AMNA NAWAZ: It's been less than two months since President Trump took office, and, in that time, Trump, his family, and members of his administration have also seen personal and financial gain in a number of ways that are aided by their power and their influence.

Our Laura Barron-Lopez has more.

LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: Earlier this week, President Trump lined up Teslas on the South Lawn of the White House, all to help out his friend and special government employee billionaire Elon Musk.

As Tesla's stock plummeted, the president, holding a price list for different models, said he would buy one of the cars.

ELON MUSK, Department of Government Efficiency: That's the bottom line.

DONALD TRUMP, President of the United States: That's the bottom line.

So I have a lot of information, including the price.

(LAUGHTER) ELON MUSK: Yes.

DONALD TRUMP: I want to make a good deal here.

You know, I do notice this.

They have one which is $35,000, which is pretty low.

ELON MUSK: Yes.

DONALD TRUMP: What is that all about?

ELON MUSK: Yes, I guess we wanted to make the point that Teslas aren't all expensive.

You can get at Tesla for as little as $35,000.

LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: The event is part of a pattern of conflicts of interest, as the president and those close to him stand to benefit from his time in office.

Here to discuss is Don Fox, former acting director of the U.S. office of government ethics.

Mr. Fox, thanks so much for joining us.

So I want to separate out Elon Musk and President Trump.

First, did the president violate any laws or ethics rules with that White House sales event promoting Teslas?

DON FOX, Former Acting Director, U.S. Office of Government Ethics: Well, he certainly violated any sense of normalcy or decency in terms of what we expect from the president.

But, as it turns out, the president is actually exempt from federal conflicts of interest laws and standards.

LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: And so what about Musk?

Did he violate any laws or rules by promoting his own company?

DON FOX: Well, with Elon Musk, it's a completely different story.

Because Elon Musk is a special government employee, he is subject to conflicts of interest laws and to the regulations that govern all executive branch employees.

And one of those regulations says that executive branch employees cannot use their public office to promote any product or for private gain.

And that could be anyone's private gain, except, in this case, it's Elon Musk's private gains to promote Teslas.

LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: Also this week, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. did an interview with FOX inside a Florida, Steak 'n Shake and endorsed the fast-food chain.

Does this violate any rules and what kind of actions are typically taken?

DON FOX: I'm familiar with what Secretary Kennedy had to say.

And it's important to understand the distinction between what he did, which was to endorse a commercial restaurant chain, vs. -- I think the context was whether to use tallow for fries or whether to use oil.

So, as a health claim, I suppose that's the kind of thing he can do, whatever the merits, but not to endorse a commercial product.

LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: In the case of Elon Musk, he is the head of multiple companies that have billions of dollars worth of government contracts.

And he may gain more in the second Trump administration.

He simultaneously, per The New York Times, wants to give $100 million directly to Trump's political operations.

And he and his team have access to agencies like the Defense Department, where he has government contracts.

Is any of this a violation of the criminal conflicts of interest statute?

DON FOX: Well, in terms of promoting his own business lines, whether it's Teslas or whether it's Starlink Internet, yes, it is a potential violation of conflicts of interest laws.

In terms of what he does with political contributions, interestingly enough, there really is not anything that I'm aware of that would prevent him from doing that.

What is really not normal is the idea that -- to make a public announcement in terms of what he intends to do, because, indeed, federal employees can contribute to political campaigns if they choose to, but federal employees don't go around bragging about what campaigns they contributed to or didn't.

LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: When it comes to the president and his family, Amazon paid $40 million for the license of a documentary on first lady Melania Trump, and she is set to get 70 percent of that $40 million, according to The Wall Street Journal.

And that outlet also reported this week that the Trump family is in talks to gain a stake in crypto exchange Binance, whose founder pleaded guilty to money laundering charges, and that founder is currently lobbying the president for a pardon.

Is any of this illegal, and I, not, how does it compare to past presidents?

DON FOX: Well, it's interesting because actually none of it would be, per se, illegal, and that's because the president's children and indeed the first lady of the United States are considered private citizens.

So they certainly would not run afoul of any federal ethics laws or regulations.

However, it does wreak of hypocrisy, doesn't it?

If we think about throughout the last campaign, how often did we hear about the Biden family, and particularly Hunter Biden, profiting off of the fact that his father was president of the United States?

We don't hear any of that now.

LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: The Trump administration is also set to slash the Justice Department's Office of Public Integrity in half, and they handle prosecutions of public officials accused of corruption.

What's the potential impact of this, and why should the public care about it?

DON FOX: Potential impact is huge.

And I think gutting the Office of Public Integrity is yet one more step in the systematic decapitation of every watchdog agency and function to keep the executive branch, and particularly the presidency, in check.

The Office of Public Integrity is that small office within the Department of Justice that goes after and prosecutes federal employees who do break the law, and particularly in terms of enriching themselves.

That could be someone at the very highest levels of government.

It could be an assistant contracting officer at some field office of an obscure agency that took a kickback.

But Public Integrity is the last line of defense, and so that's why the public should be concerned about this.

LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: OK. Don Fox, thank you for your time.

DON FOX: You're welcome.