{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://connolly.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=830", "Connolly Calls on Trump to Immediately Act on Rampant Conflicts of Interest", "2016-12-13", "2016", "2016-12", "Democrat", "House", "VA", "Gerald Connolly", "C001078", "connolly.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "\u201cThe tentacles of the Trump Organization run far and wide. How is the President-elect to act responsibly, ethically, and in our nation\u2019s best interest, if he is still heavily invested in these holdings?\u201d said Rep. Connolly\r\n          share:\r\n          f \r\n          t \r\n        \r\n      \r\n      In advance of tomorrow\u2019s House Oversight and Government Reform Forum on the President-elect\u2019s blatant conflicts of interest, Congressman Connolly called on Trump to immediately divest and place his holdings in a blind trust. \u201cThe President of the United States must avoid even the appearance of a conflict of interest. Unfortunately, the President-elect\u2019s vague, and now delayed, twitter promises of a \u201cfuture plan\u201d fall far short of past practice and our reasonable expectations,\u201d said Connolly. \u201cThe president cannot serve himself while serving the nation, and the president is not above the law,\u201d added Connolly. \u201cIt is important that Americans understand what is going on here and how far the President-elect\u2019s conflicts of interest run. That demands transparency.\u201d \u201cThe tentacles of the Trump Organization run far and wide. How is the President-elect to act responsibly, ethically, and in our nation\u2019s best interest, if he is still heavily invested in these holdings?\u201d\u201cIn fact, the problems of turning his business operations over to his children are made pretty obvious by the recent reports of Ivanka sitting in on his meeting with Prime Minister Abe of Japan, and by comments by some foreign dignitaries that they may opt to stay at Trump International Hotel to curry favor.\u201d\u201cFor example, he will be making decisions about regulation of the financial sector and the potential dismantling of the Dodd-Frank banking law, as the Trump Organization, like most real estate empires, is heavily indebted to banks and other lenders.\u201d\u201cEven worse, if any foreign government or a company controlled by a foreign government does business with a Trump entity with his involvement, the President could be accused of accepting a payment in violation of the Emoluments Clause of the Constitution, creating a constitutional crisis that could even result in threats of impeachment.\u201d\u201cThe only solution is divestiture and a blind trust managed by a neutral party,\u201d Connolly said. \u201cAll past presidents in modern history have employed the use of a blind trust so that their presidency  is not overshadowed by conflicts such as those found between Trump\u2019s business interests and the public interest.\u201dBackground: On November 30, 2016, Connolly joined with Ranking Member Cummings of the Oversight and Government Reform Committee and Ranking Member DeFazio and Mr. Carson of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee in asking for information about how the General Services Administration (GSA) plans to address the imminent breach-of-lease and conflict of interest issues created by President-elect Donald Trump\u2019s lease with the U.S. Government for the Trump International Hotel building in Washington, D.C", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://connolly.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=830"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.6992311682552099, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}