Rep. Katherine Clark (D. Mass) introduced a bill in Congress to prevent the President-elect, Vice President-elect, a sitting President and Vice President, or their spouses, business partners, or families profiting from their office.
Currently, the law bars most employees of the executive branch from participating substantially in any decision or recommendation that would benefit them, their spouse, child, parent, or an organization in which they have a financial interest, of control, or with which they are negotiating for employment.
Maybe, like me, you thought this was already in place with the blind trusts that are discussed briefly whenever a new president assumes office.
Nope.
Here’s what Rep. Clark had to say about the need for her bill:
#Breaking: Clark introduces bill to ensure President-elect addresses conflicts of interest https://t.co/3lvMRXHtnZ pic.twitter.com/urOMXsosbD
— Katherine Clark (@RepKClark) November 17, 2016
Not Many Rules At The Top
Actually, the President and Vice President are specifically exempt from the conflict of interest laws that apply to other staff of the executive branch. The existing ethics laws mostly require disclosure of relationships and being disqualified from participating in decisions that directly affect the official or family member.
But there is no law that requires either the president or the vice president to set up a blind trust, and there are no specific legal requirements as to who can run the trust or what communication the trustee can have with the official whose property is in the trust.
Past presidents have set up blind trusts, but there is no law that requires them to do so. Importantly, there also are no laws that require the President and Vice President to put any particular restrictions on blind trusts.
For example, no federal law prohibits the President-elect from putting his adult children in charge of the trust, as Trump has discussed.
What The Law Would Do
First, the bill, officially called H.R.6340, would prohibit the president and vice president from participating n decisions that would affect their financial interests (for example, government contracts). At least as important is the ban on family members or friends administering the trust. Clark’s proposed bill would require the trustee or manager to be an independent financial institution, attorney, certified public accountant, or investment advisory who:
- Is not associated with or controlled by any interested party;
- Is not a present or former officer, employee, or affiliate of, or subject to control or influence by, of any interested party.
Family members such as spouses, parents, children, in-laws, etc. could not be qualified to run the trust.
The bottom line: the Trump family could not be trustees . They couldn’t run the business. Moreover, they certainly could not run the business and advise the president-elect on government matters at the same time.
Thank you, Representative Clark, for proposing this legislation. If only you could get it passed during the “lame duck” session.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9eK8BmBDy7Y&t=23s
Featured Image: Screenshot Via YouTube Video.
