Trump Organization adds new policy
Business address conflicts of interest
By: Nick Penzenstadler
USA Today
..... The Trump Organization has hired a new ethics reviewer in an attempt to shield President-elect Donald Trump and his private company from conflicts of interest in business deals.
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The sprawling private real estate company owned by Trump and operated by the family turned Friday [01/10/2025] to William Burck, an attorney based in Washington, D.C., to replace Bobby Burchfield, who held the role though 2020 in Trump's first term and has since retired.
..... Burck confirmed the new role to USA Today, and the Trump Organization provided a copy of the new ethics plan.
..... The plan bans new deals between the Trump Organization and foreign governments, but not foreign businesses, as had been the case in the first Trump administration. It also outlines a review process for several transaction that meet a certain threshold, like purchases over $10 million or leasing more than 40,000 square feet of real estate space.
..... The reviews aim to make sure they are: arm's length, meaning independent form influence; involve a known "appropriate counter party"; and do not raise conflicts of interests or ethical concerns.
..... the company plans to "voluntarily donate to the U.S. Treasury all profits it receives from foreign government patronage that the company is able to identify at its hotels and similar businesses," the plan said, adding that it would continue to offer discounted rates to the U.S. S erect Service for overnight stays, food and beverages at Trump properties.
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Trump has been criticized for bringing Secret Service agents to stay on the government dime at his resorts and golf clubs.
..... "The Trump Organization is dedicated to not just meeting but vastly exceeding it legal and ethical obligations during my father's Presidency," Eric Trump, the Trump Organization's executive vice president, said in a statement. "As a reflection of this commitment, just like during my father's first term in office, we have not only implemented a series of robust ethical standards, but also appointed one of the most respected attorneys in the country to guide our company while my father serves to make American great again."
..... Burck has history with Trump and around Washington. He's part of the while-collar firm Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan LLP. He served in the George W. Bush White House and in the criminal division of the Justice Department and as a federal prosecutor in the Southern District on New York. He served as a law clerk for former Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy and is also listed as a member of the board of Fox Corporation.
..... More recently, he worked on the confirmation process for Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, a Trump nominee, in 2018. the New York Times called Burck "a legal gun-for-hire" who told friends he "would never work for: Trump even though many of his clients did or had.
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His past high-profile clients include Maureen McDonnell, the wife of Virgina Governor Bob McDonnell who was indicted on corruption charges.
..... Trump holds a stake in new businesses like his Trump Media & technology group Corporation that operates Truth Social and is publicly traded on the NASDAQ exchange, as well as his crypto venture World Liberty Financial.
Past ethics criticism
..... Democratic lawmakers and government watchdogs argued throughout Trump's first term that he violated the Foreign emoluments Clause of the Constitution. They pointed to foreign governments spending lavishly at the Trump International Hotel, just a few blocks from the White House. Beginning in 2018, the Trump Organization sent payments of undisclosed amounts to the U.S. Treasury, which it said equal the profits from foreign government spending at Trump properties.
..... The Justice Department defended the president in court challenges that reached the Supreme court, arguing the instances never profited Trump directly since they were "ordinary commercial transactions."
..... In January 2021, the Supreme Court dismissed as moot a pair of lawsuits related to the issue, since he had left office.
..... In January 2024, Democrats on the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability releases a report on the millions of dollars that flowed to the Trump Organization from corrupt and authoritarian governments such as China, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab emirates during his first term.
..... The new ethics pledge does not make clear hos the organization would treat new deals with foreign companies that are closely aligned with governments. Committee records released last year, [2024] for instance, shoo Trump's company receive more than $5.5 million from both the Chinese government and Chinese state-owned enterprises.
..... Ethics watchdog Tony Clarrk said his organization Accountable.us would be working to make sure the Trump White House abides by its pledges.
..... "I think people do care. People want to know their elected officials are working for us and not themselves," Clarrk said. "Is that the top of mind issued every day? Maybe not. But I'm suer there are examples where a decisions is made, and after the fact, it benefited him personally ... and hurt average people."