One of the most interesting questions going around right now is exactly what will happen to Trump’s business empire now he is safely on the road to the White House. Interesting because this has never really happened before, but also important because without action corruption seems unavoidable.

For example, Trump’s new luxury hotel opening in Washington. Not only is it mere blocks from the West Wing but it is located on land leased from the federal government. He would, in effect, be his own landlord.

But it gets worse. There are reliable reports that he has discussed permits and approvals for his international properties and developments with other heads of state and government representatives. That Trump would receive some commercial benefit both from the campaign and the presidency was unavoidable. He is primarily in the business of brand management, and his brand is certainly more notorious now than two years ago if not more lauded.

His defence against accusations of corruption has been that he will hand over control of the Trump Organisation to his heirs. But in my opinion that is a total non-starter. He has already shown why. His daughter, who under this plan would be one of the prime movers behind the Trump Organization in his absence, has already sat in on a number of meetings and phone calls with representatives of countries where Trump has business interests. The president of Argentina has alleged he was asked about permit approvals on one such call.

This isn’t a small thing. Using an office of public trust to access business opportunities unavailable to the pubic at large is corrupt. No less corrupt is allowing commercial relationships to influence government policy or access to the consideration of the President, even implicitly.   Clinton was rightly criticized for influence peddling while at the State department, not least by Trump himself. We should not apply a lower standard now, especially to someone like Trump who has proved himself so petty and vindictive in his business dealings.

And if international diplomats choose Trump’s hotel as their destination when visiting Washington in order to curry favor then Trump is experiencing commercial benefit as a businessman on the expectation of consideration from him as a president. Which is concerning since many diplomats have already said off the record that they would certainly stay in his hotel.

Handing it over to his children would not avoid conflicts of interest, as Trump has an obvious interest in the enrichment of his heirs. Are we really to believe he wouldn’t care if his company and progeny go bankrupt in his absence? I believe they call that Nepotism. Handing it over to the Trumps Minor would also require him to completely ban them from having any part in his administration while they were running the company.

Even if his children were not involved, we can’t expect some kind of arms-length administration by paid executives to avoid conflict of interest and corruption. The buildings have his name on them. He isn’t going to just forget where and what they are.

So what would put a stop to all of this for him? There are two options that would seem at least somewhat viable to me. Firstly, he must sell of all his international assets as well as those in politically sensitive areas like Washington.  Corruption in terms of these properties is pretty much unavoidable. Secondly he would have to stop leasing his name to hotels and resorts and other such things that he does not in fact own. That would leave him with properties like golf courses that are less susceptible to such attacks.

But that wouldn’t really do it. To really avoid corruption he would need to sell the entire Trump Organization in a public offering, then put his assets in a blind trust. That is the option put forward by several editorial boards and commentators. But I don’t think he will do that.

That leaves us basically where we we started. Donald Trump is corrupt, and seems to be dealing corruptly. To assume anything else is naive and unrealistic in the extreme. He knows what would be necessary to avoid this perception. If he does not do it he has nobody to blame for the endless stream of negative stories, the Chinese water torture of allegations still to come, but himself.