Trump Hotel Accused by Democrats of Overcharging Secret Service
(Bloomberg) -- Donald Trump’s former hotel in Washington overcharged the Secret Service for rooms while he was president and reaped more than $300,000 from the agency, other US government officials and a slew of job- and pardon-seekers over a period of 11 months, according to a report by House Democrats raising ethical concerns.
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House Democrats charge in the report released Friday that the payments to Trump International Hotel “raise the appearance of corruption and pay-to-play” schemes.
Government-reimbursed payments to the Trump-owned company may have violated a provision in the US Constitution barring the president from receiving domestic emoluments — or government compensation beyond his salary, according to the report.
Democrats on the Oversight and Accountability Committee led by Jamie Raskin of Maryland based the findings on guest logs and other recently obtained records of the former Trump Hotel. The documents covered 11 months in late 2017 and part of 2018.
Representatives for the former president did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The Secret Service also didn’t immediately provide a response. A Republican spokeswoman for the Oversight Committee branded the allegations as rehash.
Earlier this year, Democrats also accused Trump-owned hotels of receiving at least $7.8 million in payments from foreign governments and their representatives during his presidency.
“Today’s report is more recycled garbage from the Democrats’ fruitless and close to a decade-long investigation of President Trump,” Republican spokeswoman Jessica Collins said in a statement. “Democrats ignored the Bidens’ corrupt influence-peddling schemes, which brought in millions for the family despite having no legitimate business other than selling the Joe Biden brand.”
Friday’s report alleges that “Trump treated the Secret Service as an ATM,” at times charging the agency 300% more than the government per diem and in some instances collecting more than it did from other patrons including members of a foreign royal family.
The report also questioned payments to the hotel by 30 other guests during the period. Sixteen US government officials made payments totaling about $163,000, according to the report. Fourteen other guests who sought presidentially appointed jobs or criminal pardons paid $85,000 during their stays.
“What is shocking is not the size of these payments but the fact that even the narrowest of windows into President Trump’s business dealings — just 11 months at one hotel — reveals a menagerie of unethical transactions, including flat-out violations of the Constitution,” the Democrats wrote in the report.
In 2022, Trump’s company agreed to pay $750,000 to the District of Columbia to settle a lawsuit claiming it illegally benefited financially from Trump’s 2017 inauguration committee. The Trump Organization said that it did not admit any wrongdoing under the deal.
Democrats said the Friday report is based on limited records obtained only after protracted legal action.
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