NPR – “President-elect Donald Trump should divest himself of his vast business interests in order to avoid conflicts of interest while in the White House, according to a letter from the U.S. Office of Government Ethics. Moreover, transferring ownership of his businesses to his grown children wouldn’t go far enough to address the conflicts, the letter said. “Transferring operational control of a company to one’s children would not constitute the establishment of a qualified blind trust, nor would it eliminate conflicts of interest” under federal statutes governing conflicts of interest, said the letter, written by OGE Director Walter M. Shaub, Jr. The letter was written in response to questions from Democratic Sen. Tom Carper of Delaware, ranking member of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, who wrote:

“The full extent of his financial interests remains unclear, in part because he was the first presidential candidate in modern history to decline to release his tax returns to the American public. These unique circumstances raise important questions about how the Administration of President-elect Trump will avoid conflicts of interest and ensure integrity of executive branch programs and operation.”

• OGE’s Role in the Presidential Transition
• OGE’s Guide for Nominees
• OGE’s Appendix to the Guide for Nominees
• OGE’s Public Financial Disclosure Guide
• OGE’s Nominee Ethics Agreement Guide
• Compilation of Federal Ethics Laws (110 pages; PDF)