The Office of Government Ethics took to the President-elect’s favorite medium on Wednesday to give him some very pointed advice about reconciling his business conflicts.
In a string of nine tweets, some of which mirrored Trump’s distinct style of tweeting (“Brilliant! Divestiture is good for you, very good for America!”), the federal agency appeared to sarcastically praise Trump for a decision the President-elect has not made: divesting himself of his business interests in order to avoid conflicts of interest once he takes office.
.@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
The Office of Government Ethics did not respond Wednesday to emails or calls from TPM.
“Like everyone else, we were excited this morning to read the President-elect’s twitter feed indicating that he wants to be free of conflicts of interest. OGE applauds that goal, which is consistent with an opinion OGE issued in 1983. Divestiture resolves conflicts of interest in a way that transferring control does not. We don’t know the details of their plan, but we are willing and eager to help them with it,” a spokesperson for the office wrote in a statement obtained by New York Times reporter Eric Lipton.
Office of Government Ethics issues statement regarding bizarre tweet storm on Trump today https://t.co/N3fd7p9oKw pic.twitter.com/XWupyUjIsr
— Eric Lipton (@EricLiptonNYT) November 30, 2016
Early Wednesday morning, Trump announced on Twitter that he plans to leave his business empire “in total,” but did not offer further details beyond announcing a Dec. 15 press conference in which he planned to offer more information.
Trump transition spokesman Jason Miller told reporters on a conference call later Wednesday that the President-elect has “been very clear” that he plans to turn over his business empire to his adult children.
This plan has raised concerns that Trump may remain aware of his businesses’ interests and continue to draw a profit while in office, objections that the Office of Government Ethics noted would be allayed if Trump divested himself completely. The tweets suggest the agency’s position is that for Trump to leave his businesses “in total,” he must sell off his holdings rather than merely hand control of them over to his children.
