Chairs DeFazio, Titus Request GSA Audit of Trump’s Old Post Office Lease

WASHINGTON, Oct. 1 -- Rep. Peter A. DeFazio, D-Oregon, chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, issued the following news release:

Today, Chair of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure Peter DeFazio (D-OR) and Chair of the Subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Buildings and Emergency Management Dina Titus (D-NV) reiterated their demand for documents from the General Services Administration (GSA) and requested that GSA conduct an audit of the Trump International Hotel.

In their letter to GSA Administrator Emily Murphy, Chairs DeFazio and Titus wrote that under the lease: "GSA can receive, as a part of its monthly rental payments, a portion of Trump International Hotel's gross revenue. This creates an inherent conflict for GSA, which is benefitting from a lease that may not be valid and could be violating the U.S. Constitution's Emoluments Clauses. Worse still, GSA isn't even attempting to gather the relevant financial data it needs to ensure compliance with the terms of lease or the Constitution. As GSA's Public Buildings Commissioner Dan Matthews acknowledged at our September 25, 2019, Subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Buildings, and Emergency Management hearing, GSA has not yet conducted an audit of the Trump International Hotel. Based on his testimony, it appears the only audited information that GSA has about the hotel, are annual audits conducted by a third-party company chosen by the Trump International Hotel."

Earlier this year, the GSA Inspector General issued a report in response to a request by Chair DeFazio finding (https://www.gsaig.gov/sites/default/files/ipa-reports/JE19-002%20OIG%20EVALUATION%20REPORT-GSA%27s%20Management%20%26%20Administration%20of%20OPO%20Building%20Lease_January%2016%202019_Redacted.pdf) that GSA had failed to consider the impact of the U.S. Constitution's Emoluments clauses when it reviewed the hotel lease after President Trump was sworn-into office.

Details about this week's Economic Development, Public Buildings, and Emergency Management Subcommittee hearing "Landlord and Tenant: The Trump Administration's Oversight of the Trump International Hotel Lease" can be found here (https://transportation.house.gov/committee-activity/hearings/the-subcommittee-on-economic-development-public-buildings-and-emergency-management-hearing-on_--landlord-and-tenant-the-trump-administrations-oversight-of-the-trump-international-hotel-lease).

A comprehensive timeline of the Committee's investigation into this lease can be found here (https://transportation.house.gov/committee-activity/old-post-office-trump-hotel-oversight).

A full copy of the letter can be found here (https://transportation.house.gov/download/2019-10-01-ltr-gsa_-requesting-audit-of-old-post-office-002).