美国国家公共电台 NPR Critics See Legal, Political Risks If Trump Keeps Ties To His Businesses

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Critics See Legal, Political Risks If Trump¹ Keeps Ties To His Businesses

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The top-ranked Democrat³ on the House Oversight⁴ Committee is calling for congressional hearings into President-elect Donald Trump's business interests. Maryland Congressman⁵ Elijah Cummings says Trump plans to turn over operation of his companies to three of his grown children who are also on his presidential transition team. The arrangement is raising questions about whether Trump can avoid conflicts of interest once he's sworn in. NPR's Jim Zarroli reports.

JIM ZARROLI, BYLINE⁶: Federal law says anyone who works for the executive branch of the government has to avoid conflicts of interest. The treasury⁷ secretary cannot own stock in a big bank, for instance. And Richard Painter, who served as ethics⁸ adviser⁹ under President George W. Bush, says different administrations have typically been pretty scrupulous¹⁰ about following the law.

RICHARD PAINTER: Whenever anyone was even considering a position that would be appointed by the president, I would discuss with that person the need to sell off assets that create conflicts of interest.

ZARROLI: But ironically, the law that bars conflicts of interest for, say, a deputy assistant cabinet secretary doesn't apply to the president or vice¹¹ president. Which means President-elect Trump can continue to operate his vast network of businesses while serving as president. Trump has said he won't do that. He says he'll let his three grown children run his companies instead. Rudy Giuliani, the former New York mayor and U.S. attorney, suggested on CNN yesterday that Trump needs to keep the businesses operating to be fair to his children.

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RUDY GIULIANI: Remember, they can't work in the government because of the government rule against nepotism¹². So you'd be putting him out of work.

ZARROLI: But Giuliani, who is a top adviser to the president-elect, also said later that Trump should consider some kind of legal arrangement to remove himself completely from running his companies. Among government ethics experts, the idea of a sitting president's family running businesses for him raises all kinds of red flags. Meredith McGehee is with the nonpartisan group Issue One.

MEREDITH MCGEHEE: If we heard a similar situation described of a country in maybe Africa or another part of the world about the role that the family was going to play while their father was in the presidency¹³, we'd often refer to that as kind of the - one of the features of a banana republic.

ZARROLI: The Trump family does considerable business with overseas banks and governments. McGehee asks, what happens when one of Trump's children goes out to negotiate a deal?

MCGEHEE: What's the message to the people they're dealing¹⁴ with? Is it you better deal with me or there's going to be retribution, or I really want to deal with you because I think there's really some reward for my business?

ZARROLI: And Richard Painter says Trump risks running afoul of the Emoluments¹⁵ Clause of the Constitution, which bars U.S. government employees from getting paid by foreign countries or the companies they own. Painter says at worst, that could lead to a constitutional crisis between Congress and the president.

PAINTER: There are enormous risks to a Trump presidency - legal risks and other political risks - if he keep these business interests while he serves as president.

PAINTER: At best, Trump's business ties are likely to pop up repeatedly as a source of suspicion and scrutiny¹⁶, says McGehee.

MCGEHEE: The more of these kinds of ethical¹⁷ distractions¹⁸ that arise, I think the worse it is for President-elect Trump to actually come in and do the job he says he wants to do.

ZARROLI: And, she says, that could impede¹⁹ the country's ability to move forward after the long, contentious²⁰ presidential campaign. Jim Zarroli, NPR News, New York.