US ethics office sarcastically chastises soon-to-be boss Trump

President-elect Donald Trump faced criticism from an unusual source on Wednesday when a buttoned-down US government ethics office issued an apparently sarcastic stream of Twitter messages applauding him for selling off his assets.

Trump, in fact, has not said whether he will sell the hotels, golf courses and other businesses that make up Trump Organization, as the US Office of Government Ethics subsequently acknowledged. But the agency sent out a series of tweets as if he had done just that.

“OGE is delighted that you’ve decided to divest your businesses. Right decision!” one tweet said. “We told your counsel we’d sing your praises if you divested, we meant it.” Trump promised only that he will be “leaving his great business in total” in a series of early morning tweets. 

Democratic lawmakers and other critics say Trump’s business interests could pose conflicts of interest when he takes office because he will be in a position to influence tax laws, environmental regulations and other government policies that could affect his assets. Ethics office spokesman Seth Jaffe said Trump would more clearly resolve potential conflicts if he sold off his assets. Trump spokeswoman Hope Hicks did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Trump said on Wednesday he is drawing up legal documents that would remove him from daily business operations and would provide details on Dec 15. “While I am not mandated to do this under the law, I feel it is visually important, as President, to in no way have a conflict of interest with my various businesses,” Trump tweeted.

Of course, Twitter is loving the sarcastic hints the governmental body is throwing Trump’s way. “Whoever runs the @OfficeGovEthics twitter account threw some righteous shade at Donald Trump this morning,” chirped Twitter user Adam Peck. “Whoever’s behind these @OfficeGovEthics tweets trolling Trump’s “divestiture” deserves a raise,” added Adam Khan. —With agency inputs