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politicaljunkie41910

(3,335 posts)
Tue Nov 29, 2016, 04:36 PM Nov 2016

Well it appears that Trump just got Trumped.

It appears that there is a clause in the contract for his new D.C. hotel that says that no elected official can be a party to the contract. The contract was reviewed by a law professor who pointed it out.

After Donald Trump is sworn in as president on Jan. 20, he will follow a time-honored tradition and make his way from the U.S. Capitol down Pennsylvania Avenue.

Along the way, just a few blocks before he reaches the White House, he'll pass the Trump International Hotel. The 263-room luxury hotel is becoming the focus of a debate over conflict of interest between Trump and his business dealings.

Trump doesn't actually own the landmark building, which was once the headquarters of the U.S. Post Office. In 2013, he signed a 60-year lease for the building with the General Services Administration, which helps manage and support federal agencies. The Trump Organization spent upwards of $200 million on renovations and reopened it as a hotel about a month before the Nov. 8 presidential election.

But there's a hitch, according to Steven Schooner, a government procurement expert who is also a law professor at the George Washington University School of Law. Schooner has studied the 100-plus-page contract and says there's a clause that clearly states elected officials should have no role in the lease.

"The contract between GSA and the Trump Organization specifically says that no elected official of the United States government shall be party to, share in, or benefit from the contract," he says, citing clause 37.19 of the contract.

http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2016/11/29/503740464/law-professor-trump-cant-hold-lease-on-his-hotel-near-white-house?utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=thetwoway
16 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
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Well it appears that Trump just got Trumped. (Original Post) politicaljunkie41910 Nov 2016 OP
boy is he asking for it MFM008 Nov 2016 #1
I'd love to be there when they take his name off the place. TreasonousBastard Nov 2016 #2
They've already done that! elleng Nov 2016 #5
They did? I know there was concern over the huge Trump sign... TreasonousBastard Nov 2016 #7
Removed his name, couple weeks ago. elleng Nov 2016 #8
So that's why he's so upset! :) TreasonousBastard Nov 2016 #10
ONE of the reasons. elleng Nov 2016 #11
Der Fuhrer HockeyMom Nov 2016 #3
This looks like it might be perfect for rzemanfl Nov 2016 #4
You just caught a problem with the OP FBaggins Nov 2016 #13
Perhaps citizenry in Washington DC has standing to sue. Aimee in OKC Nov 2016 #14
So they just give it to Donny or one of the other children of the corn to deal with. progressoid Nov 2016 #6
I'm no lawyer, and maybe--hopefully--there's something that will block such moves. Dark n Stormy Knight Nov 2016 #15
Is the contract transferable? C_U_L8R Nov 2016 #9
Yep, in violation of his lease as soon as he is sworn in. SeattleVet Nov 2016 #12
He'll just sue the government Retrograde Nov 2016 #16

MFM008

(19,806 posts)
1. boy is he asking for it
Tue Nov 29, 2016, 04:38 PM
Nov 2016

he will get plenty of protesting and it will GALL his ass.
Its going to happen everywhere he goes.
Maybe someone will throw a shoe at him.

TreasonousBastard

(43,049 posts)
7. They did? I know there was concern over the huge Trump sign...
Tue Nov 29, 2016, 05:09 PM
Nov 2016

when it was under construction, but what about his usual gold sign on the actual building?

 

HockeyMom

(14,337 posts)
3. Der Fuhrer
Tue Nov 29, 2016, 04:43 PM
Nov 2016

This is how THAT started. You take away 1st Amendment rights of free speech,freedom of the free press, and you are back to the Third Reich in the very beginning.

rzemanfl

(29,556 posts)
4. This looks like it might be perfect for
Tue Nov 29, 2016, 04:44 PM
Nov 2016

a qui tam action should the government not want to enforce the lease.

FBaggins

(26,731 posts)
13. You just caught a problem with the OP
Tue Nov 29, 2016, 06:08 PM
Nov 2016

Who has standing to bring it up in court? The federal agencies are all part of the Executive branch (which means Trump himself).

Aimee in OKC

(158 posts)
14. Perhaps citizenry in Washington DC has standing to sue.
Tue Nov 29, 2016, 07:16 PM
Nov 2016

Commenter ReHoShark in a DKos diary =
http://www.dailykos.com/comments/1605242/64611406#comment_64611406

"... DC is a signatory to the lease contract, so the citizenry in DC has standing to sue."

"DC's courts are solidly law and order progressives.

The DC AG is an arrow the good guys might have to take out of the quiver, sooner than later. Beyond the DC AG, several states will have significant legal authority to keep check on a run away executive."

* * * * * * *
"Contact Mayor Muriel Bowser and request she enforce the lease agreement:

Phone: (202) 727-2643; TTY: 711; Email: [email protected]

Also contact the DC Attorney General Karl Racine:

Phone: (202) 727-3400; Fax: (202) 347-8922; TTY: (202) 727-3400; Email: [email protected]"

progressoid

(49,988 posts)
6. So they just give it to Donny or one of the other children of the corn to deal with.
Tue Nov 29, 2016, 05:02 PM
Nov 2016

His lawyers will find way to skirt the law.

Dark n Stormy Knight

(9,760 posts)
15. I'm no lawyer, and maybe--hopefully--there's something that will block such moves.
Tue Nov 29, 2016, 09:13 PM
Nov 2016

But, if I had to bet, I'd bet he'll continue doing what he always does: skirting, when he can't get away with full on pantsing, the law.

C_U_L8R

(45,000 posts)
9. Is the contract transferable?
Tue Nov 29, 2016, 05:22 PM
Nov 2016

Or is it void? I'm guessing Trump has wiggle room to work it his way.
If it stays, it will be payola central.

SeattleVet

(5,477 posts)
12. Yep, in violation of his lease as soon as he is sworn in.
Tue Nov 29, 2016, 06:05 PM
Nov 2016

Since his lease is with the GSA, and he appoints the administrator os the GSA, he is essentially landlord AND tenant, and involved in a massive conflict of interest.

The article from 'Government Executive' goes into pretty good detail on it all:

http://m.govexec.com/excellence/promising-practices/2016/11/gsas-trump-hotel-lease-debacle/133424/

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