In an election outcome with so many firsts, perhaps the most unprecedented aspect of Trump’s election is the one with the most potential to cause serious problems: Trump is the first president of the modern era who is refusing to turn over his financial holdings to an independent manager or place them in a blind trust that would shield him from conflicts of interest.

As The Washington Post recently noted, “Trump’s business empire of hotels, golf courses and licensing deals in the U.S. and abroad, some of which have benefited from tax breaks or government subsidies, represents an ethical minefield for a commander in chief who would oversee the U.S. budget and foreign relations, some analysts say.”

Trump’s companies owe significant foreign debt, including to Deutsche Bank, a German bank currently negotiating a settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice over claims related to mortgage loans issued during the housing crisis. A Trump Justice Department will finalize those negotiations that currently involve discussion of a multi-billion-dollar fine.

Trump’s organization has ties with more than 500 other foreign companies, including those in countries with which the United States has sensitive diplomatic relationships, such as Saudi Arabia and China.

The Trump Organization is private, and shrouded in mystery. Perhaps the most thorough look taken during the campaign was a September Newsweek article by reporter Kurt Eichenwald.

That examination found “an enterprise with deep ties to global financiers, foreign politicians and even criminals, although there is no evidence the Trump Organization has engaged in any illegal activities.”

Eichenwald concluded that if Trump and his family continued to benefit from the company after he moves into the White House, “almost every foreign policy decision he makes will raise serious conflicts of interest and ethical quagmires.”

The very nature of the Trump Organization, which over the years morphed from a real estate and development business to an operation that sought to profit from licensing the Trump brand, often to overseas corporations, makes disentangling the billionaire almost impossible — without dissolving the entire operation.

But Trump has not promised even to try to disentangle himself — beyond turning over the running of the company to his children, a laughably arms-length relationship that does not shield him in any way from the vast potential conflicts. Hillary Clinton’s family – husband Bill and daughter Chelsea – at least pledged to step away from running the Clinton Foundation if she had won.

Jan Witold Baran, a partner at Washington law firm Wiley Rein, told The Washington Post that Trump’s having his children run the company and promising not to involve himself in company decisions “doesn’t necessarily remove him from those issues for political purposes. His name is on the business, for Pete’s sake.”

There is unprecedented and troubling potential here for conflicts of interest and opportunities for foreign governments to engage in legal bribes through business deals with the Trump Organization. At a minimum he should shift his business into a blind trust and ask his family to find other jobs without so much potential conflict of interest.

If he does not, it will be very difficult indeed for Americans to know when President Trump’s actions are designed to benefit the people or the Trump Organization.

To send a letter to the editor about this article, submit online or check out our guidelines for how to submit by e-mail or mail.