Democrats say Trump hotel was used to bribe ex-president

(New York) Judges who aimed for the federal judiciary. Rich republicans who hoped to become ambassadors. Criminals who wanted to be pardoned.

All of these people were on the list of big spenders at Donald Trump’s hotel in Washington, DC, when he was president. Many got what they wanted, according to a report released Friday by Democrats on the House Oversight Committee.

The 57-page report says spending at Mr Trump’s luxury hotel by those seeking favors helped him turn his presidency into a “money-making opportunity”, raising the specter of ‘pay to play’ approach if the Republican candidate is re-elected next month.

The report, which focuses on spending by U.S. officials rather than foreign governments, offers few new revelations compared to previous findings because it is limited in scope. Democrats on the committee, who are in the minority, documented US$300,000 in such spending in just 11 months of Mr. Trump’s presidency, between 2017 and 2018.

The files reviewed by the commission did not always indicate whether the money was personal or came from tax sources. This distinction is necessary to show whether the payments were a violation of the Constitution’s Emoluments Clause, which prohibits presidents from receiving payments or gifts from government officials without congressional approval.

Among the examples cited: two former ambassadors, one ultimately sent to Germany and the other to Switzerland, spent thousands of dollars at the hotel before and after confirming their position. Campaign fundraiser Elliott Broidy spent more than US$15,000 there before being pardoned by Donald Trump for his illegal lobbying.

“We must put legal barriers in place now to prevent this type of fraudulent corruption that our founding fathers so strongly opposed,” urged Rep. Jamie Raskin, ranking member of the committee, in calling for new legislation to prohibit such expenditure.

The Trump Organization said the report represents “nothing more than an act of desperation by Democrats who are losing in the final weeks.”

Based on an old report

In a statement, the Republican-controlled Oversight Committee said the report represented “just more recycled garbage from the Democrats’ failed, nearly decade-long investigation into President Trump.”

The report was based on financial documents released by Donald Trump’s former accounting firm, Mazars, at the request of the Oversight Committee when Democrats were in power. The transfer of documents was halted when Republicans took over the House in 2023.

The report states that during those 11 months, at least 16 federal and state officials spent more than US$100,000 at the Trump International Hotel while on duty. This raises the possibility that they used taxpayer money.

Ambassadors to Canada, Croatia, Denmark, Germany, Hungary and the United Kingdom often spent money there when they were on official missions.

At a 2018 conference in Maryland, 10 miles from Washington, U.S. ambassadors to Germany, Switzerland and Canada chose to stay at the Trump Hotel, even though many hotels closer to the conference venue were available.

“Let’s keep the TRUMP Hotel,” then-Canadian Ambassador Kelly Craft wrote in an email after an aide suggested closer hotels. The price of M’s stay^me Craft was US$1,395 per night, according to the report.

Former ambassador to Germany, Richard Grenell, stayed 19 nights at the hotel, half before being confirmed as ambassador, spending nearly US$10,000, the report said.

A spokesperson for M^me Craft assured that the former ambassador personally paid for all room expenses beyond the government-approved daily rates, adding that “there have absolutely never been any direct or indirect ‘pay to play’ deductions.” from President Trump or anyone associated with him. » Mr. Grenell did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The Trump administration has argued that government officials paying for products or services given by a president, such as the use of a hotel room, do not count as a prohibited gift under the Emoluments Clause . The Supreme Court declined to rule when the issue came before it in 2021 because Mr. Trump had already left office.

The report said four future federal judges also stayed at the hotel on key dates during the 11-month period while leading public efforts to be nominated by the president.

In addition to Mr. Broidy, the report details $6,000 in spending by others pardoned by Mr. Trump, including real estate lawyer Albert Pirro over his tax evasion conviction and Ken Kurson who pleaded guilty to cyberharassment.

Mr. Broidy and Mr. Pirro did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Mr. Kurson refused to comment.

Friday’s report also added details to a previous 2022 Oversight Committee finding that the former president’s company caused the Secret Service to pay for rooms at its properties beyond the rates approved by the government. Such spending occurred more than 40 times – twice for rooms costing more than US$1,200 a night – while agents protected the president and his family. Mr. Trump’s company previously claimed that the Secret Service was given rooms for free or for a small fee, “like $50,” or at cost.

Other reports from Democrats on the Oversight Committee found that governments and foreign officials from 20 countries spent nearly US$8 million on Donald Trump’s properties, much of it while key policy decisions were being debated.

Mr. Trump’s company invested US$200 million in renovating the historic former Federal Post Office building into a hotel after signing a lease with the General Services Administration in 2012. Mr. Trump sold the rights to the hotel to a Miami-based investment group in 2022 for US$375 million. The hotel is now a Waldorf Astoria.