Questions

Six weeks ago I asked:

Has anyone ever asked Trump if he’ll step away from his business ventures, should he win the Presidency?

Today, Newsweek asks:

If Donald Trump is elected president, will he and his family permanently sever all connections to the Trump Organization, a sprawling business empire that has spread a secretive financial web across the world? Or will Trump instead choose to be the most conflicted president in American history, one whose business interests will constantly jeopardize the security of the United States?

I hope someone asks Trump this question at the debates.

On the other hand, the Trump family rakes in untold millions of dollars from the Trump Organization every year. Much of that comes from deals with international financiers and developers, many of whom have been tied to controversial and even illegal activities. None of Trump’s overseas contractual business relationships examined by Newsweek were revealed in his campaign’s financial filings with the Federal Election Commission, nor was the amount paid to him by his foreign partners. (The Trump campaign did not respond to a request for the names of all foreign entities in partnership or contractually tied to the Trump Organization.) Trump’s financial filings also indicate he is a shareholder or beneficiary of several overseas entities, including Excel Venture LLC in the French West Indies and Caribusiness Investments SRL, based in the Dominican Republic, one of the world’s tax havens.

Trump’s business conflicts with America’s national security interests cannot be resolved so long as he or any member of his family maintains a financial interest in the Trump Organization during a Trump administration, or even if they leave open the possibility of returning to the company later. The Trump Organization cannot be placed into a blind trust, an arrangement used by many politicians to prevent them from knowing their financial interests; the Trump family is already aware of who their overseas partners are and could easily learn about any new ones.

And then it goes on for several thousand more words, detailing potential conflicts that loom in countries central to every major conflict and market in the world.

But Clinton has a charity.

5 thoughts on “Questions

      1. JenBob

        Yes, it’s almost as if George Washington, whose net worth was estimated to be north of $26 BILLION in today’s dollars, didn’t have *any* business interests that might have the appearance of a conflict of interest!

  1. JenBob

    You’re the “Sysop”
    Hey that’s GREAT!
    Now you can be the guy you always wanted to be. The guy that forces even respectful people to bow down to your philosophy! The guy that drives away traffic by deleting comments that, while civil, don’t reflect your penchant for far left politics.

    Good for you!

    P.S. I’m hopeful, but not confident that this, too, will be deleted as the last reasoned posts were.

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