The Editorial Board of The New York Times does not like Donald trump. But they are not dishonest and if they make an error they print corrections for all to see. Now the board has perused the financial disclosures Trump released last Friday to great ballyhoo. The Times concludes the swamp that most needs draining is the West Wing of the White House.
The Times says these incomplete financial disclosures offer no assurance that Trump's inner circle will be ethical. The editors add, "Mr. Trump has no commitment to ethics or transparency." They call him "the most suspect, conflicted president in modern history."
Grounds for concern
One reason for concern is that the Office of Government Ethics had no opportunity to examine the reports of Trump staffers.
The staff should have consulted the ethics office before releasing their statements but they didn't. The West Wingers will be the worse for their decision, though. Unlike Trump, they can be jailed for violations that may already be baked into the mix.
Specifics
The Times editors want to know why Reince Priebus received a hefty payment from his old law firm after he left to head the Republican National Committee. The problem is that his $300k plus windfall came in 2016, five years after he left the firm. Kellyanne Conway still has an interest in her polling firm. These sorts of allegations will likely dribble out day by day.
A Peek Into the White House Swamp https://t.co/pp9Da15LNt
— Stephen C. Rose (@stephencrose) April 4, 2017
Kathleen “K.
T.” McFarland is deputy national security adviser and owns stocks including Amazon, which today hit over $900 a share. The editors note that Amazon is seeking cyber security business with the government. But there is a silver lining for the Trump brigade. The ethics officers in the White House have shown little initiative on the job.
Trump himself
Trump can rest secure if the ethics officers watching things are true to recent form. One knew Flynn lied two weeks before the White House admitted it. The other refused to act when Kellyanne used the White House as a venue for marketing Ivanka's line of accessories and shoes.
