An Oval Office meeting led by President Trump took place with key figures in professional golf, including Jay Monahan, the head of the PGA Tour, and Yasir Al-Rumayyan, the chairman of the Saudi Arabia-backed LIV Golf league, via phone.
The primary focus was to address barriers hindering the proposed merger of these competing organizations.
However, this recent gathering revealed more about the Trump administration’s dynamics. Rather than just leveraging his presidential authority to broker an agreement — a practice seen throughout history — Trump was advocating for a merger that could benefit his family’s financial investments.
The Trump family has a business partnership with LIV Golf and has continuously hosted tournaments at their golf courses, including an event at Trump National Doral in Miami scheduled for April, marking their fourth consecutive year.
According to various former Justice Department prosecutors and ethics attorneys, Trump’s involvement in this conversation exemplifies a significant conflict of interest — part of a series of ethical dilemmas emerging with an unusual frequency compared to modern presidencies, even in Trump’s first term.
Upon returning to the White House, Trump has brought an even larger array of business interests, some requiring governmental oversight and approval, while others are publicly traded or involve international agreements.
Presidents typically operate outside the conflict of interest laws governing other federal officials, yet recent actions reveal Trump’s heightened confidence in his second term. This situation illustrates his belief that the distinctions between his personal interests and public duties, along with his aim to reward allies and penalize adversaries, will escape congressional scrutiny in a political environment he has influenced.
“None of this is particularly surprising, unfortunately,” remarked Hui Chen, a former federal prosecutor and corporate lawyer who later served as a Justice Department ethics advisor on fraud issues. “The entire power of the United States government is now part of the business support system for the Trump family.”
Local matters involving the president’s businesses also necessitate governmental approval. A recent issue within the Justice Department related to actions in New York has raised concerns regarding the department’s independence and Trump’s numerous conflicts related to the city.
Last week, the Trump Justice Department instructed federal prosecutors in Manhattan to drop charges against New York Mayor Eric Adams. Trump claims he did not request this dismissal; however, Adams manages a significant municipal organization where Trump’s private enterprise has numerous properties, and the mayor has actively sought to build a rapport with the president.
‘He Will Not Allow Conflicts’
Trump has dismissed any implications of violating ethical standards in comments, social media, and interviews, alleging that his critics are politically motivated. He and his advisors depict the nation as undergoing an existential crisis as he embarks on his second term.
“He who saves his Country does not violate any Law,” he stated on his social media platform.
This claim — seemingly a rephrasing of a quote of unknown origin, often attributed to Napoleon Bonaparte — counters the founding fathers’ vision of a government based on checks and balances among the executive, legislative, and judicial branches, ensuring no single branch accumulates excessive power.
The democratic framework in the United States has not adequately foreseen the prevailing circumstances in the Trump administration, according to Alan Rozenshtein, a former Justice Department national security lawyer and current law professor at the University of Minnesota.
“The presidency necessitates virtue — it demands a fundamental level of decency and loyalty to the country,” Rozenshtein said. “If such a person does not exist, there’s little that can be done, particularly if Congress is compliant.”
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Trump’s supporters point to ethical quandaries that previous Presidents Bill Clinton and Joseph R. Biden Jr. confronted during their administrations, including Hunter Biden’s legal troubles and eventual pardon by his father.
Nevertheless, the unique array of Trump’s business endeavors has created potential conflict scenarios previously unseen in the presidency. The number of controversial issues arising in Trump’s second administration is extensive.
Shortly before Trump assumed office, his family began promoting their own cryptocurrency token — reportedly generating around $100 million in transaction fees — just as Trump was preparing to sign an executive order for new regulatory frameworks on cryptocurrency, easing industry oversight.
Separately, Trump assigned Elon Musk, the world’s wealthiest individual, to manage a hiring structure for various agencies, despite some of these agencies investigating Musk’s companies or paying them billions annually.
In Washington, Trump appointed lawyer Edward R. Martin Jr. as the interim U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia. Mr. Martin stepped down from his role representing a criminal defendant before assuming his position as a federal prosecutor to drop charges against that same client.
Ethics complaints lodged against Mr. Martin allege he breached professional conduct standards for lawyers. On Monday, Trump announced his intention to officially nominate Mr. Martin for the permanent position, citing his extensive public service history — “always with the goal of serving the community and fostering a brighter future for all.”
In a statement, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt remarked: “President Trump, as the chief executive of the executive branch, has the authority to dismiss anyone.” Addressing concerns regarding Mr. Musk’s potential conflicts of interest, she added that Trump “has committed to avoiding conflicts, and Elon himself will recuse from any potential conflicts.” Questions surrounding deals related to the Trump family were not addressed.
Regardless, these actions contravene traditional ethical standards in government, according to former prosecutors and ethics lawyers.
Dismantled Safeguards
The most alarming aspect, these lawyers asserted, is the rapid erosion of systems established since the Watergate era to oversee and penalize ethical violations following Trump’s inauguration.
“They are systematically dismantling organizations within the executive branch that are crucial for integrity, oversight, and accountability,” stated David Huitema, who was confirmed by the Senate as the head of the Office of Government Ethics but was later fired by Trump.
Trump not only dismissed nearly 20 inspectors general tasked with investigating waste and fraud but also removed the director of the Office of Special Counsel, responsible for scrutinizing public corruption, along with the head of the Office of Government Ethics. (Trump has requested the Supreme Court to affirm his authority to terminate the Office of Special Counsel’s director, Hampton Dellinger.)
At the Justice Department, Trump has appointed members of his previous legal defense team to high-ranking positions, including Emil J. Bove III, the acting U.S. deputy attorney general who played a role in defending Trump against allegations of falsifying business records in New York.
The Supreme Court’s ruling last July — affirming that Trump possesses “presumptive immunity from prosecution for all his official acts” — has only intensified his sense of invulnerability.
A Key Exemption
Despite an exemption from the criminal conflict of interest law that prevents federal employees from taking any actions affecting their family’s financial interests, presidents have typically respected this as a standard, according to Richard Painter, who served as an ethics adviser under President George W. Bush.
One of the most evident conflicts arose from Trump’s Oval Office meeting centered on professional golf, according to ethics lawyers.
Federal employees may participate in decisions that influence their family’s finances if it pertains to general policies, such as tax rates affecting millions.
However, if a meeting involves a specific case related to distinct parties that directly affects a business transaction tied to a family member, federal employees are committing a criminal act by engaging in such discussions, especially if the outcome could yield financial gain.
Yasir Al-Rumayyan, LIV Golf’s chairman, also serves as the governor of Saudi Arabia’s $925 billion sovereign wealth fund that finances LIV Golf and manages a private equity fund established by Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner.
Al-Rumayyan met Trump in 2022 at the Trump family’s Bedminster golf club during one of the initial LIV tournaments, and they have maintained communication, including attending an Ultimate Fighting Championship event at Madison Square Garden together in November.
For years, the Trump family has sought to host an increasing number of professional golf tournaments at their 15 courses worldwide, an initiative that encountered challenges following the Capitol riot on January 6, 2021, which led the PGA of America to cancel a scheduled tournament at Bedminster.
Moreover, Mayor Adams has connections to the Trump’s golf initiatives and their Saudi ties.
He resisted calls from the New York City Council in 2022 to cancel a Saudi-backed Aramco Team Series event at Ferry Point, a city-owned golf course leased to the Trumps, as confirmed by Eric Trump, the middle son actively involved in the Trump organization.
Adams’s relationship with the Trump family continued evolving, culminating in a meeting with Eric Trump and Trump himself in Florida during the presidential transition, attended by one of Adams’s top aides.
This month, Eric Trump told a radio host he was unfamiliar with the criminal allegations against Adams, but based on what he knew, they seemed weak. He asserted Adams has consistently offered support and refrained from impeding the Trump family’s business pursuits in New York City, contrasting with the actions of the former mayor, Bill de Blasio.
When Bove from the Justice Department moved to drop the charges against Adams, it was partly to enable the mayor to perform his functions more effectively, which included aiding the president’s immigration policies.
Recently, multiple attorneys from the Justice Department’s public integrity division, charged with investigating public corruption, have resigned in protest against the dismissal of the charges.
Jonathan Swan contributed reporting.
