SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
Press secretary Sean Spicer at Monday's press briefing. (Photo: Screenshot)
Spicer Won't Give Straight Answer on Reported Changes to Trump Trust
White House press secretary Sean Spicer claims "the entire point" of setting up such a trust "is so somebody can withdraw money"
Apr 03, 2017
White House press secretary Sean Spicer didn't offer a clear explanation or response to questions on Monday about new reporting showing that President Donald Trump can withdraw funds at any time from any of his businesses--without telling the American people.
Citing a trust document signed on February 10, online outlet ProPublica reported Monday: "Trump can draw money from his more than 400 businesses, at any time, without disclosing it."
According to ProPublica reporters Derek Kravitz and Al Shaw:
The previously unreported changes to a trust document, signed on Feb. 10, stipulates that it "shall distribute net income or principal to Donald J. Trump at his request" or whenever his son and longtime attorney "deem appropriate." That can include everything from profits to the underlying assets, such as the businesses themselves.
"It's incredibly broad language," said Frederick J. Tansill, a family estate and trust attorney outside Washington, D.C., who reviewed the documents for ProPublica.
There is nothing requiring Trump to disclose when he takes profits from the trust, which could go directly into his bank or brokerage account. That's because both the trust and Trump Organization are privately held. The only people who know the details of the Trump trust's finances are its trustees, Trump's son, Donald Jr., and Allen Weisselberg, the company's chief financial officer. Trump's other son, Eric, has been listed as an adviser to the trust, according to this revised document.
Slatecalled the revelation "the latest illustration of the emptiness of the president's promise to 'completely isolat[e]' himself from his business empire."
When asked about the report during Monday's press briefing, Spicer said he's "not sure what [the president has] withdrawn;" didn't say whether Trump would disclose future withdrawals; claimed the trust document had not, in fact, been changed; and asserted that "the entire point" of setting up such a trust "is so somebody can withdraw money."
He also dismissed the Pulitzer Prize-winning ProPublica as a "left-wing blog."
But the denunciation didn't land as Spicer may have hoped:
\u201cEveryone at ProPublica is rolling.\n\nThanks for the laugh, Spicer. Happy Monday.\u201d— Jessica Huseman (@Jessica Huseman) 1491247306
On January 20th, it begins...
Political revenge. Mass deportations. Project 2025. Unfathomable corruption. Attacks on Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. Pardons for insurrectionists. An all-out assault on democracy. Republicans in Congress are scrambling to give Trump broad new powers to strip the tax-exempt status of any nonprofit he doesn’t like by declaring it a “terrorist-supporting organization.” Trump has already begun filing lawsuits against news outlets that criticize him. At Common Dreams, we won’t back down, but we must get ready for whatever Trump and his thugs throw at us. As a people-powered nonprofit news outlet, we cover issues the corporate media never will, but we can only continue with our readers’ support. By donating today, please help us fight the dangers of a second Trump presidency. |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Deirdre Fulton
Deirdre Fulton is a former Common Dreams senior editor and staff writer. Previously she worked as an editor and writer for the Portland Phoenix and the Boston Phoenix, where she was honored by the New England Press Association and the Association of Alternative Newsweeklies. A Boston University graduate, Deirdre is a co-founder of the Maine-based Lorem Ipsum Theater Collective and the PortFringe theater festival. She writes young adult fiction in her spare time.
White House press secretary Sean Spicer didn't offer a clear explanation or response to questions on Monday about new reporting showing that President Donald Trump can withdraw funds at any time from any of his businesses--without telling the American people.
Citing a trust document signed on February 10, online outlet ProPublica reported Monday: "Trump can draw money from his more than 400 businesses, at any time, without disclosing it."
According to ProPublica reporters Derek Kravitz and Al Shaw:
The previously unreported changes to a trust document, signed on Feb. 10, stipulates that it "shall distribute net income or principal to Donald J. Trump at his request" or whenever his son and longtime attorney "deem appropriate." That can include everything from profits to the underlying assets, such as the businesses themselves.
"It's incredibly broad language," said Frederick J. Tansill, a family estate and trust attorney outside Washington, D.C., who reviewed the documents for ProPublica.
There is nothing requiring Trump to disclose when he takes profits from the trust, which could go directly into his bank or brokerage account. That's because both the trust and Trump Organization are privately held. The only people who know the details of the Trump trust's finances are its trustees, Trump's son, Donald Jr., and Allen Weisselberg, the company's chief financial officer. Trump's other son, Eric, has been listed as an adviser to the trust, according to this revised document.
Slatecalled the revelation "the latest illustration of the emptiness of the president's promise to 'completely isolat[e]' himself from his business empire."
When asked about the report during Monday's press briefing, Spicer said he's "not sure what [the president has] withdrawn;" didn't say whether Trump would disclose future withdrawals; claimed the trust document had not, in fact, been changed; and asserted that "the entire point" of setting up such a trust "is so somebody can withdraw money."
He also dismissed the Pulitzer Prize-winning ProPublica as a "left-wing blog."
But the denunciation didn't land as Spicer may have hoped:
\u201cEveryone at ProPublica is rolling.\n\nThanks for the laugh, Spicer. Happy Monday.\u201d— Jessica Huseman (@Jessica Huseman) 1491247306
Deirdre Fulton
Deirdre Fulton is a former Common Dreams senior editor and staff writer. Previously she worked as an editor and writer for the Portland Phoenix and the Boston Phoenix, where she was honored by the New England Press Association and the Association of Alternative Newsweeklies. A Boston University graduate, Deirdre is a co-founder of the Maine-based Lorem Ipsum Theater Collective and the PortFringe theater festival. She writes young adult fiction in her spare time.
White House press secretary Sean Spicer didn't offer a clear explanation or response to questions on Monday about new reporting showing that President Donald Trump can withdraw funds at any time from any of his businesses--without telling the American people.
Citing a trust document signed on February 10, online outlet ProPublica reported Monday: "Trump can draw money from his more than 400 businesses, at any time, without disclosing it."
According to ProPublica reporters Derek Kravitz and Al Shaw:
The previously unreported changes to a trust document, signed on Feb. 10, stipulates that it "shall distribute net income or principal to Donald J. Trump at his request" or whenever his son and longtime attorney "deem appropriate." That can include everything from profits to the underlying assets, such as the businesses themselves.
"It's incredibly broad language," said Frederick J. Tansill, a family estate and trust attorney outside Washington, D.C., who reviewed the documents for ProPublica.
There is nothing requiring Trump to disclose when he takes profits from the trust, which could go directly into his bank or brokerage account. That's because both the trust and Trump Organization are privately held. The only people who know the details of the Trump trust's finances are its trustees, Trump's son, Donald Jr., and Allen Weisselberg, the company's chief financial officer. Trump's other son, Eric, has been listed as an adviser to the trust, according to this revised document.
Slatecalled the revelation "the latest illustration of the emptiness of the president's promise to 'completely isolat[e]' himself from his business empire."
When asked about the report during Monday's press briefing, Spicer said he's "not sure what [the president has] withdrawn;" didn't say whether Trump would disclose future withdrawals; claimed the trust document had not, in fact, been changed; and asserted that "the entire point" of setting up such a trust "is so somebody can withdraw money."
He also dismissed the Pulitzer Prize-winning ProPublica as a "left-wing blog."
But the denunciation didn't land as Spicer may have hoped:
\u201cEveryone at ProPublica is rolling.\n\nThanks for the laugh, Spicer. Happy Monday.\u201d— Jessica Huseman (@Jessica Huseman) 1491247306
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.