Amid criticism that Donald Trump has been wrongly profiting from his swank Washington, D.C., hotel, the Trump Organization now is reportedly thinking of selling the lease it holds on it.
“People are objecting to us making so much money on the hotel, and therefore we may be willing to sell,” Trump’s son Eric, an executive vice president of The Trump Organization, told the Wall Street Journal.
Rather than outright own the hotel, the Trump family, through its Trump Organization, leases the building that houses it—the Old Post Office Pavilion— from the federal government. And it is the lease that can be sold.
As the Washington Post notes, the Trump International Hotel, which attracts a number of foreign dignitaries, has long been a source of controversy, with critics accusing Donald Trump of unconstitutionally receiving benefits from foreign sources every time a foreign delegation stays there.
Trump’s been hit with numerous lawsuits as a result. Per the Post:
The hotel’s dealings with foreign governments have led to multiple lawsuits, congressional inquiries and investigations. In three lawsuits winding their way through the federal court system, plaintiffs argue that Trump is violating the emoluments clause of the Constitution, which bars the president from accepting gifts or payments from foreign governments.
The same emoluments clause that Trump just this week called “phony” during a rant against the criticisms he’s faced on this issue, most recently over his dashed hopes to host next year’s G-7 at another of his properties, the Doral in Florida.
In any case, if the Trump family does decide to sell the D.C. hotel, they will still likely make a bundle.
According to the Journal, a sale could be “one of the highest-priced hotel deals ever,” potentially generating more than $500 million for the lease rights.
“Since we opened our doors, we have received tremendous interest in this hotel and as real-estate developers, we are always willing to explore our options,” Eric Trump told the Journal.
DISCUSSION
He says it’s to avoid the appearance of impropriety, but that hasn’t stopped him from anything else he’s done that’s completely unseemly/illegal. He NEEDS to dump Trump DC because he’s losing money on it; it’s become a lightning rod of attention into his emoluments violations and nobody will launder their money through the property anymore; they know he’s not going to be president for much longer and they’d rather not be investigated when the US comes under new, more stringent management.
He needs to dump it before he loses much more money and can’t disguise his bankrupt ass any longer.Everything he’s done in the last few weeks or more (trying to pack Doral with G7 delegates, caving to Turkey for favor for Trump Istanbul, flying Air Force missions through Trump Scotland) have been efforts to keep his broke-ass, Mediterranean Avenue/Baltic Avenue Monopoly properties afloat.