By Dustin Rowles | Twitter | November 30, 2016 |
By Dustin Rowles | Twitter | November 30, 2016 |
The United States Office of Government Ethics is a branch of the federal government devoted to ensuring that there are no conflicts of interest on the part of any federal executive branch officer or employees, including the President.
However, while the Director of the OGE is appointed by the President, he or she serves a five-year term that overlaps administrations. That person right now is Walter M. Shaub, Jr., whose term runs until January 2018, which means he gets a full year to run checks on Donald Trump before he is presumably replaced (there are no term limits for the position). He probably also knows that he will be replaced in 2018 by someone who is less interested in ethics and more interested in ensuring Donald Trump doesn’t have to worry about business conflicts.
Anyway, knowing what the Office of Government Ethics does is important, because this morning, Donald Trump tweeted that he’s leaving his business to focus on the Presidency.
I will be holding a major news conference in New York City with my children on December 15 to discuss the fact that I will be leaving my …
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 30, 2016
great business in total in order to fully focus on running the country in order to MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN! While I am not mandated to ….
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 30, 2016
do this under the law, I feel it is visually important, as President, to in no way have a conflict of interest with my various businesses..
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 30, 2016
Hence, legal documents are being crafted which take me completely out of business operations. The Presidency is a far more important task!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 30, 2016
Everyone with half a brain cell read these tweets and immediately assumed that Donald Trump would hold a press conference to announce that he’s handing control of his business over to his children, which really doesn’t solve any of his business conflicts. Whether he’s running it or not, he will still own it, and he will continue to profit from it. He may give up day-to-day operations, but he will probably continue to advise on its operations, and he could continue to benefit from any potential conflicts.
Most people rolled their eyes. The only true way to avoid business conflicts here is to actually divest himself of it. Sell it. Get it out of his life and the lives of his children.
That’s why these tweets from Office of Government Ethics are so fantastic.
.@realDonaldTrump We can't repeat enough how good this total divestiture will be
— U.S. OGE (@OfficeGovEthics) November 30, 2016
.@realDonaldTrump Brilliant! Divestiture is good for you, very good for America!
— U.S. OGE (@OfficeGovEthics) November 30, 2016
.@realDonaldTrump OGE applauds the "total" divestiture decision. Bravo!
— U.S. OGE (@OfficeGovEthics) November 30, 2016
.@realDonalTrump As we discussed with your counsel, divestiture is the way to resolve these conflicts.
— U.S. OGE (@OfficeGovEthics) November 30, 2016
.@realDonaldTrump OGE is delighted that you've decided to divest your businesses. Right decision!
— U.S. OGE (@OfficeGovEthics) November 30, 2016
.@realDonaldTrump Bravo! Only way to resolve these conflicts of interest is to divest . Good call!
— U.S. OGE (@OfficeGovEthics) November 30, 2016
.@realDonaldTrump this aligns with OGE opinion that POTUS should act as if 18 USC 208 applies. https://t.co/T6nNUPxFwp
— U.S. OGE (@OfficeGovEthics) November 30, 2016
.@realDonaldTrump this divestiture does what handing over control could never have done.
— U.S. OGE (@OfficeGovEthics) November 30, 2016
.@realDonaldTrump - we told your counsel we'd sing your praises if you divested, we meant it.
— U.S. OGE (@OfficeGovEthics) November 30, 2016
It’s almost as if the Office of Government Ethics wants Donald Trump to divest? Maybe he should listen to them (he’s totally not going to listen to them).