Trump transition team ‘already breaking the law’ says senator who wrote it
Senator Elizabeth Warren accused President-elect Donald Trump and his transition team of “breaking the law,” since he has reportedly not signed mandatory agreements before assuming office due to concerns over a pledge that he would avoid any conflicts of interest as president.
Trump and his team have not yet signed or submitted two documents laid out in the Presidential Transition Act due to an issue with the ethics plan, CNN first reported. Not signing the agreements means he and his team do not have access to important documents, with less than 70 days to go before he’s inaugurated.
“Donald Trump and his transition team are already breaking the law. I would know because I wrote the law. Incoming presidents are required to prevent conflicts of interest and sign an ethics agreement,” the Massachusetts senator wrote in a post on X on Monday, linking the CNN article. “This is what illegal corruption looks like.”
Warren co-sponsored the Presidential Transition Enhancement Act of 2019, which amended the original act of 1963.
Two documents are in question — both of which had pre-election deadlines, the outlet reported.
Before September 1, candidates are supposed to enter into a memorandum of understanding with the General Services Administration to get a hold of support services. Before October 1, candidates are supposed to enter into a memorandum of understanding with the federal government regarding conditions of access to agencies — and to include an ethics plan.
Trump plans to sign the documents, a Trump adviser told the outlet, but first is focusing on making Cabinet picks. The source didn’t make clear when the president-elect would sign the agreements, but said the delay is “not at all a concern.”
The Independent has reached out to a Trump spokesperson for more information.
Warren isn’t alone in sounding the alarm on Trump’s missed deadlines.
Maryland Rep Jamie Raskin wrote on X in late October: “Federal law creates a process for major party candidates to engage in smooth transition planning. Trump and Vance have so far boycotted the process, thus already obstructing prospects for an orderly transition.”
Raskin even wrote a letter on October 23 to Trump and JD Vance urging them and their transition team to promptly sign the agreements: “Your actions depart from well-established norms of the federal government and demonstrate a spectacular disregard for the successful continuation of the essential institutions of American democratic government.”
Not doing so could “endanger the orderly transfer of executive power and threaten our national security,” he warned.
The concerns over Trump’s transition to the White House come four years after his tumultuous exit, which included a mob of Trump supporters cheering to “hang” then-Vice President Mike Pence and an attack on the Capitol building. Trump has promised pardons for those convicted of January 6-related crimes.