President-elect Donald Trump slammed the media's interest in his ties to his business with a tweet:
Trump has been under pressure to step away from his businesses in order to avoid possible conflicts of interest.
A report from the Office of Government Ethics said that a plan to hand off his company to his children was not enough to settle the issue.
The report said, "Transferring operational control of a company to one's children would not constitute the establishment of a qualified blind trust, nor would it eliminate conflicts of interest."
Most conflict of interest rules that apply to the rest of the executive branch do not apply to the president, and the Office of Government Ethics report said it did not have the expertise to deal with such conflicts. However, the agency said it did have the authority to oversee Trump's nominees to offices.
On Tuesday, Kurt Eichenwald criticized Trump's conflicts in Newsweek. He said Trump's business interests run counter to American foreign policy and benefit his family.
"Because of this, the next president of the United States is already vulnerable to undue influence by other nations, including through bribery and even blackmail," Eichenwald said.
The Atlantic published a "crib sheet" of Trump's business concerns that could possibly lead to conflicts, including his investments in foreign countries and a labor dispute at one of his Las Vegas hotels.
Trump has blasted the media's interest in his businesses before. In November, he tweeted that "only the crooked media makes this a big deal."
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