The Trump Organization's foreign deals pledge leaves some wiggle room
Angela Weiss/AFP/Getty Images
- The Trump Organization announced its ethics plan for Donald Trump's second term.
- The president-elect's private company said Trump would be walled off from day-to-day duties.
- Unlike in 2017, the company is leaving the door more open to some foreign transactions.
The Trump Organization on Friday announced that President-elect Donald Trump will be walled off from the day-to-day management of his privately held company.
Unlike in 2017, Trump's company is not agreeing to a blanket stop on new foreign business transactions. Instead, a five-page ethics plan calls only for a limit on transactions with foreign governments.
"The Company will not enter into any new material transactions or contracts with a foreign government, except for Ordinary Course Transactions," says a copy of the plan, obtained by CNBC.
The language would seem to allow business dealings like the Trump Organization's work with LIV Golf, a competitor to the PGA financed by Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund, to continue. LIV is set to return to Trump National Doral in Florida for an April tournament.
Many policies outlined in a five-page document mirror Trump's promises when he took office in 2016. One of the main similarities is that the Trump Organization has again appointed an outside ethics advisor. Bill Burck, co-managing Partner of Quinn Emanuel and a former George W. Bush DOJ official, will serve as the advisor.
According to the plan, Burck will review acquisitions over $10 million, leases involving more than 40,000 sq. ft., and new debts of more than $10 million. He will also review deals with the US government as well as with state and local governments.
The Wall Street Journal first reported on the ethics plan. The Journal also reported that the Trump Organization wants to reclaim its former Washington, DC, hotel. Congressional Democrats sued Trump when he was in office, alleging he was partly violating the US Constitution's emoluments clause by renting out hotel rooms to foreign governments. In 2021, the Supreme Court threw out the remaining emoluments-related lawsuits.
Trump has significant assets outside of his eponymous firm. He has a significant stake in Trump Media & Technology Group, the parent company of his social media platform Truth Social. Trump's shares are a large part of the reason why his net worth is now estimated to be over $6 billion.