The government says Donald Trump must divest all financial interests in his splashy new Washington hotel or be in breach of his lease the moment he becomes president next month, House Democrats said Wednesday.
An official from the General Services Administration, which holds the lease on the Trump International Hotel, said in a Dec. 8 briefing that “Mr. Trump must divest himself not only of managerial control, but of all ownership interest as well,” the top Democrats on the House oversight and transportation committees wrote to the agency.
The letter suggests the government concurs with experts who have interpreted the hotel’s lease as saying Trump has to give up his stake in the newly-opened hotel on Pennsylvania Avenue.
The Trump Organization won the right to lease the Old Post Office building on Pennsylvania Avenue in 2012, beating out several groups. Trump and the GSA took more than a year to hammer out a 60-year lease for its use.
At issue are 43 words of the lease’s clause 37.19 on top of page 103, which has been interpreted by some experts on government contracting law — and Trump critics — to force the president-elect to unload his equity stake in the government-owned building near the White House. The document’s key part: No “elected official of the Government of the United States” shall be “admitted to any share or part of this Lease.”
The GSA has concluded that means Trump must dump all of his financial interest before he takes office Jan. 20, according to the House Democrats.
They wrote to GSA Administrator Denise Roth that Ivanka Trump, the president-elect’s daughter, has been the chief contact for the agency — which raises “obvious” conflicts of interest.
(AP)
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3 Responses
1. It is unlikely that Trump’s name is on the lease. Very few entrepreneurs actually own things. They own shares in corporations which own things.
2. What Democrats think will matter very little after Jan. 20. The fact that they have been sore losers will further minimize their influence.
Actually, the GSA just issued a statement denying that they had made any determination. They responded to a hypothetical to the Dem’s letter. they won’t issue any definitive judgment until after he takes office. I’m not sure the Dems are really picking a winning issue since most Americans could care less about these issues; they are more concerned about his friendly relationship with Putin, etc.
” I’ll have more flexibility after the elections ( 2012)”, Obama to Medvedev about contentious issues with Russia. Remember Hillary and the re-set button?
Now the Dems care about Russia. Remember how Romney warned Obama about Putin?
Their guy liked Castro, Chavez and all the dictators of the world.
Suddenly they latch on to Putin, and are s-o-o-o- worried.