Trump attorney Sheri Dillon: Trump will “sever” presidency from his business organization https://t.co/SWMHE0ODnN https://t.co/NAD0dNsomk
— CNN (@CNN) January 11, 2017
During Donald Trump’s first press conference as president-elect, the reality TV star announced he will be handing over his businesses to a trust that will be controlled his two sons, Donald Jr. and Eric, who will manage the Trump Organization while he’s in office.
Trump brought up lawyer Sheri Dillon to go over details during the presser. She said that Trump will sever himself from all positions that he has held within Trump companies. And to avoid another potential conflict of interests (which Trump said he just learned about three months ago) the Trump Organization will not make any deals with foreign partners and have an ethics advisers appointed (chosen by Trump) who will vet deals for possible conflicts.
This is the first step to avoid a conflict of interest, but the New York Times reported that some don’t believe this will ease the issue. Some have recommended Trump put his dealings into a blind trust (where Trump and his family would not have any control), but Dillon ruled out the possibility, adding “President-elect Trump should not be expected to destroy the company he built.”
The Trump boys getting the torch handed off to them is not a major surprise, but Dillon announced that Ivanka Trump would no longer have any involvement with Trump’s companies. Ivanka had been seen as a close and trusted confidant of her father, but as her husband Kushner has took a job as a senior adviser in Trump’s White House, she’ll now focus on raising her children. Kushner’s appointment was questioned, as some pointed to nepotism laws, and he’ll reportedly forego a salary to ease the scrutiny.
Trump seems content to keep his business in the family, but quipped at the end of his press conference if his sons don’t do a good job of handling the family business, he has no issues with telling them, “You’re fired.”
(Via CNN Money & The New York Times)