My Proposed Financial Disclosure Amendment To The Constitution

Donald Trump will become President of the United States tomorrow at noon. He still has not released his tax returns, and he probably never will. We still know very little about his actual finances, business arrangements with domestic and foreign entities, and financial debts to foreign lenders (especially the Chinese). What we do know, however, gives us good reason to believe that his financial and business interests around the world will create serious conflicts of interest that will affect his judgment as president.

The recent presidential campaign proved that longstanding norms that have governed candidates for the highest office in the land–such as disclosure of tax returns–are insufficient.  We need something much stronger than norms, stronger even than a statute.  We need a constitutional amendment.

I propose the following as the Twenty-Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution:

No person shall be eligible to appear on any ballot for election to the offices of President or Vice President of the United States who has not at least six months before the election disclosed to the public his federal and state tax returns for the preceding seven years and a current statement of all assets and liabilities.