Trump's DC hotel lease becomes illegal upon his inauguration

[muriel_volestrangler]

GSA need not wait for constitutional experts to weigh in, nor for Trump’s lawyers to craft a comprehensive solution to appropriately distance Mr. Trump from his entire web of business interests. The lease presents relatively straightforward government contracting issues, and the contracting agency with responsibility for addressing those issues is GSA. To protect the integrity of the federal government’s procurement process, GSA must end its lease arrangement with President-elect Trump now.

The Post Office Lease differs from many of Mr. Trump’s other business arrangements. That’s because, in writing the contract, the federal and D.C. governments determined, in advance, that elected officials could play no role in this lease arrangement. The contract language is clear: “No ... elected official of the Government of the United States ... shall be admitted to any share or part of this Lease, or to any benefit that may arise therefrom...”

The language could not be any more specific or clear. Donald Trump will breach the contract on Jan. 20, when, while continuing to benefit from the lease, he will become an “elected official of the Government of the United States.”

The lease agreement, like many government contracts, is a lengthy document. Yet this clause represents a material (that is, significant) contractual term. While we recognize that some of the statutory ethics rules that generally apply to federal officials exempt the president and vice president, the prohibition on benefiting from the Old Post Office Pavilion lease does not exempt Mr. Trump. The terms of the contract were freely agreed to by the Trump Organization. Had President Obama or Vice President Biden (or any other elected official of the U.S. Government) attempted to participate in the original lease agreement in 2013, we are confident that GSA would have rejected their proposal. The lease’s plain language (a term favored by the late Justice Antonin Scalia) makes clear that Mr. Trump will be violating the lease’s terms when he becomes an elected official on Inauguration Day.

http://m.govexec.com/excellence/promising-practices/2016/11/gsas-trump-hotel-lease-debacle/133424/?oref=ge-iphone-interstitial-continue&oref=ge-iphone-interstitial-continue

Via Talking Points Memo

[no_hypocrisy]

1. Like just about everything else Trump, the rules don't seem to apply to him

as nobody seems interested in making them apply.

[Cosmocat]

10. AH - very rare here

to have someone tuned into where things are in America, 2016.

People have to get over fixating on Trump.

Ain't no one who voted for him who does not know full well what he is, and what we hate about him they LOVE about him, and the people who didn't vote Hillary are willing to accept it.

More of them in total than us ...

And, us telling them how horrible he is only makes them dig their heels in more.

They have to figure it out on their own.

The battle has to be with congress.

People don't get that while Trump is going to do a lot of bad and crazy things, CONGRESS is where we are going to royally fucked.

[niyad]

21. more of them than us? HRC is winning the popular vote by about 2 million.

[Cosmocat]

23. Yes, more of them than us

The number of people who voted for Trump PLUS the number of people who did not vote Hillary (who voted Johnson, Stein or did not cast a vote for POTUS is more than the number who voted for Hillary, and that does not even factor in another 90 million or who did not vote at all, who clearly are willing to accept Trump as POTUS.

Sorry, but only 1/3 or so of this country sees Trump as the threat he is ...

[wordpix]

24. HRC up 2.33 million votes today, so there are more of US

it's the Electoral College that's preventing her from being pres, not the vote.

[Cosmocat]

31. Who has control

Of the house of Representatives? The Senate? The most governorships? State houses? State Senate's? Municipal governments?

And my point stands relative to Trump. Everyone knows what he is. The only people who are not willing to accept him as POTUS are those who voted for Hillary, and we are only about a third of the country.

But, sure just think it is about the ec while they go hog wild the next 4 years.

[WhiteTara]

28. Behind each tweet is another regulation

or law or order is being overturned in Congress and in the Courts.

[Vinca]

2. Shut it down.

[Ford_Prefect]

3. I predict one of his Russian friends or off-shore investors will buy it from him.

[atreides1]

5. No doubt!

Isn't that what happened in Toronto? A Russian businessman purchased the Trump hotel and four years later it's bankrupt!

So, if the same scenario takes place here, by the time his term is up...the hotel here in D.C. will be in the same state, bankrupt!!!

[James48]

13. No one can 'Buy it from him"-

because Mr. Trump DOES NOT OWN the building-

He is LEASING the building.

He cannot sell his lease. ONLY the GSA can lease the building to someone else.

And if the President attempts to influence whom the lease is given to, then he would be interfering in the GSA contracting process-
also a criminal violation.

[jberryhill]

4. Question: "to any benefit that may arise therefrom"

So, can an elected official rent a room there?

[wordpix]

25. that's good news b/c the Old P.O. is a national treasure

As long as the Con didn't gut all the architectural wonders of the place, we're good.

[Jersey Devil]

6. All he has to do is assign the lease to his kids individually or to one of their corps in which

he has no ownership interest. So what's "illegal" then?

[cstanleytech]

7. Wont he just argue that nothing illegal has been done on his part

since he wasnt even in office at the time it was signed thus he is not breaking the “No ... elected official of the Government of the United States ... shall be admitted to any share or part of this Lease, or to any benefit that may arise therefrom...” clause?

[ehrnst]

11. The clause will be violated once he takes office, as per the wording of the contract.

If Trump wanted that lease, and another businessperson was in the situation Trump is in now, Trump would be screaming bloody murder about the violation of the contract, so he could take it lock, stock and barrel.

[cstanleytech]

14. I honestly dont get that since the wording seems to me to say that it would only be a violation

for a current office holder not someone that might have just won an election.

[ehrnst]

15. I know if I sign a lease, and the lease says no dogs, and I don't have a dog when I move in, but

I get a dog after I move in, that still breaks the lease.

[cstanleytech]

18. I'm not sure though that a court would agree that such a thing applies in this case. NT

[wordpix]

26. then a court should decide NOW

and not wait for some constitutional crisis

[cstanleytech]

29. Maybe I am wrong but I dont believe that the courts get to initiate cases

rather a citizen has to file a lawsuit or a DA does and even then there is a chance for it to be dismissed.

[oberliner]

8. When the president does it, that means it is not illegal.

[LittleGirl]

9. Lock him up. eom

[dumbcat]

12. I think the "... shall be admitted ..."

may be their out. He's already in the lease.

[cstanleytech]

20. Exactly, he was not at that time in government office. nt

[ehrnst]

16. You can email the GSA using this page

I just asked them if they were going to allow Trump to break the terms of his lease on the Old Post Office building, and included the link in the OP.

http://www.gsa.gov/portal/content/136438

[BSdetect]

17. The SCOTUS will decide in his favor.

Expect the worst president ever to rule with a twisted fist. His lawyers will drag any issue to courts for years.

[elleng]

19. YAY! NIMBY!

It's personal; my office of 20 years was across the street from the Old Post Office Pavilion, used to eat in the food court, took my daughters to olde candy shop, and bought shoes for my wedding at a little shoe shop there. To say I'm SAD about the 'hotel' is a serious understatement. THIS I love: 'The lease’s plain language (a term favored by the late Justice Antonin Scalia) makes clear that Mr. Trump will be violating the lease’s terms when he becomes an elected official on Inauguration Day.'

[Sen. Walter Sobchak]

22. I'm actually staying at this place next February

We're supposed to stay at Starwood properties but Trump was quite a bit cheaper since he shit all over his brand.

[wordpix]

27. Don the Con needs to decide---president or international property owner

I think Don believed the laws and contracts could be bent to his will once he became pres, which was very doubtful before the election. Now he's coming up against the reality of Rule of Law and Gov. Contracts. He needs to decide. He could concede to Hillary and go back to his previous life if he doesn't want to play by the rules.

[Maru Kitteh]

30. Won't matter.

[Tarheel_Dem]

32. He'll just shift it to one of his kids, who appear to be close advisors to the president elect.

[ehrnst]

35. Only the GSA can determine who the lease will go to. (nt)

[Warpy]

33. The White House is going to be too big a comedown for him

The rooms are small, the ceilings lower than 2 stories, and all that old furniture instead of shiny new reproduction furniture with all the gold leaf intact! Plus he's allergic to anything but gold and white, all that color is going to be far too dark and depressing.

Expect that to be his first big fight.

[malaise]

34. Lyin' Brian Williams

actually discussed this last night