the executive are much more restrictive. The Constitution forbids any politician to accept the slightest "emolument" from a foreign power, but this provision does not forbid to enter into business with private partners abroad.
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