Washington, D.C. – Colorado U.S. Senator Michael Bennet today sent a letter to White House Counsel Donald McGahn urging President Trump to complete a financial disclosure this year.
“This type of financial disclosure will provide much needed transparency to the American people and would be consistent with the actions of previous Presidents,” Bennet wrote in the letter.
“The public has a right to know whether conflicts are influencing the President’s decision-making process,” Bennet wrote. “Given President Trump’s extensive investments, business contracts and arrangements, and financial assets, this transparency is especially important.”
On the heels of the release of White House staff financial disclosures last Friday, Bennet encouraged President Trump to file a Form 278 with the Office of Government Ethics by May 15, 2017. Although he is not required to file an annual public financial disclosure form until 2018, both Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama completed this form during their first years in office. Bennet asked for a response by April 24, 2017.
As indicated by previous letters to White House Counsel in February and March, Bennet believes President Trump’s ethics arrangements and business interests may create substantial conflicts of interest with national security and foreign policy implications.
Click HERE to read the letter in its entirety.