From the Desk of Lauran Stevenson
Not so Blind: President-elect Donald Trump’s “Blind” Trust
A blind trust is a trust set up by an individual who is both the grantor and the beneficiary. A third party has discretion over all management of the trust assets. President-elect Donald Trump is planning to put his business interests in a blind trust. The President-elect has indicated that he will appoint his three children to oversee the trust. Some have argued that this is in direct contradiction to the concept of a blind trust where the arrangement is to ensure that assets are controlled by independent parties not in touch with the owner of the underlying assets.
Lawyer Michael Cohen told CNN on Thursday about the President-elect’s plans for the blind trust run by his children. Cohen also said on Thursday that the President-elect has no interest in growing his fortune as president; however, Cohen acknowledged the set-up won’t please everyone. “Will we be able to appease everybody? The answer is no. No matter what the man does, he can’t appease everybody,” Cohen said. “But everything will be done legally. He’s not interested in the company anymore. He said it [Wednesday] in front of a whole group of people. He’s interested in fixing America.”