Trump Met With Business Partners Days After Winning The Election

The President-elect has a luxury apartment building in the works near Mumbai and met with three of his business partners days after the election, raising additional concerns about conflicts of interest.

Atul & Sagar Chordia, Kalpesh Mehta meets U S President Mr Donald Trump at Trump Towers New York office just now

Donald Trump met with three Indian business partners who are building a Trump-branded apartment complex near Mumbai sometime last week, one in a series of recent events that have raised concerns about possible conflicts of interest for the soon-to-be-sworn-in President of the United States.

The meeting at the president-elect's office in New York's Trump Tower was first reported by the Economic Times Thursday, showing a picture of Trump and his business partners giving the thumbs up during the meeting.

But the meeting, reportedly attended by some of the Trump children as well, has again raised questions about conflicts of interest for the president-elect, who is known to have business dealings, properties and interests in hotels across the globe.

According to the New York Times, which reported on the meeting Saturday, the three men who met with Trump were Atul Chordia, Sagar Chordia and Kalpesh Mehta.

A spokeswoman for the Trump Organization told the Times the meeting was "not a formal meeting" but that the businessmen had flown from India to congratulate Trump on his victory.

But in an interview with the Indian newspaper Economic Times, one of Trump's business partners said they discussed the Indian economy and expanding Trump Organization's business interest in India with Trump's children.

According to the publication, Trump's interests in india include five luxury building projects, to which he has lent his name.

Multiple questions and concerns have been raised in recent days — weeks before Trump is sworn into office — about blurred lines between Trump's vast financial interests and his upcoming presidency.

His campaign has said Trump plans to place his financial interests in a blind trust headed by his three eldest children. However, it has remained unclear whether the three children will be playing a role in his administration, which has not yet been completely formed.

When Trump met with the Japanese Prime Minister Thursday, his daughter Ivanka was seen pictured sitting in on the meeting.

Other overlapping conflicts have risen in the days after the election.

The Washington Post reported Trump's hotel in Washington, DC, held a special event for foreign diplomats about how they could rent space at the new Trump property.

The Post interviewed a dozen diplomats who told the paper the decision to stay at one of Trump's hotels in DC, just blocks away from the White House, is being seen as an easy "friendly gesture" toward the future president among politicos.

"Why wouldn't I stay at his hotel blocks from the White House, so I can tell the new president, 'I love your new hotel!'" one person told the Post. "Isn't it rude to come to his city and say, 'I am staying at your competitor?'"

A spokeswoman for the Trump Organization told the New York Times the organization is still working on a structure to separate Trump's financial interest from his future role as president.

Still, many of Trump's financial dealings remain out of the public eye since Trump has refused to release his tax forms to the public, which is not legally required but has become tradition among presidential candidates for decades.



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