Several lawsuits have challenged Trump's ties to his business ventures and his refusal to divest from them. Fired by Trump after a brief stint as national security adviser, Flynn agreed late last year to aid the special counsel's probe of Russian meddling into the 2016 election.Įthics experts have criticized the pledge Trump made at a news conference held days before his inauguration because it didn't include all his properties, such as his resorts, and left it up to Trump to define "profit." The pledge was supposedly made to ameliorate the worry that Trump was violating the Constitution's emoluments clause, which bans the president's acceptance of foreign gifts and money without Congress' permission. Business Council, was chaired at the time by Ekim Alptekin, a Turkish businessman who had hired Michael Flynn's consulting firm in 2016 to perform lobbying and research. and Turkey also booked the Trump hotel last May for an undisclosed amount. Two pro-Turkish organizations that work to aid business and political relations between the U.S. And Kuwait's ambassador booked the hotel for an undisclosed amount last February for an annual gala. Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak and other Malay officials also stayed at the hotel last September during an official visit, but no figure was made available for the stay. "They could have paid 10 times more or 100 times more, and we would equally have no way to judge whether the amount paid reflects their actual profits or how they calculated it, and which governments have been patronizing Trump properties," said Robert Weissman, president of Public Citizen.Įarlier this year, Public Citizen found that foreign government advocacy groups were among the most high-profile interests using Trump properties dating back to the 2016 election.Īlthough few records are available showing amounts spent by Trump Organization clients, Justice Department foreign agent records revealed that a public relations firm working with the Saudi government spent $270,000 for lodging and catering at the Trump D.C. Ethics experts have challenged the methodology by which the Trump Organization determines its profits as incomplete and misleading. The amount spent at the Trump-owned commercial properties became an issue of debate on social media as media organizations and watchdogs filed public records requests with the U.S. A representative for the Treasury declined to comment. Treasury has confirmed receipt of the check, it also did not provide any details. The Daily Mail first reported the figure on Friday.
The company said last week that it had made a donation but refused to disclose the amount or provide any other details, including how the figure was calculated and which foreign governments were involved. 22 voluntary donation fulfills the company's pledge to donate profits from foreign government patronage while Donald Trump is president. George Sorial, the executive vice president and chief compliance counsel, said the Feb. Treasury, an executive said in a statement Friday. The organization gave the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee a copy of a pamphlet that was given to senior employees, which called for using hospitality industry standards to tally up a total dollar figure for profits earned from foreign governments.WASHINGTON (AP) - The Trump Organization has donated $151,470 in foreign government profits at its hotels and similar businesses last year to the U.S. The Trump Organization last year said it would be “impractical” to identify all spending by foreign government guests in order to donate those profits. “There is no independent oversight or accountability we’re being asked to take their word for it.” “There is no transparency as to how much money they donated, how they arrived at that number, how profits were calculated, or where the profits came from,” he said in a statement. Noah Bookbinder, executive director of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, called the announcement Monday “wholly inadequate.” He faces lawsuits, including one from attorneys general in Maryland and Washington, D.C., accusing him of accepting foreign gifts. Trump still owns his business, although he said before taking office that he was handing off responsibility for running it to his sons.Įthics experts have questioned whether foreign government leaders staying at one of Trump’s properties, such as the Trump International Hotel in Washington, would qualify as inappropriate payments under the Constitution’s emoluments clause. “Although not a legal requirement, this voluntary donation fulfills our pledge to donate profits from foreign government patronage at our hotels and similar business during President Trump’s term in office,” Sorial said in the statement.
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