Dem Rep. Cummings Calls For Inquiry Into Trump’s ‘Blind Trust’

Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md., speaks during a media availability, Friday, May 1, 2015 in Baltimore. State's Attorney Marilyn J. Mosby announced criminal charges Friday, against all six officers suspended after Freddi... Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md., speaks during a media availability, Friday, May 1, 2015 in Baltimore. State's Attorney Marilyn J. Mosby announced criminal charges Friday, against all six officers suspended after Freddie Gray suffered a fatal spinal injury in police custody in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon) MORE LESS
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Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD), ranking member on the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, has called on committee chair Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-UT) to begin a review of President-Elect Donald Trump’s business ties.

In a letter to Chaffetz, Cummings noted that Trump’s stated plan to put his assets in a blind trust run by his children, who also currently serve as advisers on his transition team, “is certainly not a ‘blind trust.’”

The review of Trump’s financial arrangements, Cummings wrote, would “ensure that our government operates effectively and efficiently and combats even the perception of corruption or abuse.”

Trump has one of the largest portfolios of any President-elect in American history, including hotels and golf courses, licensing deals and various other projects, many of which have benefitted handsomely from federal tax breaks. Much of Trump’s business debt is held by banks in foreign countries, an additional complication.

Two weeks before Election Day, USA Today reported that at least 75 lawsuits involving Trump and his businesses remained active, including multiple class-action suits by former students of the Trump University wealth seminar program.

If Trump’s White House deals with his business interests like his presidential campaign did, Cummings’ concerns wouldn’t be unwarranted: Politico reported in September that the President-elect’s campaign had benefitted his family’s businesses to the tune of $8.2 million.

In an interview with CNN’s Jake Tapper on Sunday, former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, a vice chair on Trump’s transition team, said putting Trump’s business in a true blind trust would be unfair to his children.

“You would be putting them out of work,” he said.

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Notable Replies

  1. Too soon ! That can wait !

  2. [quote]In an interview with CNN’s Jake Tapper on Sunday, former New York
    Mayor Rudy Giuliani, a vice chair on Trump’s transition team, said
    putting Trump’s business in a true blind trust would be unfair to his
    children.
    [/quote]
    And not doing that would be unfair to the country. I guess we know which one Trump will choose.

  3. I’m sure that Congressman Chaffetz will get right on that…just as soon as he’s done investigating Hillary’s use of the wrong email address. That might take a while.

  4. Avatar for aiddon aiddon says:

    Go for it. The best thing Dems can do is not to keep quiet. They must speak their minds and be ready to fight back.

  5. Chaffetz will start his investigation of Trump’s Blind Trust as soon as he finishes his investigations of HRC’s email, the Clinton Foundation, and Benghazi redux. Somewhere between the second Tuesday of next week and the twelfth of never.

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