Standing on stage at Trump Tower earlier this month, Donald Trump gestured to stacks of manila folders that had been arranged as props. “These papers,” he said then, “are just some of the many documents I’ve signed turning over complete and total control to my sons.”
The problem, however—or at least one problem among many—was that despite the suggestion that Trump would take all of the steps he promised to separate himself from the Trump Organization before he was sworn in this past Friday, his team did not provide any official documentation that he had actually done so prior to the inauguration. Furthermore, ProPublica reported several hours after Trump delivered his #AmericanCarnage address that officials in Florida, Delaware, and New York—three states where many of the his businesses are registered—had still not yet received the necessary filings.
On Monday, White House press secretary Sean Spicer then added to the intrigue by dodging a question about the documentation with a blanket just-trust-us response. “He has resigned from the company, as he said he would, before he took office,” Spicer said in a press briefing. “Don [Jr.] and Eric are fully in charge of the company. He’s taken extraordinary steps to ensure that’s happened.”
Now, though, we finally have our first evidence suggesting that Trump has indeed begun to deliver on his limited vow to formally separate himself from his business empire—albeit possibly later than he had suggested. The Miami Herald’s Nicholas Nehamas went digging through Florida public records and found a Trump Organization report declaring that Eric Trump has replaced his father as president of Trump International Hotels Management, one of a number of LLCs primarily owned by the family. That document was marked as “filed” on Monday, January 23, 2017, aka Day 4 of Trump’s presidency. It’s possible that there was a lag between the submission of the document and it entering the system, though that would still suggest that Trump and his team left things to the very last second.
Also on Monday afternoon, CNN published a signed 19-page letter from Trump declaring that he has resigned from the more than 400 entities listed therein. The letter was dated January 19, 2017—one day prior to the inauguration—but there is nothing on it to suggest that the necessary paperwork had been filed with state agencies that same day.
Assuming all the paperwork does check out, that still wouldn’t begin to address the far larger and more troubling issues concerning the interplay between the Trump Organization and the Trump administration. Even if Trump is no longer making the business decisions, he still holds a financial interest in his family company. A silent partner is still a partner, and you don’t have to be the one calling the shots to be the one making the money or navigating the conflict of interest.
Previously in Slate:
- Donald Trump Is Being Sued for Violating the Constitution. Here’s What You Need to Know.
- Donald Trump’s Promise to Separate Himself From His Business Is Off to a Horrible Start
- Trump Promised to Do Five Things to Separate Himself From His Business. There’s a Glaring Problem With Each.
***Follow Josh Voorhees on Twitter, or email him at josh.voorhees@slate.com***
