Trump Hided Foreign Payments From His DC Hotel Because He Lost Money, House Panel Says

by

WASHINGTON – Former U.S. President Donald Trump’s businesses tried to hide millions of dollars in payments from foreign governments that flowed through his unprofitable hotel in downtown Washington, a U.S. congressional committee said on Friday.

The House Oversight and Reform Committee said the hotel records raise “troubling” questions about the Trump International Hotel, which is housed in a historic building that the Trump Organization rents from the federal government.

The hotel served as a popular gathering place for Trump supporters, foreign dignitaries and fellow Republicans during his tenure.

According to the Democratic-controlled committee, Trump reported that the hotel earned him more than $ 150 million during his tenure, but actually lost more than $ 70 million.

The committee found that the hotel received more than $ 3.7 million in payments from foreign governments, roughly equal to more than 7,400 nights at the hotel, representing a potential conflict of interest.

Provisions of the United States Constitution prohibit the president from obtaining payments or “emoluments” from foreign governments.

We apologize, but this video could not be loaded.

The hotel gave some of that money to the US government but did not provide details of those payments to the General Services Administration (GSA), the agency that manages federal properties, the Democratic-controlled committee said.

Trump’s attorneys have argued in court cases that his hotel property did not violate these constitutional provisions.

A spokesman for the Trump Organization did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The GSA, likewise, did not respond immediately.

Congressional Democrats say the GSA blocked their investigation into Trump’s dealings while he was in office, but in July 2021 he finally produced some of the documents they had been seeking.

The committee also found that Trump moved millions of dollars through other companies, complicating the GSA’s ability to enforce provisions that prohibited it from collecting hotel profits.

The committee also discovered that he hid debts when he bid for the use of the property in 2011.

Reference-torontosun.com

Leave a Comment