According to aides within the Trump transition team, the president-elect sold all of his shares in companies over the summer.
In an email to reporters, Trump spokesman Jason Miller confirmed Tuesday that Donald Trump has sold all remaining shares he owned in various businesses. Some of Trump’s stock portfolio included big names such as Microsoft Corp, Apple Inc, JP Morgan Chase and many others. Trump finalized the severances in June.
The announcement comes at a good time for the president-elect. Finally reaching the “acceptance” phase of Trump’s victory, many liberal critics have transitioned from accusing the New York Republican of transgressions on the campaign trail to forecasting ethics violations once he’s in office. They argue Trump’s numerous business ties will be a conflict of interest for him once in office and will lead to major conflicts of interests.
While not completely clearing all business ties, the selling of stock will certainly eliminate many accusations of conflicts of interest. A smart and preemptive move by the Trump team.
While saying he will step back from his business empire once in office, Trump has been criticized for being vague on details regarding the transition of responsibilities to his children. Upon making the announcement Tuesday, the transition team did not provide documentation of the sales. However, Trump would not be legally required to file a new financial disclosure form until May 2018.
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