© POOL New / Reuters
Records show that President Trump is still very closely tied to his family business, according to The New York Times, despite a public statement and press conference addressing the issue days before he took office. During the Manhattan news conference, Trump said he would place his business holdings in a trust in order to curb any fears from the public that he could exploit the presidency for his own personal gain. Trump's eldest son, Donald Jr, and the Trump Organization's chief financial officer, Allen H. Weisselberg, are the named trustees of the trust, and they both have broad legal authority over his assets, the Times reports. The documents allegedly show that the trust structure gives the president the appearance of distance from his business without making many meaningful changes. According to The Times, it also drew sharp criticism from experts. “I don’t see how this in the slightest bit avoids a conflict of interest,” said trust and estates lawyer Frederick J. Tansill. “First it is revocable at any time, and it is his son and his chief financial officer who are running it.” The point of the Donald J. Trump Revocable Trust is to hold onto assets for the “exclusive benefit” of the president, the newspaper writes. Several other factors, including the president's new Washington hotel, are closely tied to the commander-in-chief and will financially benefit him.