The Associated Press has a developing story that is raising serious red flags about Donald Trump's finances:
Donald Trump’s attorneys originally wanted him to submit an updated financial disclosure without certifying the information as true, according to correspondence with the Office of Government Ethics.
Attorney Sheri Dillon said she saw no need for Trump to sign his 2016 personal financial disclosure because he is filing voluntarily this year. But OGE director Walter Shaub said his office would only work with Dillon if she agreed to follow the typical process of having Trump make the certification. That is standard practice for the thousands of financial disclosure forms OGE processes each year.
Why would Trump’s attorneys advise him not to sign a form certifying his finances were true? The Associated Press was able to get a copy of the exchange after filing a Freedom of Information Act request. Office of Government Ethics director Walter Shaub detailed the unusual and provocative request in his follow-up after meeting with Trump’s attorney:
“As we discussed, OGE will provide this assistance on the condition that the President is committed to certifying that the contents of his report are true, complete and correct,” Shaub wrote in a May 10 letter. “When we met on April 27, 2017, you requested that he be excused from providing this certification.”
Trump and his legal team will allegedly submit the signed forms next month:
In her letter to Shaub, Dillon says the president will “sign and file” documents regarding his 2016 financials by mid-June — an indication that she agreed to the OGE requirement that the president certify the information as true to the best of his knowledge.
Will he sign the form? Will they find a way to weasel out of filing the financial statement all together? Stay tuned.