Conflicts of Interest and Family Nepotism, Fake News and Telephone Diplomacy

Abstract

While the Media Circus swirled around Trump’s transition team and appointments, criticism intensified of Trump’s conflicts of interest. Trump’s initial response was that conflict-of-interest laws generally do not apply to the president, but critics continued to bring up laws and clauses in the constitution. Critics argue that if Trump does not divest his business interests, he would be at risk of violating the Constitution’s emoluments clause, which bars U.S. officeholders from taking anything of value from foreign governments.