I 
114TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 6340 
To extend conflict of interest provisions to the President and Vice President 
of the United States. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
NOVEMBER 17, 2016 
Ms. CLARK of Massachusetts introduced the following bill; which was referred 
to the Committee on the Judiciary 
A BILL 
To extend conflict of interest provisions to the President 
and Vice President of the United States. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Presidential Account-
ability Act’’. 
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SEC. 2. ACTS AFFECTING A PERSONAL FINANCIAL INTER-
EST OF THE PRESIDENT OR VICE PRESIDENT 
OF THE UNITED STATES. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 11 of title 18, United 
States Code, is amended by inserting after section 208 the 
following: 
‘‘§ 208A. Acts affecting a personal financial interest of 
the President or Vice President of the 
United States 
‘‘(a) Except as permitted by subsection (b) hereof, 
whoever, being the President or Vice President of the 
United States, participates personally and substantially, 
through decision, approval, disapproval, recommendation, 
the rendering of advice, investigation, or otherwise, in a 
judicial or other proceeding, application, request for a rul-
ing or other determination, contract, claim, controversy, 
charge, accusation, arrest, or other particular matter in 
which, to their knowledge, the President or Vice President 
of the United States, their spouse, child, general partner, 
organization in which they are serving as officer, director, 
trustee, general partner or employee, or any person or or-
ganization with whom they are negotiating or has any ar-
rangement concerning prospective employment, has a fi-
nancial interest shall be subject to the penalties set forth 
in section 216 of this title. 
‘‘(b) Subsection (a) shall not apply— 
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‘‘(1) if the financial interest that would be af-
fected by the particular matter involved is held in a 
qualified blind trust as defined by subsection (g); or 
‘‘(2) if the President or Vice President of the 
United States first advises the Director of the Office 
of Government Ethics of the nature and cir-
cumstances of the judicial or other proceeding, appli-
cation, request for a ruling or other determination, 
contract, claim, controversy, charge, accusation, ar-
rest, or other particular matter and makes full dis-
closure of the financial interest and receives in ad-
vance a written determination made by the Director 
of the Office of Government Ethics that the interest 
is not so substantial as to be deemed likely to affect 
the actions of the President or Vice President or un-
dermine the public’s confidence in the integrity of 
their office. 
‘‘(c) In the event that a national emergency neces-
sitates the President or Vice President taking any imme-
diate action that affects their personal financial interests 
prior to receiving an exemption under subsection (b)(2), 
the President or Vice President shall, in addition to the 
information required by subsection (b)(2), notify the Di-
rector of the Office of Government Ethics of the cir-
cumstances requiring action to be taken prior to the re-
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(b)(2) or (c) and any determination deemed to have been 
denied under subsection (d), shall be made available to 
the public by the Office of Government Ethics within 10 
days of the receipt of a request for an exemption pursuant 
to procedures set forth in section 105 of the Ethics in Gov-
ernment Act of 1978. In making such determination avail-
able, the agency may withhold from disclosure any infor-
mation contained in the determination that would be ex-
empt from disclosure under section 552 of title 5. 
‘‘(f) A violation of subsection (a) shall constitute a 
high crime and misdemeanor for the purposes of article 
II, section 4 of the United States Constitution. 
‘‘(g) For the purposes of this section, the term ‘quali-
fied blind trust’ shall include any trust in which the Presi-
dent or Vice President of the United States, their spouse, 
or any child has a beneficial interest in the principal or 
income, and which meets the following requirements: 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.— 
‘‘(A) The trustee of the trust and any 
other entity designated in the trust instrument 
to perform fiduciary duties is a financial insti-
tution, an attorney, a certified public account-
ant, a broker, or an investment advisor who— 
‘‘(i) is independent of and not associ-
ated with any interested party so that the 
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trustee or other person cannot be con-
trolled or influenced in the administration 
of the trust by any interested party; 
‘‘(ii) is not and has not been an em-
ployee of or affiliated with any interested 
party and is not a partner of, or involved 
in any joint venture or other investment 
with, any interested party; and 
‘‘(iii) is not a relative of any inter-
ested party. 
‘‘(B) Any officer or employee of a trustee 
or other entity who is involved in the manage-
ment or control of the trust— 
‘‘(i) is independent of and not associ-
ated with any interested party so that such 
officer or employee cannot be controlled or 
influenced in the administration of the 
trust by any interested party; 
‘‘(ii) is not a partner of, or involved in 
any joint venture or other investment with, 
any interested party; and 
‘‘(iii) is not a relative of any inter-
ested party. 
‘‘(2) Any asset transferred to the trust by an 
interested party is free of any restriction with re-
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spect to its transfer of sale unless such restriction 
is expressly approved in writing by the Director of 
the Office of Government Ethics. 
‘‘(3) The trust instrument that establishes the 
trust provides that— 
‘‘(A) except to the extent provided in sub-
paragraph (2) of this subsection, the trustee in 
the exercise of his authority and discretion to 
manage and control the assets of the trust shall 
not consult or notify any interested party; 
‘‘(B) the trust shall not contain any asset 
the holding of which by any interested party is 
prohibited by any law or regulation; 
‘‘(C) the trustee shall promptly notify the 
reporting individual and the Director of the Of-
fice of Government Ethics when the holdings of 
any particular asset transferred to the trust by 
any interested party are disposed of or when 
the value of such holding is less than $1,000; 
‘‘(D) the trust tax return shall be prepared 
by the trustee or his designee, and such return 
and any information relating thereto (other 
than the trust income summarized in appro-
priated categories necessary to complete an in-
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terested party’s tax return), shall not be dis-
closed to any interested party; 
‘‘(E) an interested party shall not receive 
any report on the holdings and sources of in-
come of the trust, except a report at the end of 
each calendar quarter with respect to the total 
cash value of the interest of the interested party 
in the trust or the net income or loss of the 
trust or any reports necessary to enable the in-
terested party to complete an individual tax re-
turn required by law, but such report shall not 
identify any asset or holding; 
‘‘(F) except for communications which 
solely consist of requests for distributions of 
cash or other unspecified assets of the trust, 
there shall be no direct or indirect communica-
tion between the trustee and an interested 
party with respect to the trust unless such com-
munication is in writing (a copy of which shall 
be provided to the Director of the Office of 
Government Ethics), and unless it relates only 
(i) to the general financial interest and needs of 
the interested party (including, but not limited 
to, an interest in maximizing income or long- 
term capital gain), (ii) to the notification of a 
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trustee of a law or regulation subsequently ap-
plicable to the reporting individual which pro-
hibits the interested party from holding an 
asset, which notification directs that the asset 
not be held by the trust, or (iii) to directions to 
the trustee to sell all of an asset initially placed 
in the trust by an interested party which in the 
determination of the reporting individual cre-
ates a conflict of interest or the appearance 
thereof due to the subsequent assumption of 
duties by the reporting individual; and 
‘‘(G) the interested parties shall make no 
effort to obtain information with respect to the 
holdings of the trust, including obtaining a copy 
of any trust tax return filed or any information 
relating thereto except as otherwise provided in 
this subsection. 
‘‘(4) The proposed trust instrument and the 
proposed trustee are certified in writing by the Di-
rector of the Office of Government Ethics to be in 
compliance with the requirements of this section. 
The Director of the Office of Government Ethics 
shall conduct an annual recertification of the trust 
instrument and trustee to verify that they remain in 
compliance with the requirements of this section. If 
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at any time the Director of the Office of Govern-
ment Ethics determines that the trust instrument or 
trustee are no longer in compliance with require-
ments of this section, the Director of the Office of 
Government Ethics shall notify the Committee on 
Oversight and Government Reform of the House of 
Representatives and the Committee on Homeland 
Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate, 
and provide written notification to the interested 
parties that they are no longer eligible for an exemp-
tion under subsection (b)(1) until the trust instru-
ment and trustee are recertified. 
‘‘(5) For the purposes of this subsection, ‘inter-
ested party’ means the President or Vice President 
of the United States, their spouse, and any child; 
‘reporting individual’ means the President or Vice 
President of the United States; ‘broker’ has the 
meaning set forth in section 3(a)(4) of the Securities 
Exchange Act of 1934 (15 U.S.C. 78c(a)(4)); and 
‘investment adviser’ includes any investment adviser 
who, as determined under regulations prescribed by 
the Office of Government Ethics, is generally in-
volved in their role as such an advisor in the man-
agement or control of trusts. 
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‘‘(6) Any written certification or notification 
made pursuant to subsection (g) shall be made avail-
able to the public within 10 days of the certification 
or notification being made.’’. 
(b) IN GENERAL.—Section 216 of title 18, United 
States Code, is amended— 
(1) in subsection (a) by inserting ‘‘208A,’’ after 
‘‘208,’’; 
(2) in subsection (b) by inserting ‘‘208A,’’ after 
‘‘208,’’; and 
(3) in subsection (c) by inserting ‘‘208A,’’ after 
‘‘208,’’. 
(c) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 
at the beginning of chapter 11 of title 18, United States 
Code, is amended by inserting after ‘‘Sec. 208. Acts affect-
ing a personal financial interest.’’ the following new item: 
‘‘Sec. 208A. Acts affecting a personal financial interest of the President or Vice 
President of the United States.’’. 
SEC. 3. CONTRACTS BY THE PRESIDENT OR VICE PRESI-
DENT OF THE UNITED STATES. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 431 of title 18, United 
States Code, is amended by inserting ‘‘the President or 
Vice President of the United States,’’ after ‘‘Whoever, 
being’’. 
Æ 
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