CONGRESS/DEMS/ETHICS/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “The ascension of Democrats to control of the House of Representatives in 2019 should bring renewed attention to the financial conflicts of interest that have plagued the Trump presidency for the past two years. Prior to Donald Trump, every other president in the modern era divested investments that conflict with official duties and placed personal assets in conflict-free investments or a blind trust. Trump has refused to do so. Rather, he insists on holding onto his hotels, clubs, and real estate and licensing interests around the world. The result so far is more than 1,400 known conflicts of interest. President Trump’s response to his critics is telling. He says ‘the president can’t have a conflict of interest,’ an attitude more fit for a king than a president. But the United States is not a monarchy, and nothing in our Constitution or laws would support such a characterization of presidential immunity from conflict of interest. In fact, we have a republican form of government that was designed specifically to avoid this royal approach. Our leaders are supposed to represent the people who elect them. And any of them, including the president, can have a conflict of interest if their financial interests put them in a position where they could be tempted to put their own personal interests ahead of those of the republic.”
–Richard Painter and Noah Bookbinder, “Trump’s conflicts of interest are shockingly legal. Why isn’t Congress fixing this?,” USA Today, January 17, 2019 1:50 pm