Eric Trump's rebranded charity is returning to Trump Westchester
Eric Trump's rebranded charity is returning to Trump Westchester
Despite Eric’s claims to the contrary, the Trump Org has profited from his charitable work
Curetivity, the rebranded Eric Trump Foundation, will host a golf tournament and gala at Trump National Westchester on Sept. 16. Curetivity raises funds for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis.
Despite Eric’s claim that “We get to use our assets 100 percent free of charge,” the Trumps have profited from holding this annual golf tournament, reported Dan Alexander for Forbes in 2017:
In reviewing filings from the Eric Trump Foundation and other charities, it’s clear that the course wasn’t free—that the Trump Organization received payments for its use, part of more than $1.2 million that has no documented recipients past the Trump Organization. Golf charity experts say the listed expenses defy any reasonable cost justification for a one-day golf tournament.
In 2016, Eric wrote that he was resigning from his charity and ceasing “all direct fundraising efforts of my foundation…during the tenure of my father’s presidency in order to avoid the appearance or assertion of any impropriety and/or a conflict of interest.”
But as 1100 Pennsylvania reported earlier, that messaging hasn’t always registered with participants in Curetivity’s events. After golfing in a fundraiser at Trump Ferry Point in May, PGA pro Bryson DeChambeau told reporters, “I did an Eric Trump Foundation thing on Saturday” [H/T Nick Penzenstadler of USA Today].
After being rebranded, Curetivity also held its annual golf invitational at Trump Westchester in 2017 and 2018.
Headlining this year’s Curetivity gala is Jonathan Cain, formerly of Journey. He now releases Christian music and is married to Paula White-Cain, Donald Trump’s prosperity-gospel–preaching pastor who delivered an invocation at his inauguration. Both Cains have appeared often at the Trump Hotel D.C. and Mar-a-Lago.
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Trump Org, administration, and campaign staffers celebrated U.S. president’s expected grandchild at a Trump golf course
Trump Westchester hosted a baby shower for Trump campaign senior advisor Lara Trump and Trump Org EVP Eric Trump last weekend. In attendance were
Department of Housing and Urban Development region II administrator, a political appointee of the president’s, Lynne Patton
Fox News’s Jeanine Pirro
the president’s first wife, Ivana, who had accused him of raping her before walking back that statement
Trump Org decorator Giavona Sullivan, who landed a “private,” “impromptu” White House tour last December
Campaign expenditures
In May 2019, the Republican National Committee reported spending another $10,639.31 at the head of the party’s D.C. hotel. The RNC has now spent at least $20,111.31 at the Trump Hotel D.C. in 2019.
Notable sightings
A glimpse of the foreign officials, government employees, politicians, lobbyists, and the like who patronize or appear at Trump businesses. Most people shown here have reasons to want to influence the Trump administration, rely on its good graces for their livelihoods, or should be providing oversight. Additionally, high-profile guests serve as draws for paying customers.
Rep. Mark Meadows (R–NC) thanked a Trump Hotel D.C. guest for supporting the president. Meadows has supported the president by spending $9,196.99 of campaign funds at the Trump Hotel D.C., criticizing a General Services Administration inspector general’s report that questioned the agency’s handling of the Trump Hotel D.C.’s lease, and letting Capital One know he was concerned about his colleagues’ request for Trump Organization financial documents.
Yair Netanyahu, the son of Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, posed with a former Trump political appointee who resigned after CNN and Media Matters reported she’d “spread conspiracies and made anti-Muslim comments,” Ximena Barreto, at the U.S. president’s D.C. hotel.
For at least the second time in a week, former White House spokesperson Sean Spicer was at his old boss’s hotel.
Travis Hollman, the CEO of Hollman Inc., “the world’s largest manufacturer of sports, fitness, and office lockers” and his wife Stephanie Hollman of Real Housewives of Dallas had a grand time at Trump Turnberry.
Other Trump Organization news
“Donald Trump golf course dunes to lose protected status” by The Scotsman
Trump Tower relaunched its website with a video that emphasizes who developed the property (because of a formatting constraint, select the link to watch the video).
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House investigations, current status (latest change, June 27, 2019)
Financial Services
The committee sent a inquiry to Deutsche Bank AG on its ties to Trump, according to the bank on Jan. 24. On March 1, Chair Rep. Maxine Waters (D–CA) said the bank is cooperating with her committee and that her staffers met with bank employees. On March 11, the committee requested documents on Trump’s businesses from Capital One; the bank said it was preserving documents but needed a subpoena to comply per Politico. On April 15, that subpoena was issued. The committee reportedly has subpoenaed nine banks for information about the president’s finances. President Trump, Don Jr., Eric, Ivanka, and their businesses sued Deutsche Bank and Capital One on April 30 to prevent them from sharing records with Congress. Deutsche Bank reportedly has been willing to cooperate with lawmakers. On May 3, the Trumps filed for a preliminary injunction to block the subpoenas. But the judge declined to issue that injunction on May 22, saying that the financial institutions can comply with the lawmakers’ request. The Trumps’ appealed that ruling on May 24. The lawmakers and Trumps agreed to refrain from enforcing the subpoenas until after the appellate court issued its ruling. The court announced it will expedite the briefing process, which will end on July 18, and hold a hearing held shortly thereafter.
Foreign Affairs
Chair Elliot Engel (D–NY) “plans to investigate whether President Donald Trump’s businesses are driving foreign policy decisions, including whether Trump violated the emoluments clause of the Constitution in the process” per CNN on Jan. 23.
Judiciary
On March 4, the committee “served document requests to 81 agencies, entities, and individuals believed to have information relevant to the investigation. Among the individuals the committee requested documents from are Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, Trump Org EVP and COO Michael Calamari, CFO Alan Weisselberg, EVP and chief legal officer Alan Garten, Trump tax attorney Sherri Dillon, longtime Trump executive assistant Rhona Graff, former Trump advisor Felix Sater (whom it interviewed on March 21), former Trump attorney Michael Cohen, and Trump associate and inaugural chair Tom Barrack. The committee received “tens of thousands” of documents by its March 18 deadline, according to its chair, Jerry Nadler (D–NY). Among the respondents: Barrack, Steve Bannon, and the National Rifle Association. But more than half of the targets still had not replied by April 3. On that day, the committee authorized subpoenas for former White House aides Bannon, Ann Donaldson, Hope Hicks, Donald McGahn, and Reince Priebus, per Politico. And on May 21, the committee did in fact subpoena Hicks and Donaldson. Attorneys for the Trump Organization, Don Jr., and Eric did not respond to Politico’s inquires if their clients planned to reply. The committee is considering making additional document requests, including to Trump’s personal attorney Rudy Giuliani.
Intelligence
On Feb. 6, Chair Adam Schiff (D–CA) said his committee would investigate links or coordination between the Russian government/foreign actors and individuals associated with Trump’s businesses, as well as if foreign actors sought to compromise or hold leverage over Trump’s businesses. Schiff hired a prosecutor experienced in combating Russian organized crime to lead the investigation.
On Feb. 10, Schiff said the committee would investigate Trump’s relationship with Deutsche Bank, a major lender to the Trump Organization. On Jan. 24, the committee sent an inquiry to Deutsche Bank AG on its ties to Trump. On Feb. 28, an aide said the panel expects to interview Trump Org. CFO Allen Weisselberg.
During testimony on March 6, Michael Cohen turned over documents that allegedly show how Trump’s then-personal lawyer, Jay Sekulow, edited Cohen’s statement regarding Trump Tower Moscow. Cohen later read this revised statement before the House and Senate Intelligence Committees. In closed-door testimony in March, Cohen claimed the president submitted a false insurance claim regarding a fresco in Trump Tower. Felix Sater, who was connected to the Trump Moscow project, was scheduled to testify in an open hearing on March 27, but that was postponed. Then he was scheduled to talk to the committee’s investigators on June 21, but did not show up. Georgian-American businessman Giorgi Rtskhiladze, however, did discuss his Trump Tower Moscow proposal with the committee on June 26.
The committee seeks to interview inauguration organizer Stephanie Winston Wolkoff.
On March 11, the committee requested documents on Trump’s businesses from Capital One; the bank “said it was already preserving documents but needs a subpoena in order to comply” per Politico. On April 15, that subpoena was issued. All told, the committee reportedly has subpoenaed nine banks for information about President Trump’s finances. President Trump, Don. Jr., Eric, Ivanka, and their businesses sued Deutsche Bank and Capital One on April 30, however, to prevent them from sharing financial records with Congress. Schiff said Deutsche Bank has been willing to cooperate with lawmakers. On May 3, the Trumps filed for a preliminary injunction to block the subpoenas. But judge Edgardo Ramos declined to issue that injunction on May 22, saying that the financial institutions can comply with the lawmakers’ request. The Trumps’ appealed that ruling on May 24. The lawmakers and Trumps agreed to refrain from enforcing the subpoenas until after the appellate court issues its ruling. The court announced it will expedite the briefing process, which will end on July 18, and hold a hearing held shortly thereafter.
Oversight and Reform
Chair Elijah Cummings’s (D–MD) staff “sent out 51 letters to government officials, the White House, and the Trump Organization asking for documents related to investigations that the committee may launch,” on Jan. 13. In a Feb. 15 letter to White House Counsel Pat Cipollone, Cummings said the committee received documents showing White House attorney Stefan Passantino and long-time Trump personal attorney Sheri Dillon provided “false information” to the Office of Government Ethics regarding Michael Cohen’s “hush-money payments.” As a result, Cummings wants to depose Passantino and Dillon; the White House, however, rejected Cummings’ request to interview Passantino. And on Feb. 27, Cohen testified to the committee about those payments and other Trump Organization business practices, which could lead to allegations of possible insurance fraud. The next day, House Democrats signaled they would seek testimony from Trump Organization officials whom Cohen alleged were implicated, including Donald Trump Jr., Ivanka Trump, and CFO Allen Weisselberg.
On March 6, Cummings requested information from the GSA about its reversal of a decision to relocate FBI headquarters, which is across the street from the Trump Hotel D.C. And on April 12 Cummings wrote to the GSA again, this time requesting all monthly reports from the Trump Hotel D.C., information about liens on the hotel, correspondence between the Trump Org and GSA, and legal opinions regarding the Trump Org’s compliance with the lease. Cummings gave an April 26 deadline; staffers for the committee and Cummings have not replied to inquiries asking if GSA replied.
The committee also has requested 10 years of Trump’s financial records. On March 11, the committee requested documents on Trump’s businesses from Capital One; the bank “said it was already preserving documents but needs a subpoena in order to comply” per Politico. On April 12, Cummings notified committee members that he plans to subpoena Mazars USA, Trump’s accounting firm, for his financial statements. President Trump, the Trump Organization, and the Trump Hotel D.C. sued Cummings and Mazars USA on April 22 in an attempt to prevent the release of Trump’s financial records. Cummings postponed the subpoenas’ deadline while the courts address the president’s suit. On May 20, U.S. District Judge Amit P. Mehta denied the president’s motion. Trump appealed the next day and two days after that, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals’ judges agreed to fast track the case, with oral arguments scheduled for July 12. But without further relief, Mazars could start turning over documents as soon as next week. In a filing on June 10, Trump’s attorneys argued that the committee’s subpoena was invalid because “it is an effort to investigate alleged legal violations—power that is vested in the executive, not Congress.”
Transportation and Infrastructure subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Buildings, and Emergency Management
Transportation committee Chair Peter DeFazio (D–OR) and subcommittee Chair Dina Titus (D–NV) sent a letter to GSA administrator Emily Murphy on Jan. 22 asking for all communication between the GSA and members of the Trump family dating back to 2015, an explanation of how the D.C. hotel calculates its profits, profit statements since the hotel opened, any guidance from the White House regarding the lease, and whether or not Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner are recused from participating in decisions regarding the property. GSA has “sent a partial response and the subcommittee is reviewing it,” according to a senior House staffer familiar with the situation. When hearings begin, it is likely that Murphy will be the first person called to testify, according to a person familiar with the subcommittee’s plans. Titus is hiring additional staffers to handle the investigation.
On March 6, Titus requested information from GSA about its reversal of a decision to relocate FBI headquarters, which is across the street from the Trump Hotel D.C. NPR reported “Democrats on the committee want to know, among other things, whether there was any political pressure exerted on the GSA by the Trump White House, presidential campaign or transition team. They also want to know how the Trump Hotel calculates its profits, segregates incoming money from foreign governments, and what the Trump Organization owes the GSA on a monthly or annual basis.’”
Ways and Means
On April 3, Chair Richard Neal (D–MA) requested six years of Trump’s personal tax returns, as well as the returns for eight of his businesses (including that of the trust that holds the president’s ownership stake in the D.C. hotel). After the IRS missed Neal’s deadline and then an extension, Treasury Sec. Steve Mnuchin said he’d make a decision whether or not to release the returns by May 6. He declined to do so. On May 10, the committee subpoenaed Mnuchin and IRS commissioner Charles Rettig, giving them a May 17 deadline to turn over Trump’s tax returns. Mnuchin again declined to comply. Neal suspected he’d know his next move by May 24, but earlier he had indicated he’ll take the issue to the federal courts.
The Oversight subcommittee held a hearing on “legislative proposals and tax law related to presidential and vice-presidential tax returns” on Feb. 7. “We will ask the question: Does the public have a need to know that a person seeking the highest office in our country obeys tax law?” said Chair John Lewis (D–GA). Tax law experts testified.
Legal cases, current status (latest change, June 26, 2019)
D.C. and MD attorneys general’s emoluments lawsuit
District court docket, appellate court docket
Official capacity—On Dec. 20, 2018, the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled it would hear the president’s appeal of district court rulings that allowed the case to proceed to discovery. The appellate court halted discovery in the case. Discovery had started Dec. 3 and was scheduled to run through Aug. 2, 2019, with the AGs having subpoenaed the Trump Organization, including its Scottish golf courses; the U.S. Departments of Agriculture, Commerce, Defense, and Treasury and the GSA; and the state of Maine. Oral arguments on the appeal occurred on March 19; by all accounts the three-judge panel (all Republican appointees, including one who was a selection of President Trump’s) were skeptical of the AGs’ case. D.C. AG Karl Racine pledged to take the case to the U.S. Supreme Court if necessary.
Individual capacity—On Dec. 14, Trump’s personal attorneys appealed the denial of their motion to dismiss the case to the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. On Dec. 19, the AGs replied to Trump’s motion for a stay pending that appeal by dismissing the claims against him in his “individual capacity to allow the claims against President Trump in his official capacity to move forward expeditiously.” (The AGs brought suit against Trump in his individual capacity after the judge suggested they do so.) Trump’s attorneys, on Dec. 21, opposed the motion to dismiss at the district level, saying the appeals court now has jurisdiction and accused the AGs of “gamesmanship.”
Democratic senators and representatives’ emoluments lawsuit
On Sept. 28, Judge Emmet G. Sullivan ruled that the legislators have standing to sue. Trump’s Justice Department attorneys filed an interlocutory appeal on Oct. 22. On Jan. 30, 2019, the plaintiffs’ filed a notice of supplemental authority, notifying the court of the GSA inspector general’s report that criticized GSA for failing to consider if the Trump Hotel D.C.’s lease was in compliance with the Constitution after Trump became president. Two days later, the president’s attorneys argued that the IG’s conclusion was not inconsistent with Trump’s argument, but that the judge should ignore that report anyway because the IG has no expertise in interpreting or applying the foreign emoluments clause. On April 30, Sullivan denied Trump’s motion to dismiss the suit. While the president’s attorneys have a supplemental brief due on May 28, on May 14 they filed a motion to stay the proceedings while they appeal Sullivan’s decision. A week later, the lawmakers opposed that motion. On June 25, Sullivan denied Trump’s motion to stay the proceedings pending appeal, paving the way for discovery to begin June 28 and last through Sept. 27.
CREW et. al’s emoluments lawsuit
District court docket, appellate court docket
In February 2018, CREW appealed its suit being dismissed for lack of standing to the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Oral arguments on that motion were held Oct. 30.
Cork’s unfair competition lawsuit
District court docket, appellate court docket
Judge Richard J. Leon dismissed the case on Nov. 26, 2018, writing “Cork has failed to state a claim for unfair competition under D.C. law.” On Dec. 10, Cork’s attorneys filed a notice of appeal and on Jan. 10, 2019 they submitted a statement of issues to be raised. Cork filed its first appellant brief on May 15, arguing “the District Court failed to recognize the evolving nature of the common law of unfair competition in the District of Columbia and erroneously treated the prior cases as if they were a series of statutes that Appellant had to satisfy to state a claim.” Attorneys for the president and his hotel requested a 31-day extension for filing their brief, with Cork’s consent, which the court granted on May 28. Trump’s brief is now due on July 15.
Employees’ class-action suit alleging racial discrimination
D.C. superior court (direct link not available, search for case 2017 CA 006517 B)
Two of the three plaintiffs did not appear at a status hearing on Jan. 25, 2019; their cases were moved to arbitration. Via email, their attorney, A.J. Dhali, said his clients did not appear because their case already had been moved to arbitration last year. The next status hearing is scheduled for Oct. 4.
Health inspections, current status (latest change, June 14, 2019)
❌Hotel—five violations on May 7, 2018; two corrected on site
❌BLT Prime and Benjamin Bar—nine violations on Aug. 10, 2018
❌Sushi Nakazawa—two violations on Aug. 10, 2018
✔️Banquet kitchen—no violations on May 16, 2019
✔️Pastry kitchen—one violations on May 16, 2019; it was corrected on site
✔️In-room dining—one violation on May 16, 2019; it was corrected on site
❌Northwest kitchen—three violations on May 16, 2019; two corrected on site
✔️Gift shop—no violations on May 7, 2018
✔️Employee cafeteria—no violations on May 16, 2019
Is the Trump Store selling swag that depicts the White House? (latest change, March 21, 2019)
Yes.
One thing that (probably) has nothing to do with Trump’s businesses
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