Of the many ethically thorny issues plaguing Donald Trump’s presidency thus far, the New York real estate mogul’s unwillingness to properly divest himself from his business interests is high on the list. Not to mention the fact that his adult children, tasked with overseeing things while daddy adjusts to his new job, haven’t distanced themselves by much from the White House, especially Trump’s daughter Ivanka and her husband Jared Kushner, whom the president made a senior advisor. According to a New York Times report, it seems the young power couple hasn’t entirely divested themselves either.
Per new ethics filings released by the White House late Friday night, are still on track to remain the beneficiaries of a business empire reportedly worth $741 million. The new information is especially damning as the documents indicate Ivanka will maintain a sizable stake in Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C. — the site of countless protests, as well as concerns over foreign officials possibly using the location to obtain favors:
It is unclear how Ms. Trump would earn income from that stake. Mr. Kushner’s financial disclosures say that Ms. Trump earned between $1 million and $5 million from January 2016 to March 2017, and puts the value of her stake at between $5 million and $25 million.
When the pair became a part of Trump’s White House, everything seemed above board at first. Kushner sold the New York Observer while Ivanka announced a “formal leave of absence” from her brand and business ventures. Kushner’s financial changes made sense since he’d become a federal employee, but Ivanka — who scored an office and security clearance — was technically not. That all changed earlier this week when news broke she would be an employee after all, resulting in the current predicament faced by the pair following Friday’s news dump.
The ethics filings released by the White House “exposed the assets of as many as 180 senior officials to public scrutiny,” and how these individuals attempted to avoid possible conflicts of interest before assuming their appointed roles. The breadth of the dump covers quite a lot of wealth, as Trump’s cabinet is one of the richest in the country’s history.
(Via New York Times)