Trump’s latest actions point to need for full disclosure

Donald Trump’s reaction to recent reports on the meeting involving his son, son-in-law, his then-campaign manager, and individuals known to have close ties with senior Russian officials and Russian oligarchs with whom Donald Trump has had business dealings, highlights why we have a long history of practices and laws that seek to prevent and make illegal conflicts of interest by government employees and elected officials.

That Donald Trump is flouting these laws and historical practices is no secret. He has refused to release his income tax returns or to fully divest himself of his businesses, and has engaged in the most flagrant nepotism ever seen by a sitting president. Now, he must decide whether to stand by his son and son-in-law, or to support the work of the special prosecutor in getting the full details of the purpose of the meeting, which was to obtain derogatory information on Hillary Clinton and possibly to further his family’s business interests with the Russian oligarchs.

Either way, the meeting is an egregious example of why it is so important for Donald Trump to release all of his tax returns and divest himself of all of his business interests; otherwise, the American people will never know whether he is acting in the nation’s interest, or only in the interests of himself and his family members. So far, the evidence suggests he is sticking with his family — which means he is sticking it to the American people.

Congressional Republican leaders need to step up to the plate and demand that Donald Trump fully disclose all of his tax returns and fully divest himself of all of his business interests, otherwise they will be equally guilty of subverting our conflict-of-interest laws and ethical norms.

This story was originally published July 22, 2017 at 12:55 PM with the headline "Trump’s latest actions point to need for full disclosure."