New York (AP) — Former President Donald Trump’s company received millions from foreign governments, according to a document released Friday by a parliamentary commission investigating his business. Lost more than $ 70 million at a hotel in Washington, DC during his four-year tenure.
The House Commission on Surveillance and Reform said that luxury hotels just a few blocks from the White House were so struggling that the Trump organization injected $ 27 million from other parts of the business and received incentives from major lenders. Said to delay payments for a $ 170 million loan.
The Commission said losses were incurred despite an estimated $ 3.7 million in revenue from foreign governments. Ethics experts say Trump should have refused because it caused a conflict of interests with his role as president.
The Trump Organization said in a statement that the Democratic-led committee’s findings were misleading, false and not treated specially by creditors.
“This report is nothing more than ongoing political harassment in a desperate attempt to mislead the American people and defame Trump in pursuit of their own agenda,” the company said.
Documents from the Commission, the first publication of audited financial statements from the hotel, show a sharp loss despite active business from lobbyists, businesses and Republican groups in which Trump is in office.
Deutsche Bank’s allegations of delays in lending to the president were “private incentives” that the president should report because the banks are doing substantive business in the United States, the Commission said. Said in a letter to the bureau. Oversee the hotel. The hotel is leased to the Trump Organization by the federal government.
“The document is … about the former President Trump’s lease agreement with the GSA and the institution’s ability to manage conflicts of interest with the former president during his term when he was effective on both sides of the agreement as a landowner and tenant. It raises new and nasty questions, “said Carolyn Maloney of New York and Gerald Connolly of Virginia, co-chairs of the Commission’s Democratic Party, in their letter.
The GSA did not immediately respond to the request for comment.
Deutsche Bank said in a statement that the Commission issued “some inaccurate statements” about the loan agreement but refused to elaborate because of concerns about loan privacy.
The Commission’s letter to the GSA stated that the hotel’s loss contradicted the “exaggerated image of financial success” that the president described in his personal financial disclosure report sent to the Federal Ethics Administration each year. .. However, these reports only need to disclose revenue, not profit. This is a comparison of apples and oranges seized by one of Trump’s sons in a tweet that blows up the committee.
“Before writing a long letter to us, learn the difference between total income and net income,” Eric Trump wrote, calling the committee “incompetent.”
The Trump company has been trying to sell a 263-room hotel since the fall of 2019, but during the coronavirus pandemic, it struggled to find a buyer at the reported initial asking price of over $ 500 million. Did.
The loss, said the head of CREW at the Government Ethics Watchdog, said the loss sheds new light on Mr. Trump’s refusal to ban foreign governments from patronizing his business.
“The only lifeline was corrupt business from people, organizations and governments trying to influence him,” said Noah Bookbinder, Citizen’s President for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington. rice field. “He used his presidency to win business was absolutely essential to stop the flow of losses.”
To alleviate concerns about conflicts of interest, Trump promised to send payments to the US Treasury each year for foreign government revenues from his business. The Commission said Washington hotel payments under the deal totaled more than $ 350,000 in the first three years after taking office. Critics of the voluntary agreement say Trump’s definition of earnings was unclear, giving the president ample room to lower the numbers.
The Washington hotel was badly hurt by a pandemic-related closure last year, but audited financial statements released by the Commission show that it was suffering every year before it was open. He lost nearly $ 50 million in the first three years of his inauguration and lost $ 22 million last year.
Trump Hotel Lost $ 70 Million Despite Millions of Foreign Companies
Source link Trump Hotel Lost $ 70 Million Despite Millions of Foreign Companies
The post Trump Hotel Lost $ 70 Million Despite Millions of Foreign Companies appeared first on Illinois News Today.
No comments:
Post a Comment