ADD YOUR NAME TO WHITE HO– USE PETITION
Petition Calling For Release Of Trump’s Tax Returns Gets 262,510 Signatures
A petition on the White House website demanding the release of Trump’s tax returns exceeded the 100,000-signature threshold needed for an official response less than 24 hours after Trump’s inauguration.
The emoluments clause is a provision of the Constitution preventing elected officials from accepting gifts, pay or titles from any foreign ruler or government.
Leading ethics experts from previous administrations have argued that Trump risks violating the clause, since he has failed to sell his vast financial holdings and place them in a blind trust as past presidents have done.
Of course, to understand the potential ways in which Trump might run afoul of the constitution, Americans would need a clear idea of his finances. But that would only be possible if he released his tax returns. In a break with four decades of precedent, Trump refused to do so during his campaign.