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[1] (October 14, 2016)

handle is hein.crs/crsmthmanxn0001 and id is 1 raw text is: CRS Reports & Analysis Legal Sidebar Conflicts of Interest and the Presidency 10/14/2016 Does federal law require the President to relinquish control of his or her business interests? Federal regulation .f financial conflicts of interest is aimed at preventing opportunities for officials to personally benefit from influence they may have in their official capacity. As a generalrue, public officials in the executive branch are subject to criminal penalties if they personally and substantially participate in matters in which they (or their immediate families, business partners or associated organizations) hold financial interests. However, because of concerns regarding interference with the exercise of constitutional duties, Congress has not appli e rerictio to the President. Consequently, there is no current legal requirement that would compel the President to relinquish financial interests because of a conflict of interest. Disqualification Based on Conflicts of Interest: Federal ethics law generally prohibits officers and employees in the executive branch from personally and substantially participating in matters in which the official, the official's family, the official's general partner, or an organization in which the official serves has a financial interest. To comply with this disqualification requirement, covered individuals may recuse themselves from participation in the matter. For the purposes of the disqualification requirement, though, officers and employees are defined to exclude the President and Vice President, meaning that these individuals are not required to recuse themselves in potential conflicts, though they may take measures to avoid the appearance of such conflicts, as discussed below. Before the statutory exemption was adopted, the U.S. Department of Justice had.advised the Senate of its interpretation that a statutory disqualification requirement might interfere with the President's and Vice President's constitutional duties. Congress subsequently limited the scope of the prohibition in accordance with that view. Divestiture of Assets to Avoid Conflicts: Officials may avoid the need for recusal if they diye~s themselves of the financial interest that poses the conflict. Under one option for such divestiture, an official may establish a qualified blind Lrust. By placing assets in a qualified blind trust, officials transfer control and management of their private assets to an independent trustee who cannot communicate information about the holdings in the trust to the official. The trust is considered blind because the trustee will eventually sell the original assets and acquire new ones that are unknown to the official. Without knowledge of the composition of the trust's assets, the official arguably avoids the appearance of a conflict because no known interest could influence his or her exercise of official duties. Nevertheless, questions about these arrangements remain: Could officials really forget what went into the trust? Even if the original assets were sold, would the substituted assets or management thereof really be a mystery to an official with extensive knowledge of the general portfolio? Disclosure Requirements: The principal method of regulation of potential conflicts of interests for elected officials such as the President has been diaclosure of such interests and the associated publicity that may result. In other words, the current regulatory scheme suggests that any potential conflicts will be addressed by the electorate at the ballot box. To that end, presidential candidates are required to disclse certain potential conflicts under federal ethics law. To provide transparency for potential conflicts, the Ethics in Government Act requires high-level elected and appointed officials in each branch of government - including candidates for President, Vice President, and Congress - to disclose personal assets, investments, interests, and income upon entering office and on an annual basis thereafter. Furthermore, federal campaign finance law requires disclosure of campaign contributions received and spent. Under the Federal

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