Trump delays business empire announcement, but assures 'no new deals' in office

U.S. president-elect Donald Trump has delayed until January an announcement originally set for this week on how he plans to step back from running his business empire to avoid conflicts of interest, his spokesman said on Monday.

Among Trump's holdings are hotels and golf resorts from Panama to Scotland, besides a winery and modeling agency. Legal experts say the only way he could entirely avoid conflicts of interest would be to sell his global holdings.

Last month Trump said he would hold a news conference on Thursday to spell out how he would separate himself "in total" from his worldwide business holdings.

"The announcement will be in January," Trump spokesman Sean Spicer said on Monday, without giving any reason. The Republican president-elect has not held a news conference since winning the Nov. 8 election.

After Trump's victory, his company, the Trump Organization, said it was looking at new business structures with the goal of transferring control to Donald Trump Jr., Ivanka Trump and Eric Trump, three of his children who are involved with the company.

In a series of messages on social network Twitter, Trump said he would leave his businesses before taking office on Jan. 20, to focus on the presidency.

"Two of my children, Don and Eric, plus executives, will manage them," Trump tweeted late on Monday. "No new deals will be done during my term(s) in office." The messages did not mention a role for Ivanka Trump in the businesses. Trump added that he would hold a news conference in the "near future" to discuss business matters, his cabinet picks and other topics.

In a series of tweets last month, Trump said, "Legal documents are being crafted which take me completely out of business operations." He did not say what the planned change might mean for ownership of his businesses.

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