Trump Organization Hid Millions in Foreign Payments: HR
2 Min Read
The House of Representatives Committee on Oversight and Reform said the records of former President Donald Trump's hotel raise 'troubling' questions.
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Then-President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally for Senate Republican candidates Sen. Kelly Loeffler and Sen. David Perdue at Valdosta Regional Airport on December 5, 2020 (AP)
Former US President Donald Trump attempted to conceal millions of dollars in foreign payments during his time in office. The payments made to Trump flowed through his Washington hotel, and they were made by foreign governments, a House of Representatives panel said Friday.
Donald Trump's hotel records raise "troubling" questions, the House Committee on Oversight and Reform said Friday. The Trump International Hotel is a building the Trump Organization leases from the federal US government, and it has been losing money (around $74 million between 2016 and 2020) despite receiving millions in payments from foreign governments.
Trump reported that he earned more than $150 million through the hotel, said the HR committee. However, Trump lost more than $70 million during his time in office.
The committee found that Trump's hotel had received $3.7 million in payments from foreign governments - a potential conflict of interest. The amount he received is equivalent to more than 7,400 nights at the hotel.
The hotel would give a portion of its revenue to the US government; however, it failed to provide full details of those payments to the General Services Administration, the government's property manager, the committee reported.
The conflict of interest stems from provisions in the US Constitution, which prohibit the country's president from obtaining emoluments from foreign governments.
Trump's lawyers have argued his ownership of the hotel did not constitute a violation of any of the provisions in the US constitution. A spokesperson to the Trump Organization claimed the report was inaccurate, not elaborating further.
"This report is nothing more than continued political harassment in a desperate attempt to mislead the American public and defame Trump in pursuit of their own agenda," Kimberly Benza, the spokesperson, said.
The House committee is controlled by Democrats, which is the reason behind the 'political harassment accusations.
Earlier reports said the inner circles of Democrats and Republicans were 'anxious' over the return of former President Donald Trump to politics and re-running for President.
The former Republican president had said last week the United States has no other option than him running for President again.
