Ethics Chief Walter Shaub Criticizes Trump Organization Handover Plan

Walter Shaub, the director of the US Office of Government Ethics, has sharply criticized President-elect Donald Trump’s plan to hand his global business empire to his sons before his inauguration on January 20.

Donald Trump’s plan does not match the “standards” of US presidents over the last 40 years, Walter Shaub said.

A Trump lawyer said earlier the new trust would face “severe restrictions” on new deals.

However, Walter Shaub said the plan would not remove conflicts of interest.

Referring to a process whereby Donald Trump would sell off his corporate assets and put the profits into a blind trust run by an independent trustee, Walter Shaub said: “Every president in modern times has taken the strong medicine of divestiture.”

At a news conference on January 11, lawyer Sherri Dillon said that management of the Trump Organization would be transferred to a trust controlled by Donald Trump’s sons Don and Eric and CFO Allen Weisselberg.

The Trump Organization is an umbrella company for Donald Trump’s hundreds of investments in real estate, brands and other businesses.