Jim Zarroli

As investigations into the Trump campaign's potential connections to Russia get underway, Trump associates Roger Stone, Paul Manafort and Carter Page are all expected to face intense scrutiny.

After President Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner met with Russia's ambassador in December, he then met with an official from the Russian development bank VEB. The bank is closely tied to the Russian government and was sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury Department in 2014.

President Trump's properties have been attracting a large and generous circle of buyers, from wealthy Russians to a Chinese businesswoman. Many questions are being raised about the deals' ethics.

President Trump's decision to hold onto his many businesses while in office has generated criticism from ethics experts. But among his supporters, the issue doesn't seem to be registering much so far.

The alternative minimum tax was passed to target the ultrawealthy, but today it is more likely to affect the upper middle class.

A two-page portion of his return shows he earned about $150 million, and would have paid less in taxes, but for the alternative minimum. The White House said the returns were "illegally published."

Now that Donald Trump is president, online reviews of his hotels, restaurants and other properties have become much more politicized. But his presidency may help offset negatives for the Trump brand.

They say Trump is violating the Constitution's Emoluments Clause by doing deals with entities linked to foreign governments.

Felix Sater was recently named as having helped pass on a "peace plan" to the Trump administration from a Ukrainian politician. Sater is a Russian-born businessman who spent time in prison before becoming a federal informant. He claims to be a senior adviser to Trump, but Trump says he wouldn't recognize him on the street if he saw him.

The senior adviser to the president didn't mean any harm when she appeared to violate ethics rules in an appearance on Fox and Friends last month, the Trump administration says.

The global fight against government corruption has often been led by the U.S., but those in the movement's trenches worry that signals being sent by the Trump administration could undercut the effort.

The president's senior adviser appeared on TV last week and urged shoppers to buy the president's daughter's line of clothes, jewelry and shoes, after Nordstrom decided to drop it.

Trump-branded products may continue to see lower sales as growing consumer boycotts prompt U.S. retailers to back away from the items. The Wall Street Journal reports sales of Ivanka Trump's fashion line tumbled at Nordstrom, according to internal documents. Now Nordstrom has dropped the products. Ethics experts worry that plunging U.S. retail sales may feed Trump's need to expand overseas, creating new conflicts of interest.

In the past week, Trump adviser Kellyanne Conway used a news interview to encourage people to buy Ivanka Trump products, and President Trump hosted Japan's Shinzo Abe at his Mar-a-Lago resort.

Her comments appear to violate ethics rules barring federal employees from seeking to profit from their positions. White House press secretary Sean Spicer said later that Conway had been "counseled."

The Department of Defense needs space for its people and equipment whenever Trump goes home to his Manhattan penthouse. The move has precedent, but likely will be far costlier than previous rentals.

The Pentagon said Wednesday it is interested in leasing space in Trump Tower, the 68-story skyscraper in New York where President Trump lives when he's not in the White House. Ethics experts say that would create a conflict of interest. As president, Trump can tell the Secret Service and Defense Department to rent space in Trump Tower, but as the owner of the trust that manages the building, he can reap a profit.

President Trump has one type of approval rating — the one that voters gave him. But as a businessman, he also has a brand reputation. It has been rising as his presidency brings more attention to it.

Now that he's declared his campaign for re-election, President Trump can continue to funnel money into his own businesses, but the payments will also face more scrutiny.

Aides from the president's campaign are working with a group that will not have to reveal donors. Contributors will fund efforts to promote his goals without revealing their role.