President-elect
Donald Trump speaks to supporters during a rally in Fayetteville, N.C.,
Tuesday, Dec. 6, 2016. (AP Photo/Gerry Broome)
WASHINGTON
(AP) — President-elect Donald Trump sold all of his stocks in June as
he plunged into the costly general election campaign, his transition
team abruptly announced Tuesday. His advisers provided no proof of the
transactions and would not explain the apparent sell-off.
The
announcement comes amid swirling questions about potential conflicts of
interest between Trump's expansive financial holdings and the decisions
that will reach his desk as president. Some details of Trump's finances
are unknown given that he never released his tax returns during the
presidential campaign, breaking decades of precedent.
On
Tuesday, Trump said the government should cancel its
multibillion-dollar order with Boeing for new Air Force One presidential
planes. Asked on a conference call with reporters whether Trump had
investments in Boeing, spokesman Jason Miller said the president-elect
had sold all of his stocks in June.
Trump's
campaign did not announce the sell-off at the time, despite the fact
that it could have been politically advantageous for the businessman to
be seen taking steps to avoid potential conflicts of interest.
Miller,
as well as other transition officials and lawyers from the Trump
Organization, did not respond to requests from The Associated Press to
provide evidence of the transactions.
As
of May, Trump reported owning millions of dollars' worth of individual
stocks, though he had more money in company specific investments through
bonds, mutual funds and private equity investments, according to his
104-page public financial disclosure, which all presidential candidates
are required to file. It's not clear whether the comments Tuesday
referenced Trump's nonstock holdings.
Trump
reported in May an investment in Boeing worth between $50,000 and
$100,000. Other investments were in companies — such as Ford Motor Co., V
F Corp. and Thermo Fisher Scientific — that in recent years have moved
jobs outside the U.S., a practice that Trump heavily criticized during
the campaign.
The
disclosure also showed Trump held a small amount of stock in
Texas-based Energy Transfer Partners and at least $100,000 in the energy
company Phillips 66, both of which are involved in the disputed Dakota
Access oil pipeline. Earlier this week, the Army declined to issue a
permit for the pipeline to cross the Missouri River reservoir in North
Dakota. Trump supports construction of the pipeline, and aides say he
will review the project after taking office.
All
presidents since Ronald Reagan have filed public financial disclosures
in their first year in office, though they weren't required to do so
until their second year. For Trump, that means he won't have to file
another disclosure until mid-2018 unless he chooses to file earlier.
At
the time of Trump's apparent June stocks sell-off, the businessman was
immersed in the expensive general election campaign. He'd poured more
than $47 million of his own money into the primary campaign through a
series of loans.
But
in June, he adjusted his self-investment strategy, according to federal
campaign finance filings. That month, Trump slowed his giving, making
monthly campaign donations of about $2 million as his campaign came to
rely more heavily on outside donations. He made a late $10 million
investment in the final days leading up to the election.
During
the first general election debate in September, Trump took a decidedly
bleak view of the stock market and the possibility of the Federal
Reserve raising short-term interest rates.
"We're
in a bubble right now," he said. "And the only thing that looks good is
the stock market, but if you raise interest rates even a little bit,
that's going to come crashing down."
Market watchers expect the Fed to raise rates next week in recognition of the improving job market.
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