John,

Just last month, we wrote a letter to Donald Trump demanding that, before the inauguration, he divest from his businesses in order to avoid violating the Foreign and Domestic Emoluments Clauses of the Constitution.

Donald Trump has one week left to divest from his businesses.

Should Trump fail to divest from his business portfolio, which has only grown since leaving office in 2021, he will face more, and more serious, conflicts of interest than he did during his first term.

Time is running out for him to take action.

During Trump’s first term, CREW fought to hold Donald Trump accountable to the Constitution and to strong ethical principles–and we’re going to do the same thing during his second term. But now, the potential violations have only grown.

Donald Trump recently transferred his $4 billion stake in Truth Social’s holding company into a trust in an attempt to assuage the concerns about his potential conflicts of interest.

But John, the trust is controlled by Donald Trump Jr. It isn’t a blind trust, it isn’t independent, and it doesn’t stop Trump from profiting from the business.

That means this trust does *nothing* to address the serious conflicts of interest posed by the publicly traded company.

People or governments looking to curry favor with Trump could invest in the stock with no transparency, driving up the value of the business and therefore inflating Trump’s net worth.

Trump must divest from his businesses—or they will create national security risks, endless sources of corruption and constitutional violations.

John, we’re not holding our breath for Trump to divest—after all, he didn't do so the first time around. But he absolutely should, and if he doesn't, we are preparing to keep track of any and all conflicts of interest and illegal emoluments. And we’re going to loudly sound the alarm about them and the ensuing corruption—and advocate for real checks on Trump’s abuses.

Thanks,

Noah Bookbinder
President
CREW