Trump Says He ‘Can’t Have a Conflict of Interest’ as President

President-elect Donald Trump declared that a sitting U.S. president “can’t have a conflict of interest,” responding to a surge of questions about whether his global business interests will collide with his official duties when he takes office in January.

Asked about potential business conflicts during an interview with the New York Times, Trump said federal law is “totally on my side.” Federal law exempts presidents and vice presidents from rules that ban officials from using their positions to further their personal interests -- an exception crafted out of the belief that presidents shouldn’t have to worry about triggering ethics probes when making hard decisions.

The billionaire’s licensing deals and other business interests have drawn renewed scrutiny since he was elected president on Nov. 8. Recent media reports singled out his ties to a Philippine developer who has been appointed that nation’s envoy to the U.S.; disclosed that Trump took a break from transition planning to meet with three business partners building Trump-branded towers in India; and said that his daughter, Ivanka Trump, who will help run the family’s business during his administration, sat in on a meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

“In theory, I could run my business perfectly and then run the country perfectly,” Trump said, according to a series of New York Times reporters’ Twitter postings about his interview. “There’s never been a case like this,” he said of his extensive business empire.