G7 to Doral, prayers for Kurds to D.C. hotel

Oct 17, 2019

BREAKING: Trump administration booked Trump Doral for G7

Early this afternoon, the White House announced Trump’s Doral resort will host the annual G7 meeting in June 2020. According to acting chief of staff Mick Mulvaney, who praised his boss’s business while announcing the venue, Doral will hold the gathering at cost. Trump’s money-loser, however, will benefit from free publicity and having fewer empty rooms.

Evening of prayer for the Kurdish people set for next Sunday in president’s presidential ballroom

Three weeks after President Trump made a swift about-face in U.S. foreign policy that led to a Turkish military offensive against the Kurds, a pro-Kurdish group is convening a night of prayer at the Trump Hotel D.C.

Frontier Alliance International, an eight-year-old nonprofit focused on “exalting the worth of Jesus Christ among the unreached and unengaged at the end of the age,” has scheduled an “emergency night of prayer for the Kurds” on Oct. 27 in the hotel’s presidential ballroom. Admission is free, but advance registration is required.

President Trump, of course, owns the Trump Hotel D.C. and will profit from people praying for a remedy to a foreign-policy crisis he instigated.

A spokesperson for the group did not respond to an inquiry regarding its choice of venue. A press release for the event said it would be non-partisan.

The event will neither be a condemnation nor a defense of President Trump or his Middle East policies. We are asking participants to leave partisan politics in the parking lot. We are gathering as Christians to consider and pray about issues that are much larger in scope than the decisions of a sitting President or the evolving dynamics of isolated geopolitical events.

Turkish groups appear to have been much better customers at the Trump Hotel D.C. than Kurdish ones. The Annual Conference on U.S.-Turkey Relations took place at the Trump Hotel D.C. in both 2017 and 2019 (it was not held in 2018 because of friction between the two countries). And Turkey’s foreign minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu was at the hotel around Trump’s inauguration. (Also, Trump Towers Istanbul exists.)

Meanwhile, only two Kurdish officials have been spotted at the Trump Hotel D.C.: the general director of Christian affairs in the Kurdistan regional government, Khalid Jamal Alber, and Ilham Ehmed of the Syrian Democratic Council, the political wing of the Kurdish fighters in Syria.

This event should move Kurdish groups closer to parity.

Faith and Freedom Coalition stuffed Trump's collection plate

At least one senior Trump administration member, one U.S. Senator, and two members of the House have addressed lobbyists and donors to a conservative Christian nonprofit at the president’s D.C. hotel over the past two days.

Last night and this morning, the Faith and Freedom Coalition—”a grassroots movement for time-honored values, stronger families, and individual freedom”—has convened its “most generous investors” in the Trump Hotel D.C.’s private Franklin Study and Lincoln Library.

Earlier in the week, the president headlined the coalition’s Road to Majority conference, held at D.C.’s Marriott Wardman Park Hotel.

Here’s the rundown of notable attendees (so far):

Trump’s National Economic Council director Larry Kudlow spoke with a commissioner from Gaston County N.C., Tracy Philbeck.

Kudlow, in fact, addressed the gathering from behind the Trump Hotels lectern, as did Faith and Freedom coalition chair Ralph Reed and former NFL running back Shawn Alexander. Also shown in the following tweet from a losing candidate in the 2018 Republican primary for U.S. Senate in Montana Troy Downing, lobbyist and public affairs executive David Spady of River Public Affairs Group. (Its listed clients include Americans for Prosperity, the National Gold Mining Corp, and CPAC.)

Sen. Cory Gardner (R–CO) led off Faith and Freedom’s second day at the president’s D.C. hotel.

Rep. Mark Meadows (R–NC) continued his support of the Trump Hotel D.C. by addressing the president’s customers. The ranking member on the House Oversight Subcommittee on Government Operations, his campaign has reported spending $11,435.49 at the Trump Hotel D.C. since its owner was elected president, while his House Freedom Fund PAC has disbursed $1,460.00 there. Meadows also has taken official actions on behalf of the Trump Org. Maureen Blom, the president of SCI Inc.—“a federally registered lobbyist”—was in attendance.

Rep. Doug Collins (R–GA) also addressed these Trump Hotel D.C. clients.

Campaign expenditures

One of House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy’s (R–CA) joint-fundraising committees spent $341.60 at the Trump Hotel D.C. on Sept. 26. McCarthy’s campaign, leadership PAC, and joint fundraising committees now have reported spending $246,226.04 at the Trump properties since Trump became the head of the executive branch. (According to 1100 Pennsylvania’s analysis, during McCarthy’s 10 years in Congress before Trump won the 2016 election, McCarthy’s campaign, leadership PAC, and joint fundraising committees reported spending $743.93 at Trump’s businesses.)

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.

Jan Du Plain, a publicist who specializes in embassy events, had a fantastic night at the U.S. president’s D.C. hotel, which has hosted several embassy events.

Edmund Kozak, an “experienced Anglo-American political journalist and commentator with a demonstrated history of right-wing rabble-rousing,” calls the Trump Hotel D.C. his “sweet home away from home.”

Other Trump Organization news

“House Oversight asks court to expedite subpoena order for Trump’s finances” by Harper Neidig for The Hill
“FCC formally approves T-Mobile-Sprint merger, but companies aren't out of the woods yet” by Edward C. Baig for USA Today. Previously “T-Mobile admits execs weren't big Trump D.C. clients—until merger approval was needed.”
“Cummings, powerful congressman leading Trump probe, has died” by Brian Witte and Regina Garcia Cano for The Associated Press

Reference section

Links to rundowns of developments in the House’s investigations and lawsuits, reference sheets for some of 1100 Pennsylvania’s previous reporting, and articles that provide the background on why all of this matters. The date published or last updated is in parentheses.

Trackers

House investigations (Oct. 17, 2019)
Lawsuits (Oct. 16, 2019)
Breakdown of judges’ rulings by political party of presidents who nominated them in emoluments, unfair competition, and House committee investigations lawsuits (Oct. 16, 2019)
Health inspections (latest change June 14, 2019)

Notable hotel customers

Foreign governments with representatives spotted at the Trump Hotel D.C.: 29 ( Oct. 2, 2019)
Trump cabinet members spotted at the Trump Hotel D.C.: 25 of 33 (Sept. 26, 2019)
U.S. Senators who’ve supported the Trump Hotel D.C.: 26 of 53 Republicans, one Democrat (Aug. 1, 2019)
House Judiciary members who’ve supported the Trump Hotel D.C.: Seven of 17 Republicans, no Democrats (Oct. 1, 2019)
House Oversight members who’ve supported the Trump Hotel D.C.: Six of 17 Republicans, no Democrats (Sept. 26, 2019)
Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R–CA) found Trump’s hotels competitive only after Trump’s election (Sept. 12, 2019)
Rudy Giuliani at the Trump Hotel D.C: A retrospective (April 30, 2019)

Summaries

The top stories showing how Trump has profited from his presidency via his D.C. hotel (Sept. 27, 2019)
“Power tripping in the swamp: How Trump’s D.C. hotel swallowed Washington
The MAGA social scene is a movable feast, but its dark heart resides within the Old Post Office Building, where the Trump Org operates under a mercenary charter” by your correspondent for Vanity Fair (October 2019)
“Inside the world’s most controversial hotel: The hotel that was expected to take its place among the crown jewels of D.C.’s travel scene has become a magnet for protestors, a West Wing Annex, and—possibly—the center of a constitutional crisis.” by your correspondent for Condé Nast Traveler (May 2018)

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