Indicted Flynn associate chaired pro-Turkish group that booked hotel
Indicted Flynn associate chaired pro-Turkish group that booked hotel
Welcome to 1100 Pennsylvania, a newsletter devoted to President Donald Trump’s Trump Hotel International Washington, D.C. (and his other companies). President Trump, of course, still owns his businesses and can profit from them.
If you like what you see, tell someone. If you’ve been forwarded this newsletter, subscribe for yourself at zacheverson.substack.com. Tips or feedback? Contact me, Zach Everson, securely via email at 1100Pennsylvania@protonmail.com or on Signal at 202.804.2744.
Indicted associate of Flynn chaired Turkish business group that booked Trump’s D.C. hotel
Yesterday federal prosecutors charged Michael Flynn’s business associate Ekim Alptekin with acting as an agent of the Turkish government. Alptekin is a member of the U.S.–Turkey Business Council, as well as its former chairman.
The U.S.–Turkey Business Council held its 2017 annual conference on U.S.-Turkey Relations at the Trump Hotel D.C. and plans to return there next April. (It was supposed to hold a conference there in 2018 too, but it was cancelled because “no senior U.S. officials would be willing to attend the annual event.”) [H/T CREW’s Eli Lee]
Chair of super PAC $40k in debt to Trump Hotel takes to Twitter to plug Trump Hotel
Pro–Trump super PAC Women Vote Smart owes the Trump Hotel D.C. $40,000 for hosting its Women for America First Summit back in October. But the super PAC’s chair, Amy Kremer, isn’t letting a little five-figure debt affect her willingness to plug the hotel on Twitter.
Two minutes later, apparently realizing she tagged the Trump Hotels’ Twitter account and not the specific one for its D.C. property, she made sure the president’s Pennsylvania Avenue property got her message. It’s unclear if promotional tweets are part of Women Vote Smart’s debt payment plan.
Tweet advertising $60 hotel ornament not well received by internet
Noteworthy sightings
From the Trump Hotel D.C. hotel after last night’s White House Christmas party, innkeeper/first son Donald Trump Jr. posted a video of Trump supporters Diamond and Silk defending his father. “I don’t want to hear what’s going on with his money…because his business ain’t none of our business,” they said. Don Jr. replied, “That’s right.” Watch it here.
Also in the video, Turning Point USA’s Charlie Kirk and vice chairwoman of pro-Trump nonprofit America First Policies and pro-Trump PAC America First Action, Kimberly Guilfoyle.
Trump’s personal attorney Rudy Giuliani got some ❤️ from Katherinn Kloss, an executive assistant at the White House.
Today’s Politico’s Playbook spotted 21 political types at the president’s hotel:
OUT AND ABOUT -- SPOTTED at the Trump hotel Monday night at a birthday party for Tommy Hicks, who’s running for co-chair of the RNC unopposed and is supported by Trump: Kimberly Guilfoyle (who sang happy birthday to Hicks), Donald Trump Jr., Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump, Reince Priebus, Jeff Miller, Jason Miller, Kelly Love, Sergio Gor, Tony Sayegh, Greta Van Susteren and John Coale, Charlie Kirk, Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke, Pete Marocco, Derek Harvey, Kiron Skinner, Charlie Glazer, Brian Walsh and Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick.
A staffer on Utah attorney general Sean Reyes’s (R) executive team, Becca Olea, celebrated Christmas in DC at the hotel.
Legal cases, current status (latest change, Dec. 18, 2018)
DC and MD attorneys general’s emoluments lawsuit—Discovery started Dec. 3 and is scheduled to run through Aug. 2, 2019. So far the AGs have subpoenaed the Trump Organization; the U.S. Departments of Agriculture, Commerce, Defense, and Treasury and the GSA; and the state of Maine.
In Trump’s official capacity—On Dec. 17, Trump’s Justice Department attorneys appealed a district court’s denial of their motion to dismiss the case to the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The DOJ lawyers also asked for discovery to be put on hold while the court considered the appeal.
In Trump’s individual capacity—On Dec. 14, Trump’s personal attorneys appealed the denial of their motion to dismiss the case, also to the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The AGs have until Dec. 19 to reply to Trump’s motion for a stay pending that appeal, with the president’s attorneys’ response to AGs’ filing due Dec. 21.
196 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.
CREW et. al’s emoluments lawsuit—In February, 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 on Oct. 30.
Cork’s unfair competition lawsuit—Judge Richard J. Leon dismissed the case on Nov. 26, 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.
Employees’ class-action suit alleging racial discrimination—A status hearing on arbitration is scheduled for Jan. 25, 2019.
Health inspections, current status (latest change, Aug. 10, 2018)
❌Hotel: five violations on May 7, 2018; two were 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 Aug. 10, 2018
❌Pastry kitchen: two violations on Aug. 10, 2018
✔️Gift shop: no violations on May 7, 2018
❌Employee kitchen and in-room dining: five violations on Aug. 10, 2018; two were corrected on site
Other Trump Organization news
“Trump Organization plots return to Dominican Republic, sparking ethics concerns” by Matthew Mosk, Kyra Phillips, Alex Hosenball, and Kaitlyn Folmer for ABC News
USA Today’s Steve Reilly noticed some interesting government spending in Florida:
One thing that has nothing to do with Trump’s businesses (I think, tough to tell sometimes!)
“Two decades after his last deadly act of ecoterrorism, the Unabomber has become an unlikely prophet to a new generation of acolytes.” By John H. Richardson for New York.
Thanks for reading. If you like what you saw, tell someone. If you’ve been forwarded this newsletter, subscribe for yourself at zacheverson.substack.com. Tips or feedback? Contact me, Zach Everson, securely via email at 1100Pennsylvania@protonmail.com or on Signal at 202.804.2744.