Mr. Trump said on Twitter just after 11:30 p.m. that he would leave his businesses before his inauguration and that his grown sons, Eric and Donald Jr., along with other executives, would manage them. He added, “No new deals will be done during my term(s) in office,” and promised to hold a news conference soon to discuss the plans…
Richard W. Painter, a White House ethics adviser under President George W. Bush, said Mr. Trump’s latest Twitter posts meant very little in terms of eliminating conflicts.
“It makes no sense to say ‘no new deals,’” Mr. Painter said, questioning why the president-elect would make an announcement just before midnight on a Monday. “What is he talking about?”
“Is he going to continue to borrow money from foreign banks like Bank of China? That is a deal,” Mr. Painter said. “Or collect rent from foreign government-owned companies? That is a deal. Will he still be hiring people, or having people stay in his hotels?”
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