US
President-elect Donald Trump on Wednesday tried to stifle concerns that his
business empire represents a conflict of interest, promising to put it aside as
he packed
his cabinet roster with fellow billionaires.
In one of his
trademark pre-dawn tweetstorms, the Manhattan real estate mogul said that next
month, he will reveal a plan to put aside his "great business in total in
order to fully focus on running the country."
The
70-year-old tycoon did not say who would take over his multi-billion dollar global
property and luxury branding interests, but said his children would be present
at a December 15 news conference.
He has
previously said his daughter Ivanka and sons Eric and Don Jr. could take
day-to-day charge of the business while he is president, but it is not clear
what he would do with his personal stake.
"While I
am not mandated to do this under the law, I feel it is visually important, as
president, to in no way have a conflict of interest with my various
businesses," he tweeted.
US law does not
require Trump to give up his business portfolio, although the Constitution
states that no federal official can receive a gift or "emolument"
from a foreign government.
Some previous
presidents have placed investments in a blind trust, but they were not required
to do so.
Critics argue
it would be an unprecedented ethical conflict for Trump to maintain an interest
in properties spanning the globe that rely in part on goodwill from foreign
governments and regulators.
And, even on
home soil, his company has attracted criticism for marketing the new Trump
International Hotel in Washington -- just a few blocks from the White House --
to foreign diplomats.
But his new
chief of staff , Reince Priebus, insisted there were "smart ethics
lawyers" working on a "plan."
Trump has
admitted the hotel's brand is probably "hotter" now that he is the
president, but has vaguely promised to "phase out" his hands-on,
check-signing role in Trump Organization business.
Meanwhile, the
Republican is building the cabinet team that will join him in the capital after
his January 20 inauguration with a mission to "drain the swamp" of
Washington corruption.
So far, aside
from former generals sidelined by President Barack Obama's administration,
Trump has focused on recruiting super-rich conservative figures from Wall
Street and private business.
On Tuesday,
Trump dined on frog legs, scallops and sirloin at a Michelin-starred restaurant
with Mitt Romney, former Massachusetts governor and private equity baron.
Romney's own
failed 2012 campaign for the presidency foundered in part because Democrats
tagged him as a member of an aloof, super-rich elite, but Trump is considering
him as a possible secretary of state.
- 'Suicide
Squad' -
The latest two
figures Trump has nominated for senior roles -- Wall Street veteran Steven
Mnuchin and stressed asset investor Wilbur Ross -- are both billionaires and
even richer than Romney.
Trump's
defeated Democratic opponent, Hillary Clinton, was attacked during the campaign
for accepting hundreds of thousands of dollars for giving private speeches to
Goldman Sachs bankers.
But Trump,
having already named former Goldman banker Steve Bannon as his chief
strategist, this week nominated another, Mnuchin, for the key role of Treasury
secretary.
Mnuchin was a
partner in Goldman Sachs before he launched an investment fund backed by
Democratic Party supporter George Soros. He financed Hollywood blockbusters
like "Avatar" and "Suicide Squad."
Alongside
Mnuchin, Trump picked Ross, best known for investing in failing steel and coal
firms and turning them into saleable investments, as commerce secretary.
Appearing with
Ross on CNBC, 53-year-old Mnuchin said: "We're thrilled to be here and
we're thrilled to work for the president-elect and honored to have these
positions."
- Chinese
steel -
Mnuchin's
appointment is widely seen as a reward for taking Trump's side at a time when
many of the Republican Party's major donors, such as the billionaire Koch
brothers, had shunned him.
Trump's picks
are the first major nominations to his economic policy team.
The
president-elect has vowed to cut corporate taxes and to encourage multinational
companies to repatriate their earnings.
He plans to
scrap the 2010 Dodd-Frank financial reforms, enacted to protect consumers and
the financial system from Wall Street excesses that some argue caused the
financial crisis.
Ross has
advocated a steep tariff on Chinese steel imports to prevent what Trump has
alleged is the dumping of cheap commodities on the US market.
On Thursday,
Trump was scheduled to embark on a victory tour of sorts, leading an evening
rally with his running mate Mike Pence in Cincinnati, Ohio.
The pair are
also to appear earlier in the day at the Indianapolis plant of an air
conditioning firm that announced Wednesday it would maintain 1,000 jobs in the
Rust Belt -- a pledge Trump had made during the campaign.
The transition
team has dubbed it a "thank you tour."
AFP
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