Common Cause Urges Rep. Chaffetz to Investigate Rampant Conflicts of Interest & Ethics Violations in Trump White House

Common Cause is urging House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Jason Chaffetz (R-UT) to investigate rampant conflicts of interest, apparent violations of the Constitution’s emoluments clause, and ethics violations by President Trump, his staff, and his family. The letter encourages Rep. Chaffetz to hold a series of hearings to investigate and ensure that President Trump is in compliance with the law and putting the interests of the American people before his own personal financial interests.

 “Every elected official must be accountable to their constituents and the President of the United States is no exception,” said Karen Hobert Flynn, Common Cause President. “As Chair of the House Oversight Committee, it is Rep. Chaffetz’s responsibility to ensure that government officials are complying with the law. The Chairman owes it to the American people to hold the Executive Branch accountable regardless of whether the President is a Democrat or a Republican.”

The letter outlines a series of issues that Rep. Chaffetz’s House Oversight Committee should address in hearings. Rep. Chaffetz is urged to obtain and release details on the finances and operations of the more than 500 businesses owned by President Trump and the individuals or entities holding that debt. Potential violations of the emoluments clause also require investigation by the Committee, the letter argues.

The hearings should also address the President’s refusal to release copies of his tax returns and his failure to follow the example set by his predecessors by filing a personal financial disclosure report shortly after taking office. The Committee is also urged to secure details of the Trump Organization’s business arrangements with the President’s children and immediate family members. The letter emphasizes that details of the arrangements made by the President to fulfill his pledge to cease new overseas business ventures must be made public to ensure compliance.

The House Oversight Committee has a duty to hold the President accountable and make public the details of his extensive business holdings and arrangements. Full transparency, the letter stresses, is required of a President and an Administration with unprecedented business entanglements and potential conflicts of interest.

Read the Letter to Rep. Chaffetz here.