Donald Trump is on course to violet the US Constitution on day one of his presidency after insisting he will not relinquish ownership of his business while in office, reports the independent, UK.
The US president-elect confirmed during Fox news Sunday interview that he will hand the management of his companies to his children but will not give up ownership of the businesses.
Trump said: “When I ran, everybody knew that I was a very big owner of real estate all over the world.” “I’m not going to have anything to do with management of the company.”
Retaining ownership of his companies was not necessarily a conflict of interest, he added. It means Trump is likely to violet article 1, Section 9 of the US Constitution, which says no holder of public office can “without the consent of the congress, accept of any president, emolument, office, or title, of any kind whatever, from any king, prince, or foreign stat.”
Trump is thought to profit from foreign states through their use of his businesses. The state-owned Bank of china is reportedly a tenant in Trump tower, New York, and the Bahraini Government last week held a reception at Trump International Hotel in Washington D.C, where hiring a room can cost many thousands of dollars.
In addition, sources have suggested overseas countries will use Trump’s hotel when he is President – something that could be interpreted as gift giving. One diplomat from an unnamed Asian country told the Washington post: “Why wouldn’t I stay at his hotel blocks from the White House, so I can tell the new president, I love your new hotel!’ Isn’t it rude to come to his city and say, ‘I am staying at your competitor?”