Dont be fooled: Closing the Trump Foundation doesnt solve Trumps conflict of interest problems

[babylonsister]

https://thinkprogress.org/trump-foundation-closing-conflict-of-interest-problems-87a4f6848ed4#.2sxuf666n

Aaron Rupar
Journalist, ThinkProgress


Don’t be fooled: Closing the Trump Foundation doesn’t solve Trump’s conflict of interest problems
Not even close.


On Christmas Eve, President-elect Donald Trump announced he’s closing his controversial charitable foundation in order to avoid potential conflicts of interest.

But don’t be fooled — the end of the Trump Foundation doesn’t mean Trump has solved his conflict of interest problems. As long as he continues to own his for-profit Trump Organization — and to date he’s indicated no willingness to divest — conflict of interest issues will shadow Trump’s presidency.

The Trump Foundation is plagued by scandal and has been barred from fundraising since September. Officials admitted to using funds for political donations and self-dealing — both of which are illegal. Investigative reporting by the Washington Post’s David Fahrenthold revealed that despite Trump’s frequent claims about how he generously donated his personal money for his foundation’s charitable work, public records indicate he actually hasn’t forked over a cent since 2008, and most of his “giving” consisted of free rounds of golf at Trump-owned golf resorts. The full picture of Trump’s charitable giving (or lack thereof) remains clouded by Trump’s unprecedented refusal to release his tax returns.

snip//

Tip of the iceberg

Trump’s scandal-plagued charity represents a small problem relative to continued ownership of his international business, the Trump Organization.

snip//

The problem was summarized by the statement Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) released about the Trump Foundation news.

“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.”

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.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

1. Of course not. It's just one of many, and certainly not the largest

or the worst.

[marybourg]

2. It's the very least

of his problems.

[spanone]

3. the media will declare him clean....the 'foundation' has nothing to do with his biz.

[Wounded Bear]

5. They will probably try....I'm not buying any of it...

as usual, follow the money. I suspect we're in for a scandal deluge the likes of the Teapot Dome.

[spanone]

6. i can't think of anyone more deserving. there's a reason he's hiding his taxes.

[malaise]

4. That Post Office building is a problem at noon on Jan 20

He cannot be landlord and tenant