President-elect Donald TrumpDonald John TrumpSenate advances public lands bill in late-night vote Warren, Democrats urge Trump to back down from veto threat over changing Confederate-named bases Esper orders ‘After Action Review’ of National Guard’s role in protests MORE sold all of his stock holdings in June, a spokesman said Tuesday, potentially easing some of the concerns about conflicts of interest in his White House.
The stock sale was revealed on a conference call on which Trump transition aide Jason Miller was asked about Trump’s holdings in Boeing. The president-elect criticized the company Tuesday morning, calling to scrap its contract to design a new Air Force One.
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“The president-elect sold all of his stock back in June,” Miller said.
A transition official confirmed to The Hill that the comment referred to a sale of all stock, not solely shares in Boeing.
The Washington Post first reported the news about Trump’s portfolio.
Trump’s most recent Office of Government Ethics disclosure form, a requirement for a presidential bid, shows that as of May, Trump owned between $50,001 and $100,000 of stock in The Boeing Company, which earned him yearly dividends of between $1,001 and $2,500.
The May report also showed millions of dollars in shares in other companies; the documents only provide ranges for the stock value, so an exact figure is impossible to calculate. But according to the transition team, Trump sold those shares weeks after he filed that paperwork.
Trump spent tens of millions on his presidential campaign, so the sale would have given him additional liquidity to help fund his bid. He had effectively wrapped up the GOP nomination, absent murmurs of long-shot efforts to roil his bid at the convention, and was pivoting toward the general election contest against Democratic nominee Hillary ClintonHillary Diane Rodham ClintonWhite House accuses Biden of pushing ‘conspiracy theories’ with Trump election claim Biden courts younger voters — who have been a weakness Trayvon Martin’s mother Sybrina Fulton qualifies to run for county commissioner in Florida MORE.
Critics of Trump have pointed to his holdings, including the vast business empire that he has suggested will be run by his children once he takes office, as creating potential conflicts of interest.
The president-elect is not barred from bringing his portfolio into office, although the law requires he disclose stock transactions of more than $1,000 within six weeks’ time.
He also must file yearly disclosures once in office, so his next filing, which would confirm the June sale, won’t come until 2018.
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