{"slug":"trump-first-term-business-conflicts-no-divestiture","title":"Presidential Conflicts of Interest: Trump Refused to Divest from Business Empire","date":"2017-01-11","lastUpdated":"2021-01-20","description":"Trump became the first modern president to refuse to divest himself of his business holdings while serving as president, maintaining ownership of more than 400 companies and business interests that received income from foreign governments, federal agencies, and private interests seeking favorable treatment. He placed his businesses in a trust managed by his sons, which ethics experts described as inadequate because he retained beneficial interest. The arrangement created documented conflicts of interest including foreign government payments to his hotels, federal agency spending at his properties, and business decisions by countries seeking favorable U.S. policy treatment.","summary":"Prior presidents had either sold their business assets or placed them in blind trusts managed by independent trustees. Trump placed his holdings in a revocable trust managed by his sons Donald Jr. and Eric, with Trump retaining the ability to revoke the trust at any time and receiving financial reports about the businesses. The Office of Government Ethics stated the arrangement was insufficient to prevent conflicts. The Trump International Hotel in Washington, housed in a federally-owned building under a lease Trump's own government administered, became a center of lobbying activity, with foreign governments and domestic interest groups booking events and rooms to seek favorable treatment. Saudi Arabia spent more than $270,000 at the hotel in a single year.","category":"corruption","severity":"critical","ongoing":false,"sources":[{"url":"https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/11/us/politics/trump-press-conference-business.html","title":"Trump to Keep a Stake in His Business, Violating Ethics Pledges","publisher":"The New York Times"},{"url":"https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-businesses-conflict-interest/2017/01/11/story.html","title":"Ethics experts: Trump's arrangement is insufficient to prevent conflicts","publisher":"The Washington Post"},{"url":"https://apnews.com/article/trump-business-conflicts-interest-foreign-payments","title":"Trump's business empire creates unprecedented conflicts of interest","publisher":"The Associated Press"},{"url":"https://www.citizensforethics.org/reports-investigations/crew-reports/presidential-conflicts/","title":"Trump's Business Conflicts: A Comprehensive Record","publisher":"Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington"}],"draft":false,"status":"published","tags":["conflicts-of-interest","emoluments","first-term","corruption","Trump-International-Hotel","Mar-a-Lago","divestiture","foreign-payments"],"relatedEntries":[],"timeline":[{"date":"2017-01-11","title":"Trump announces business arrangement — OGE says insufficient","summary":"Trump holds a press conference announcing he will place businesses in a trust managed by his sons. The Office of Government Ethics states the arrangement is insufficient to prevent conflicts. Ethics experts describe it as inadequate because Trump retains beneficial interest and revocation rights."},{"date":"2017-03-01","title":"Trump International Hotel documented as foreign government lobbying venue","summary":"Reports document that Kuwait moved its national day reception to the Trump International Hotel. Saudi Arabia begins spending at the property. Foreign embassies describe the hotel as a useful venue for Washington business under the new administration."},{"date":"2017-06-01","title":"Mar-a-Lago membership fees doubled — pay-to-play concerns raised","summary":"Mar-a-Lago membership fees double from $100,000 to $200,000 after Trump's election. Members describe the club as a venue for direct access to the president and senior officials. Lobbyists and business executives document attending the club and interacting with Trump."},{"date":"2018-01-01","title":"Saudi Arabia documents $270,000+ at Trump hotel","summary":"Congressional and journalistic investigation documents Saudi Arabia's spending at the Trump International Hotel, including more than $270,000 on rooms and events in a single year, correlating with lobbying against the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act."},{"date":"2021-01-20","title":"Trump leaves office — 285 days at own properties documented","summary":"At the end of his presidency, Trump had visited his own properties for 285 days of his 1,461-day term. Secret Service, staff, and accompanying personnel had generated substantial revenue to Trump's businesses during these visits. The conflicts of interest operated throughout the full term."}],"location":{"name":"Washington, D.C. / New York, NY / Mar-a-Lago, Palm Beach, FL","lat":38.9072,"lng":-77.0369},"custom":{"era":"first-term","posture":"active-litigation","warCrimeClassification":"enabling","internationalLaw":[],"iccRelevance":false,"victims":"American democracy and public trust; competitors of Trump businesses who faced unfair advantage; taxpayers whose federal funds flowed to Trump businesses; government officials and foreign entities who felt pressure to patronize Trump properties to obtain favorable treatment","structuredPerpetrators":[{"name":"Donald Trump","role":"President; refused to divest or establish adequate blind trust; retained beneficial interest in business empire; received payments from foreign governments and domestic interests seeking favorable treatment; spent 285 days at his own properties while charging the Secret Service","institution":"White House / Trump Organization"}],"updateLog":[{"date":"2021-01-20","summary":"Final accounting of property visits and conflict-of-interest documentation."}]}}