Elizabeth Warren leads charge with Bill to stop corruption
Senator Elizabeth Warren has proposed a Bill that could force Donald Trump to place his business assets in a blind trust to avoid potential conflicts of interest as US President.
The law proposed by Warren and four other US Senators would mean Trump and Vice President Mike Pence must disclose and divest any potential conflicts, and would see Trump’s appointees recuse themselves of handling anything that touched Trump’s financial interests while in post.
It follows a resolution from the Senators in November saying the President-elect must sever ties with the Trump Organization to avoid breaking the emoluments clause in the US constitution, which bans the President taking gifts or benefits from foreign governments.
The Senators say Trump has ‘deep ties to global financiers and foreign officials’ in China, Libya and Turkey. You can read more on the Bill here.
Co-sponsor Senator Dick Durbin said:
“President-elect Trump’s financial entanglements are unprecedented in American history, and the American people are still waiting to hear what steps he will take before January 20th to guard against conflicts of interest and corruption in his Administration.
Just this week, the President-elect cancelled a scheduled announcement about severing his business ties, taking time instead to meet with Kanye West.”
Warren said:
“The American people deserve to know that the President of the United States is working to do what’s best for the country – not using his office to do what’s best for himself and his businesses.
The only way for President-elect Trump to truly eliminate conflicts of interest is to divest his financial interests and place them in a blind trust.
This has been the standard for previous presidents, and our bill makes clear the continuing expectation that President-elect Trump do the same.”
The Bill will be formerly introduced when the Senate convenes in January.
Adam Barnett is staff writer for Left Foot Forward. Follow him on Twitter @AdamBarnett13
See: Donald Trump’s attacks on unions are a betrayal of American workers
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