The Trump transition team's code of ethics appears to carve out an exception for a specific person, CNN reported Wednesday: Donald Trump himself.
"'There does not appear to be a provision addressing the requirement for the president-elect to address his conflicts of interest,' said Valerie Smith Boyd, director of the Center for Presidential Transition at the nonprofit, nonpartisan Partnership for Public Service," reported Betsy Klein, Steve Contorno, and Arlette Saenz."
CNN reached out to ask the Trump team for comment but did not receive a response.
Such a move would be par for the course for Trump, who entered his first term of office with a number of conflicts of interest, one of the most glaring being ownership of a hotel in Washington, D.C. that quickly became a hot spot for foreign dignitaries to spend money and curry favor. Trump also reportedly overcharged the Secret Service to stay at the property, directly pocketing taxpayer money.
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Trump also dragged his feet on upholding the basic pledges he made to voters, including to release his taxes. Claiming they were under audit, Trump kept them hidden for years — the only major presidential candidate in decades to do so — until The New York Times obtained and published information from them.
The president-elect is now entering office with a brand new conflict, namely his Trump Media company, which runs Truth Social. Experts have raised warnings that anyone trying to buy access or influence in the Trump administration could simply purchase ad space or make favorable investments in the social network.