In the eight months following Donald Trump‘s inauguration in 2017, foreign governments of seven countries sent notes to the State Department asking permission to rent or renew their leases in the Trump Tower. The governments included Kuwait, Iraq, Malaysia, Thailand, Saudi Arabia, Slovakia and the European Union, all of which got approval to rent a total of eight units.
Staffers on Capitol Hill told Reuters that the lease requests were never submitted to Congress. This could therefore be a potential breach of the emoluments clause in the Constitution, which bans officials from accepting gifts or payments from foreign governments without Congress’ approval.
SLIDESHOW: TOP DEMOCRATS RUNNING FOR PRESIDENT IN 2020
Elijah Cummings, chairman of the House Oversight and Reform Committee, said: “This new information raises serious questions about the president and his businesses’ potential receipt of payments from foreign governments… The American public deserves full transparency.”
Subscribe to our free weekly newsletter!
A week of political news in your in-box.
We find the news you need to know, so you don't have to.
On Tuesday, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) banned noncompete agreements in a 3-2 vote. The…
A proposed bill in California would prohibit security screening company CLEAR from skipping the general…
On Monday, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments over a challenge to a law allowing…
The Arizona House of Representatives failed to advance a repeal of the state's 160-year-old abortion…
Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek (D) signed a bill restoring criminal charges in cases of hard drug possession.…
President Joe Biden's administration announced the first-ever national limits on toxic "forever chemicals" in drinking water. This…