Investigation Update: Defund Trump

Investigation Summary:

President Trump has refused to divest himself of his business holdings since taking office, creating clear conflicts of interest and breaking decades of previous practices. American Oversight is investigating the ways in which the president and his family profit off of public service and whether or not foreign officials are using Trump properties to curry favor with the administration.

American Oversight is seeking records related to Trump’s businesses, specifically if cabinet members or agency officials have received guidance about frequenting Trump properties and whether agency employees have stayed there. We’re also calling for federal, Florida and New York State law enforcement officials and prosecutors to investigate whether domestic and foreign interests have used Trump properties, including the Trump International Hotel in Washington, DC, and the Trump National Doral as a means to bribe the Trump administration to pursue favorable policies and award contracts.

American Oversight submitted FOIAs Across the Trump Administration Seeking:

• Records of Trump organization guidance and reimbursements submitted by employees
• Records from State Department regarding the promotion of Trump properties on State’s website
• Records from GSA related to Trump transition team’s use of Trump properties
• Records related to SBA McMahon speaking a Trump hotel
  

What We’ve Received So Far:

• Records relating to President Trump’s lease of the taxpayer-owned Old Post Office building for the Trump International Hotel in Washington, DC
• MOU signed by the Trump transition team and GSA regarding the provision of office space and support services during the presidential transition
• Records related to SBA McMahon speaking at a Trump hotel and her staff’s decision to crop out the event’s location on social media
• Trump transition communications about renting a space at a Trump property
• Records from VA Regarding Use of Trump Properties
• Records from the Department of Energy showing a reimbursement paid to an employee for a hotel stay at the Trump Doral hotel in Miami
• Reimbursement records from DOL
• Reimbursement records from VA
• GSA letter providing a link to publicly available documents relating to President Trump’s lease for the Trump International Hotel at the Old Post Office in Washington, DC
• Documents from State related to the creation and distribution of an article about Mar-a-Lago on the State Department’s website

No Records Responses:

• No records response from USDA in response to our FOIA requesting guidance from the agency to its staff regarding staying at/the use of Trump Organization properties
• No records response from GSA in response to our FOIA requesting guidance from the agency to its staff regarding staying at/the use of Trump Organization properties
• No records response regarding use of Trump hotel from CEQ
• No records response regarding use of Trump hotel from DOI
• No records response regarding use of Trump hotel from SEC
• No records response regarding use of Trump hotel from HUD
• No records response regarding use of Trump hotel from DOT
• No records response regarding use of Trump hotel from OSTP

What We’re Still Waiting For:

• Records of expenses paid for members of President Trump’s cabinet to travel to Trump properties.
• Records of reimbursements or expenses paid by all 18 government agencies for events at or travel to Trump properties.
• Guidance issued by federal agencies or the Office of Government Ethics relating to holding or attending events at Trump properties.
  Records of any reimbursements paid by the Department of Education for expenses at hotel properties owned by Secretary DeVos’s family.
• Records relating to whether or not the Department of State has been recommending Trump hotels to foreign leaders.

Next Steps:

Until President Trump divests himself from his businesses, the conflicts of interest will continue.