January, 08 2017, 11:00pm EDT
Warren Bill Would Require President Trump to Sell Business
Statements of Public Citizen Experts on Elizabeth Warren’s Legislation to Combat the President-Elect and Vice President-Elect’s Financial Conflicts of Interest
Note: Today, U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) introduced the ''Prevention of Presidential Conflicts of Interest Act of 2017.'' The legislation seeks to require the president to sell all assets that would create a financial conflict of interest. The bill also would apply to the vice president, the spouse of the president and to children of the president or vice president.
Below are statements from Public Citizen's experts:
Robert Weissman, president, Public Citizen-
"So long as President Trump has an ownership stake in the family business, his conflicts will corrupt the development of national policy on issues from consumer protection to tax reform, worker rights to bankruptcy, and even corrupt the conduct of foreign policy. The problem can't be solved by trustees, firewalls or promises not to talk about the business. Donald Trump knows what he owns, and he knows how the policy choices he makes as president will affect the family business.
"A second-grader could see that the only solution to this pervasive problem is for President-elect Trump to sell off the family business. Because there is no sign he intends to do this, it is incumbent on the Congress to force him to do so. That's why immediate passage of Senator Warren's legislation is desperately needed."
Lisa Gilbert, director, Public Citizen's Congress Watch division-
"The message of this legislation is clear. Donald Trump will knowingly enter office with conflicts of interest unseen in American history, and they must be resolved. No matter who is running the Trump Organization's business operations, as long as the president-elect has a financial stake in it, he will inevitably break the law he is constitutionally required to uphold. The U.S. Senate must take up legislation it believes will protect the American people, and I can think of no better candidate than the 'Prevention of Presidential Conflicts of Interest Act of 2017.'"
*Visit Public Citizen's Trump conflicts resource center here.
Public Citizen is a nonprofit consumer advocacy organization that champions the public interest in the halls of power. We defend democracy, resist corporate power and work to ensure that government works for the people - not for big corporations. Founded in 1971, we now have 500,000 members and supporters throughout the country.
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