Donald Trump: Only the 'crooked media' is making a 'big deal' about possible conflicts of interest
If only the pesky press would leave him alone, Donald Trump is sure no one else would care about possible conflicts of interest with his business.
"Prior to the election it was well known that I have interests in properties all over the world," Trump tweeted Monday night. "Only the crooked media makes this a big deal!" Earlier in the day, Kellyanne Conway, his campaign manager, told reporters she is "very confident" that since the election, Trump has not broken any laws with his business practices. "He has many lawyers, accountants, and advisers who tell him what he must do and what he can't do," she said. "He's a businessman; he is also working to transition." Conway added that we are in "unprecedented times."
There have been several reports of eyebrow-raising activity, including Trump, during a congratulatory call from Argentine President Mauricio Macri, allegedly asking him to handle permitting issues that are slowing down a project Trump is involved with in Buenos Aires (both Trump and Macri have denied they discussed personal business during the call). Last week, Trump was visited by three Indian business partners who are working on a project near Mumbai emblazoned with Trump's name, and his daughter, Ivanka Trump, and her husband, Jared Kushner, attended a meeting between Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. Ivanka Trump, as well as her brothers Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, are part of their father's transition team, and are also going to take over his private business after Trump's inauguration.
Although Trump has said he will put his organization into a blind trust, "turning the business over to the kids will free up his time but it does nothing to resolve conflicts of interest," Kenneth Gross, an ethics and political law expert who has advised several presidents, told CNBC. "A creator of a blind trust is tagged with the knowledge of the assets put into the trust, and in terms of conflicts his children's interests are co-extensive with his self-interest." The editorial board of the New York Post, which endorsed Trump during the Republican primary, is calling on Trump to find someone else to run his company, since a blind trust "run by his children won't pass the sniff test. After all, if the election had gone the other way, we'd right now be furiously denouncing the idea of letting Chelsea run the Clinton Foundation."