Comer: Trump should be transparent in business dealings, but not divest

Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.), chair of the House Oversight and Accountability Committee, encouraged President-elect Trump to be transparent with his business dealings upon taking office next month but said he shouldn’t be forced to divest from his private ventures.

“Most important thing is bank records. And I think as long as President Trump is transparent, I think the American people will give him a pass on his business activity,” Comer said during a Wednesday CNN appearance. 

“But if it ever comes out that they've got secret deals or whatever, then that could potentially be a problem, obviously,” he told CNN's Pamela Brown.

In recent months, Trump has promoted his family's cryptocurrency while also selling mechandise like Bibles and cologne, and his sons manage his real estate empire through the Trump Organization. Democrats have consistently raised conflict of interest concerns about Trump's first term in the White House and say the issue will only be more pronounced in his second.

Comer said public disclosure was the best solution.

“I think transparency is the best answer for that question,” Comer said of Trump's potential conflicts.

“So hopefully he'll be transparent with his business dealings.”

Both President Biden and Vice President Harris released their 2023 tax returns in an attempt to uphold what they called a tradition of transparency.

“President Biden believes that all occupants of the Oval Office should be open and honest with the American people, and that the longstanding tradition of annually releasing presidential tax returns should continue unbroken,” the White House wrote in a statement following the release.

Trump’s tax returns from 2015 to 2020 were released by the House Ways and Means Committee in 2022 after he fought to keep his records sealed. He was the first president since Richard Nixon to not release his returns.

It's not clear how the incoming president will handle his business dealings in his second administration. He moved his business assets to a trust controlled by his sons during his first administration.