Trump's business conflicts ‘worst since there were slave owners in the White House'
Donald Trump's conflicts of interest are the worst since there were slave owners in the White House, a former presidential ethics adviser has said.
Richard Painter, who was chief White House ethics lawyer from 2005-2007, said Mr Trump's business empire – spanning hotels, real estate, crypto currency and social media – meant he was more compromised than any president in post-Civil War history.
Mr Painter, who served under President George Bush, told The Telegraph: 'The financial conflicts of interest of the president himself are unprecedented in our country, at least since the Civil War.
'Some of our earlier presidents had financial conflicts of interests with plantations, but not since then, until Donald Trump came along.'
At least 13 presidents owned slaves at some point during their lifetimes, according to the White House Historical Association, including George Washington and Thomas Jefferson.
Mr Trump's conflicts of interests are even worse than during his first term, Mr Painter added.
The president's business empire has expanded beyond hotels and golf clubs to include the cryptocurrency venture World Liberty Financial – which the Trump family has a majority holding in – and the social media site Truth Social.
Last week World Liberty Financial announced that a fund backed by Abu Dhabi was planning to make a $2bn (£1.5bn) transaction using one of its digital currencies, in a move that is expected to generate revenues for the Trump family.
The deal comes less than two weeks before Mr Trump's state visit to the Middle East – which will see him travel to the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Qatar.
The Trump Organisation, which is managed by Eric Trump, also recently announced a deal to build the first Trump real estate project in Qatar with Qatari Diar, which is owned by the Qatari government, and Saudi Arabian development company Dar Global.
Donald Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, also has extensive business dealings in the Middle East.
Mr Kushner's investment company Affinity Partners received $2bn of initial investment from Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund in its early stages and then secured more than $1.5bn from the UAE and Qatar last year.
'Type of corruption'
Mr Painter, who is a professor of law at the University of Minnesota, said: 'I can't prove that they're going to influence the President's decisions, but you can tell that he sees those that do business with him as his friends, that's just the way it is. But it looks terrible.
'It looks like the way you are going to conduct diplomacy with Donald Trump is by doing business with his family. This idea of your family cutting deals while you're on a diplomatic mission, it makes it look like everybody's on the take.'
Under what is known as the 'emoluments clause' in the US constitution, any person holding government office must not accept any emolument (a fee or profit) or gift from a sovereign state without congressional approval. However, the rule does not extend to family members.
Mr Painter said: 'It's a workaround of the emoluments clause, it is a type of corruption the founders of our country did not want and it looks terrible.'
He also criticised former president Joe Biden for setting a precedent by allowing his son, Hunter Biden, to take a role on the board of one of Ukraine's largest gas companie s.
The Trump family's involvement in crypto also mean they stand to benefit from Mr Trump's policies on digital currencies.
The Senate is preparing to pass Mr Trump's Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins (Genius) Act, governing how some cryptocurrency will be used.
Democrat Senator Elizabeth Warren called the Genius Act a 'greenlight the grift'.
In a video posted on X, Ms Warren said: 'This is a bill that will make it even easier for the President and his family to profit off their own stable coin.'
Donald Trump's latest corruption?
A $2 BILLION stablecoin deal with a foreign crypto company that will benefit the Trump family business.
And it gets worse — the Senate is getting ready to bless this kind of grift.
But it's not too late to make changes.
Here's the latest: pic.twitter.com/3IaQOCZTfL
— Elizabeth Warren (@SenWarren) May 1, 2025
Mr Trump has denied that he has any conflicts of interest because he has resigned from his roles in his businesses and has handed over management to his children.
A White House spokesman said: 'President Trump's assets are in a trust managed by his children. There are no conflicts of interest.'
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