Eric Trump says he'll share Trump Organization financial reports with his father
Eric Trump, President Donald Trump's youngest son, said he would keep the president in the loop about the Trump Organization's profits, only minutes after denying he would do so.
"There is kind of a clear separation of church and state that we maintain, and I am deadly serious about that exercise," Trump, who serves as a trustee of the Trump Organization with his brother Donald Trump Jr., told Forbes on Friday.
"I do not talk about the government with him, and he does not talk about the business with us."
Though Trump said he had a "steadfast pact" with his father to not talk about business, he contradicted himself minutes later, saying that he would update the president about the Trump Organization's profits.
"Yeah, on the bottom line, profitability reports and stuff like that, but you know, that's about it," Trump said. He further said that these reports would come "probably quarterly."
President Trump has previously said he would distance himself from the day-to-day operations of his business, though he hasn't fully divested his holdings.
Sheri Dillon, a Trump Organization lawyer, said in January that Trump's "access to information" about his business would be "sharply limited."
However, Dillon added that you can't have a "totally blind trust with operating businesses."
"Trump can't un-know he owns Trump Tower," Dillon said, though knowledge of a piece of property is a far cry from quarterly profits reports.
Democratic groups slammed Trump over the comments.
"Trump refused to sell off his business holdings, and now he's breaking his 'blind trust' with 'zero contact' promises to start receiving regular updates on how effectively he's getting rich while sticking it to the American people," Brad Bainum, a spokesperson for American Bridge said in a statement.
"The Trump family continues to violate public trust, shatter ethical norms, and brazenly sell out the American people to profit off of the presidency. The only person winning in Trump's America is Trump, and he's doing it at the country's expense," Bainum added.
The Trump Organization was not immediately available for comment.