ETHICS/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TRUMP BUSINESS: “When President Donald Trump placed his businesses in a trust upon entering the White House, he put his sons in charge and claimed to distance himself from his sprawling empire. ‘I hope at the end of eight years I’ll come back and say, *Oh you did a good job,*’ Trump said at a Jan. 11 press conference. Trump’s lawyer explained that the president ‘was completely isolating himself from his business interests.’
The setup has long been slammed as insufficient, far short of the full divestment that many ethics experts say is needed to avoid conflicts of interest. A small phrase buried deep in a set of recently released letters between the Trump Organization and the government shows just how little separation there actually is.
Trump can draw money from his more than 400 businesses, at any time, without disclosing it.
The previously unreported changes to a trust document, signed on Feb. 10, stipulates that it ‘shall distribute net income or principal to Donald J. Trump at his request’ or whenever his son and longtime attorney ‘deem appropriate.’ That can include everything from profits to the underlying assets, such as the businesses themselves.”
-Derek Kravitz and Al Shaw, “Trump Can Pull Money From His Businesses Whenever He Wants — Without Ever Telling Us,” ProPublica, April 3, 2017