Tag Archives: emoluments

General Services Administration: Feds Chose To Ignore The Constitution Regarding Trump’s Washington Hotel

Politico reports: Lawyers for the General Services Administration chose to “ignore” the U.S. Constitution and other legal precedents when they allowed the Trump International Hotel to maintain its lease on the Old Post Office building even after Donald Trump became president, the GSA’s internal watchdog said on Wednesday. In a 47-page report, the GSA’s inspector general said government lawyers were …

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Appeals Court Suspends Emoluments Suit After Trump’s DOJ Complains Shutdown Hinders Their Defense Work

Talking Points Memo reports: The 4th Circuit Court of Appeals froze a lawsuit accusing Trump of violating the constitution’s emoluments clause, after DOJ attorneys asked for a halt to their appeal, saying that the ongoing government shutdown will prevent them from doing their work. “The Department does not know when funding will be restored by Congress,” DOJ attorneys representing Trump …

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Justice Department Seeks To Block Emoluments Lawsuit

CNN reports: Previously, the DC and Maryland lawsuit alleging the President had received illegal gifts through the Trump International Hotel was moving to its discovery phase, with the state attorneys general sending out several subpoenas, including to the Trump Organization. A federal judge had allowed the lawsuit against Trump’s businesses to move forward from the states, though the judge had …

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Court OK’s Emoluments Subpoenas Over Trump Hotel

Politico reports: A federal judge on Monday said lawyers for Maryland and Washington, D.C., can begin issuing subpoenas in a lawsuit that accuses President Donald Trump of using his luxury hotel in Washington to unconstitutionally profit from his political office. The attorneys general in Maryland and Washington say they plan to serve as many as 20 companies and government agencies …

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Ivanka Made $4M From Trump’s DC Hotel In 2017

Politico reports: President Donald Trump’s daughter and adviser Ivanka Trump made $3.9 million in profit last year off her stake in the Trump International Hotel, while taking in at least $5 million from businesses connected to her personal brand, a newly released financial disclosure shows. Ivanka Trump also reported taking in about $2 million in 2017 pay and severance from …

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Federal Court: Dems’ Emoluments Suit Can Proceed

The Washington Post reports: A federal judge on Friday gave the go-ahead to a lawsuit filed by 200 congressional Democrats against President Trump alleging he has violated the Constitution by doing business with foreign governments while in office. The lawsuit is based on the Constitution’s emoluments clause, which bars presidents from taking payments from foreign states. Trump’s business, which he …

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DC Lets Trump Hotel Keep Its Liquor License

CNN reports: Washington’s Alcoholic Beverage Control Board met on Wednesday to consider a review into whether President Donald Trump has the character to sell alcohol in the nation’s capital. In a terse announcement Wednesday afternoon, the board said its interpretation of local law made them opt not to act at this time, allowing Trump’s DC properties to continue as they …

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Republicans Have Spent Millions At Trump Properties

McClatchy reports: At least 125 Republican campaigns and conservative political groups spent more than $3.5 million at President Donald Trump’s resorts, hotels and restaurants since January 2017, the month he was sworn in, according to an analysis by McClatchy. The money paid for catering for a fundraiser at the Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Fla. , a night’s stay at …

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Trump Gets $534K Federal Rent Credit For DC Hotel

The Washington Post reports: The General Services Administration granted a $534,000 rental credit to the Trump Organization’s D.C. hotel for providing “security, utilities and janitorial services” to support tours of the building’s clock tower run by the National Park Service, federal officials said, an adjustment that contracting experts say illustrates the highly unusual arrangement between the company owned by President …

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NYC Trump Hotel Rev Surges Thanks To Saudi Prince

The Washington Post reports: The general manager of the Trump International Hotel in Manhattan had a rare bit of good news to report to investors this spring: After two years of decline, revenue from room rentals went up 13 percent in the first three months of 2018. What caused the uptick at President Trump’s flagship hotel in New York? One …

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DOJ Defends Trump’s DC Hotel In Federal Court, Claims Business From Foreign Governments Aren’t Emoluments

The Associated Press reports: President Donald Trump’s hotel company did not break the law by doing business with other countries, a Justice Department lawyer told a federal judge Monday. The state of Maryland and the District Columbia have accused Trump of capitalizing on the presidency and causing harm to local businesses that compete with his Washington hotel. Monday’s arguments before …

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Trump Lawyers Tell Federal Court That Members Of Congress Have No Standing In Emoluments Lawsuit

Politico reports: Lawyers representing about 200 Democratic members of Congress urged a federal judge on Thursday to allow them to press ahead with a lawsuit seeking to block President Donald Trump from taking payments and other benefits from foreign governments doing business with his corporate empire. Nearly a year after the suit was filed, Judge Emmet Sullivan of U.S. District …

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China Grants 13 New Trademarks To Ivanka Trump

The Associated Press reports: Ivanka Trump’s brand continues to win foreign trademarks in China and the Philippines, adding to questions about conflicts of interest at the White House, The Associated Press has found. On Sunday, China granted the First Daughter’s company final approval for its 13th trademark in the last three months, trademark office records show. Over the same period, …

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Giuliani Reverses On Mueller Interview: Trump Should Do It, It Gets It Over With, It Makes My Client Happy

The Washington Post reports: President Trump’s lawyer Rudolph W. Giuliani switched gears Wednesday, saying that he would prefer the president grant an interview to special counsel Robert S. Mueller III’s office and that a decision would be made within “the next couple weeks.” “I guess I’d rather do the interview. It gets it over with it, it makes my client …

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Trump Profited $40 Million From DC Hotel In 2017

USA Today reports: The president’s income from his company’s hotel in Washington, D.C. topped $40 million last year, according to a copy of his annual financial disclosure report released on Wednesday, making the property a clear winner among a portfolio which showed mixed results. The Trump International Hotel, located less than one mile from the White House, has emerged a …

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Trump Agrees To Keynote Fundraiser For Anti-Abortion Group After They Advertise It Will Be Held At His Hotel

Media Matters reports: In anticipation of its annual gala, the anti-abortion group Susan B. Anthony List (SBA List) has been promoting official room blocks for the event at the Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C., and running a contest in which the prize includes a free stay at the property during the gala. On May 14, during the White House …

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Former Obama Ethics Official Tees Off On Chinese Govt Funding Of Trump Project: See You In Court, Mr. Trump

New York Magazine reports: About 72 hours before Trump developed a friendlier attitude toward Beijing, the Chinese government agreed to pump $500 million into an Indonesian theme park that will benefit the Trump Organization — and thus the president himself, since he refused to divest from his company when he took office. The Chinese government just extended a loan to …

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Trump Golfs For 111th Time Since Taking Office

Golf News reports: Trump arrived at the DC-area golf club at 10:30 a.m., per CBS reporter Mark Knoller. The round of golf was his first of the weekend, coming after Trump made controversial remarks on Saturday night in a speech in Cleveland. Expect Trump to spend more weekends when in D.C. at this 36-hole facility which hosted the 2017 Senior …

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Trump Asks Federal Court To Dismiss Emoluments Suit

CNN reports: President Donald Trump has asked a federal court to dismiss a lawsuit accusing him of violating the Constitution’s Emoluments Clause related to private payments from other governments. Trump is asking the judge to dismiss the complaint against him as an individual. He’s also being sued separately for violating the Emoluments Clause — which prohibits federal officeholders from receiving …

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Philippine Government Books Trump DC Hotel For Independence Gala As US Considers New Trade Deal

The Manila Mail reports: This year’s Independence Day celebration on June 12 will be held at the Trump International Hotel in Washington DC, a go-to establishment favored by foreign delegations from Brazil to Turkey and lobbyists seeking to build ties with the Trump administration. No doubt this is all thanks to our new Ambassador Jose Manuel ‘Babe’ Romualdez. He assumed …

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