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Factbox: Differences Between Donald Trump’s Transition Ethics Pledge and Recent Standards
(VOR News) – The team of President-elect Donald Trump signed an agreement on Tuesday with the office of Vice President Joe Biden to engage with government agencies and exchange records.
The contract was executed to enhance communication between the two parties. Following several weeks of postponement, this agreement was ultimately finalized.
Experts in ethics indicate that the Donald Trump campaign furthermore released a specific ethical pledge on the General Services Administration’s website. This vow differs significantly from the traditional ethical pledge previously signed by presidential candidates.
Although this commitment resembles the standard ethical pledge, there are several distinctions between them.
This text compares the commitments made by Donald Trump to the pledge signed by Vice President Kamala Harris, which is also available on the GSA website, along with those of other presidential candidates.
Assignments and Projects Pertaining to Stocks
A regulation stipulates that “Transition Team members (along with their spouses and minor children) are prohibited from purchasing or selling individual stocks during their tenure with the Transition unless prior authorization is obtained from the office of general counsel.”
This guideline constitutes a basic commitment that the president undertakes to maintain ethical standards. This rule does not pertain to minor children or spouses of Transition Team members.
These pledges encompass those signed by Mr. Harris in 2024 and Mr. Biden in 2020. Both commitments were made by men.
Conversely, Donald Trump’s vow does not impose any limitations on the sale of particular stocks or any stock transactions either. The calculation excludes these two categories of stock sales.
ADVOCACY BY LOBBYISTS
Registered lobbyists are prohibited from gifting to the transition team or soliciting funds for it, as outlined in the Harris agreement. This limitation pertains to both the giving and solicitation of contributions.
Furthermore, to be permitted to participate on the transition team, they must first secure authorization from the general counsel. If an individual has lobbied on a specific transition issue in the last year or intends to do so in the upcoming year, they are prohibited from working on that matter.
This is due to their prior opportunity to do so. The agreement negotiated with Trump differs somewhat from the other accords.
Members of the transition team are presumed to exclude themselves from engaging in any subject on which they have previously advocated within the past year. Any registered lobbyist is explicitly forbidden from serving on the transition team.
Furthermore, Donald Trump possesses both assets and conflicts.
The candidate pledges to “eschew both actual and perceived conflicts of interest” and to “possess solely non-conflicting assets, such as those exempt from conflict by regulation.” This commitment includes both the candidate’s real and perceived conflicts of interest.
This commitment considers both the candidate’s actual conflicts of interest and those that seem to exist. This pledge is made in anticipation of the candidate’s potential electoral triumph.
It is important to observe that the pledge provided by the Donald Trump transition team lacks any details regarding Donald Trump’s personal ethics or interests. This is an essential consideration to remember.
The Partnership for Public Service, responsible for overseeing transitions, has a representative, Enzo Benoit, who asserts that a substantial distinction exists between the two. Benoit stated that this is the situation.
Nonetheless, it is quite probable that this specific danger is of a rather modest type. This is due to the fact that once Donald Trump assumes office, he will be bound by strict regulations against conflicts of interest. This explains why this is the situation.
The plural version of the pronoun WHISTLEBLOWERS
The Harris ethics agreement specifies that the transition “has implemented a whistleblower policy and will promptly address any alleged breaches of ethical standards.” This statement pertains to the changeover.
This policy has been established to safeguard employees who report unethical conduct. The vow made by Donald Trump does not reference anyone who provides information about malfeasance.
SOURCE: USN
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