“This pamphlet raises grave concerns about the President’s refusal to comply with the Constitution merely because he believes it is ‘impractical’ and could ‘diminish the guest experience of our brand,’” Cummings said in response. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.) blasted the “meager” response and said complying with the Constitution “is not an optional exercise.” An annual donation will be made to the US Treasury based on the calculations. The company will have to rely on some estimates to determine its foreign government profits, according to the new policy. George Sorial, the Trump Organization’s Chief Compliance Counsel, responded with a letter directing the lawmakers to the policy pamphlet and said it is being implemented at all Trump hotel, golf, social club and winery locations. The GOP and Democrat leaders of the House Oversight Committee had requested information from the Trump Organization on how it intended to identify, track and donate foreign profits. To avoid running afoul of the law, the Trump Organization had announced prior to Trump’s inauguration that it would donate the all profits from foreign governments to the US Treasury. The Emoluments Clause of the US Constitution bars a president from accepting foreign gifts. “It is not the intention of nor design of this policy for our properties to attempt to identify individual travelers who have not specifically identified themselves as being representative of a foreign government entity on foreign government business.” “To fully and completely identify all patronage at our properties by customer type is impractical in the service industry and putting forth a policy that requires all guests to identify themselves would impede on personal privacy and diminish the guest experience of our brand,” the company said in a policy pamphlet sent to Congress. WASHINGTON – The Trump Organization told the House Oversight Committee it’s “impractical” to identify all foreign government individuals staying in Trump hotels so it can turn over any profits from such stays to the US Treasury.Ī lawyer for the Trump Organization also raised the issue of privacy in trying to identify foreign government customers. Trump in talks to sell lease on his controversial Washington hotel: report Trump Organization to reportedly sell DC hotel for $375M “Whether the Trump Organization donated the proceeds from those foreign emoluments is irrelevant to our case,” Marus added.Trump Organization given government approval for DC hotel saleĪ-Rod key member of group buying Trump's DC hotel: report attorney general is one of several suing Trump over potential emoluments clause violations. “With this announcement, President Trump’s businesses seem to confirm that they accepted payments from foreign governments in violation of the Foreign Emoluments Clause,” Rob Marus, a spokesman for the District of Columbia attorney general, said last week. Business Council, the American Turkish Council, and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.Įric Trump told that the hassle of holding these events, which result in no profit for the company, has the Trump Organization avoiding business with foreign governments whenever possible.īut critics say the damage is already done. Other foreign government groups to hold events at the D.C. One event, held last year by Kuwait’s government at the Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C., could have cost as much as $60,000, Reuters reported at the time. However, separate media reports have assigned totals to some events held in Trump hotels. For instance, it’s not known which governments the money came from, or who paid how much. “Although we are not legally obligated to do this, we have pledged to account for all profits from foreign government business at our hotels and clubs and have donated that money back to the United States of America.”Īpart from the amount donated, the Trump Organization has revealed little else about the profits from foreign governments. “Our donation to the Treasury was voluntary and one that I am very proud of,” Eric Trump, who is running the family company with his brother Don Jr., told. By refusing to divest from the Trump Organization, he was at risk of violating the Constitution’s “foreign emoluments clause,” critics said, citing the ban on federal officials accepting money from foreign governments. The donation fulfills a promise made last year to allay concerns about Trump’s continued ownership stake in his company. Though the company announced the donation in February, the amount wasn’t known until reported it Friday. Treasury last month for $151,470, an amount it said represented all profits from “foreign government patronage” to its hotels in 2017. The Trump Organization wrote a check to the U.S. Photo: Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP/REX/Shutterstock Eric Trump outside the Trump International Hotel in Washington.
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