'There are 1,000 unanswered questions': President's conflict of interest problem hasn't gone away

pulse

January 21, 2017 2:11 AM

The organization examined some of Trump's businesses, and found that no documents showing he relinquished control of his empire had been filed.

Donald Trump.

Despite President Trumps promises to resolve potential conflicts of interest surrounding his business empire before taking the Oval Office, it appears there has been no movement on that front, according to a report from ProPublica released Friday.

The nonpartisan organization examined more than a dozen of Trump's businesses registered in Florida, Delaware, and New York and found that no documents showing Trump relinquished control of his empire had been filed as of the time its story was published Friday afternoon.

Officials in New York and Delaware, according to ProPublica, said documents are logged in its system as soon as they are received. In Florida, documents are logged within "a day or two" of receipt.

They were asked by ProPublica whether they received paperwork from Trump's representatives: "As of 3:15 p.m. [Friday], the officials said they have not," ProPublica reported.

Trump's business empire is massive, stretching across several countries. It is unclear when the transfer process was initiated. Business Insider's request for comment from the PR agency representing the Trump transition team was not immediately returned.

In a press conference last week, then-president-elect Trump said he signed documents that initiated a "complete and total" transfer of his businesses to a family trust. Stacks of paper tucked into folders were displayed on a table at the press conference. Reporters were not allowed to look inside the folders.

Sherri Dillon, an attorney in charge of Trump's plan to transfer control of his businesses, said the necessary arrangements would be made by January 20.

Heres what ProPublicas investigation found:

New York's Department of State said business filings for the Trump Organization show Trump is still listed as the sole representative of the organization.
Ivanka Trump is still designated as the authorized officer for a property located at the Old Post Office in Washington D.C. that was purchased by the Trump family and was converted into a hotel.
No recent amendments have been filed in Delaware where most of Trump’s businesses are currently registered.
Filings for Trump’s businesses in Florida, including the Mar-A-Lago Club, the Trump International Gold Club, and DJT Holdings remain unchanged.

Ethics experts have criticized Trump's proposals to disentangle himself from his business empire, saying the changes did not go far enough to address conflict-of-interest concerns because operations would still be run through a family trust.

"What are the terms of the trust? Who is going to be the ethics monitor and what standards will he or she abide by?" said Norman Eisen, who served as the White House chief ethics lawyer under President Obama.

"There are 1,000 unanswered questions," he said.

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