State Dept. allowed foreign govts to lease luxury condos at Trump World Tower without Congress OK

[BeckyDem]

The transactions could run afoul of the Constitution's emoluments clause, which is already the focus of lawsuits against the president.




May 2, 2019, 11:39 AM EDT
By Reuters

The U.S. State Department allowed at least seven foreign governments to rent luxury condominiums in New York's Trump World Tower in 2017 without approval from Congress, according to documents and people familiar with the leases, a potential violation of the U.S. Constitution's emoluments clause.

The 90-story Manhattan building, part of the real estate empire of Donald Trump, had housed diplomats and foreign officials before the property developer became president. But now that he is in the White House, such transactions must pass muster with federal lawmakers, some legal experts say. The emoluments clause bans U.S. officials from accepting gifts or payments from foreign governments without congressional consent.

The rental transactions, dating from the early months of Trump's presidency and first revealed by Reuters, could add to mounting scrutiny of his business dealings with foreign governments, which are now the subject of multiple lawsuits.


https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/state-dept-allowed-foreign-govts-lease-luxury-condos-trump-world-n1001201

[enough]

1. They do it because they can. NT

[spanone]

2. What do we expect from a lawless administration?

Rotten from the top down.

[SunSeeker]

3. K & R for exposure.

[QED]

4. Who will hold them accountable?

As written above, they do it because they can.

[BeckyDem]

5. I don't know, they seem set to get away with it.

I hope I am wrong about that.

[malaise]

6. The transactions could run afoul?

What do you mean by could run afoul?

They do