Old Guard parties, commander-in-chief profits
Welcome to 1100 Pennsylvania, a newsletter devoted to President Donald Trump’s Trump International Hotel 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—and support this work by becoming a paying member ($5/month or $50/year). If you’ve been forwarded this newsletter, subscribe for yourself at zacheverson.substack.com. Questions? Read our FAQ/manifesto. Tips or feedback? Contact me, Zach Everson, securely via email at 1100Pennsylvania@protonmail.com or on Signal at 202.804.2744.
Commander-in-chief’s hotel hosted The Old Guard’s fourth battalion’s ball
The Army’s 3rd U.S. infantry regiment’s fourth battalion held its annual ball last night at commander-in-chief Donald Trump’s D.C. hotel.
“There were no government funds spent, no appropriated funds spent on this,” said Maj. Stephen Von Jett, director of communications for the 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment. “It was funded through ticket sales and fundraisers that some of the soldiers did internally, down at the company level.”
The 356 tickets that were sold to the event cost $80 each and came with a free beer voucher, per the event’s invite. Soldiers attending ranged from battalion commander LTC Jeffery Burroughs though the most junior members, Von Jett said. President Trump, of course, still owns the hotel and can profit from it—meaning money from soldiers in the U.S. Army could have gone right to the top of the military’s chain of command.
“It’s usually a great time to create esprit de corps and camaraderie,” Von Jett said of the annual ball in general.
According to Burroughs, as conveyed through Von Jett, the battalion selected the Trump Hotel D.C. for the venue because it had a competitive price and was “the nicest one that they looked at.”
“They looked at a number of hotels, and they were trying to select one that was in their price range but also was visually stunning and let the soldiers know how much the organization cared about them,” Von Jett said.
Many of the photos of the ball shared on social media showed soldiers in their dress uniforms on the red carpet, in front of a backdrop reading “Trump International Hotel Washington, D.C.”
Nicknamed The Old Guard, the 3rd U.S. infantry regiment “conducts memorial affairs to honor our fallen comrades, and ceremonies and special events to represent the Army,” per its website. It’s probably best known for guarding the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery. The fourth battalion is headquartered at Fort Myer in Arlington, Virginia.
Noteworthy sightings
HUD Secretary Ben Carson posed with his wife, Candy; policy advisor for the pro-Trump nonprofit America First Policies, Martha Boneta; and Fox News advertiser/Trump business regular, the My Pillow guy, Mike Lindell.
Other Trump Organization news
“‘My whole town practically lived there’: From Costa Rica to New Jersey, a pipeline of illegal workers for Trump goes back years” by Joshua Partlow, Nick Miroff, and David A. Fahrenthold for The Washington Post
“Rep. Jackie Speier (D–CA) said early Thursday that she thinks President Trump’s real estate dealings violated the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, which governs U.S. businesses’ dealings with foreign investors.” By John Bowden for The Hill.
“Trump is first modern president to hire his customers—including as U.S. ambassadors” by Brad Heath for USA Today
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D–MA) sent a letter to the three Mar-a-Lago members profiled in “The Shadow Rulers of the VA” by Isaac Arnsdorf for ProPublica. Warren seeks to verify that the men were not VA employees or contractors, discover if they ever received the VA’s ethics training, and find out what companies they’ve invested in.
“‘I am disgusted’: Behind the scenes of Trump’s increasingly scrutinized $107 million Inauguration” by Emily Jane Fox for Vanity Fair:
“President Donald Trump’s businesses received nearly $3.8 million from political committees during the two-year 2018 campaign cycle, according to the latest disclosure reports. The top political customers: Trump’s re-election campaign and the Republican Party.” By Megan R. Wilson for Bloomberg Government.
“Ivanka Trump says she ‘barely’ knew about Moscow real estate project” by Yaron Steinbuch for The New York Post
“Hotel that launched Trump to Manhattan fame to be torn down” by Bernard Condon for The Associated Press
Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (involved in two emoluments suits against President Trump) learned that Ivanka Trump’s fashion brand has a new trademark in Canada. She’s taken a leave of absence from her business to work in the White House.
It appears Roger Stone was arrested in the same “Roger Stone did nothing wrong” t-shirt that he plugged last week at his Trump Hotel D.C. appearance.
The death of former Rep. John Dingell (D-MI) led to this tweet of his from June 2018 recirculating:
UPDATED House investigations, current status (latest change, Feb. 8, 2019)
Financial Services—Sent an inquiry to Deutsche Bank AG on its ties to Trump, according to the bank on Jan. 24.
Foreign Affairs—Chair Rep. 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.
Intelligence—On Feb. 6, chair Rep. Adam Schiff (D–CA) issued a statement that said his committee would investigate links or coordination between the Russian government/related 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. Earlier, on Jan. 24, the committee sent an inquiry to Deutsche Bank AG on its ties to Trump, according to the bank.
Oversight and Reform—Chair Rep. Elijah Cummings’s (D–MD) staff “has already 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,” according to CBS News on Jan. 13.
Transportation and Infrastructure subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Buildings, and Emergency Management—Transportation committee chair Rep. 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 the members of the Trump family dating back to 2015, an explanation of how the hotel calculates its profits, profit statements since the hotel opened in 2016, 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. DeFazio and Titus requested a reply by Feb. 8. 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.
UPDATED Ways and Means subcommittee on Oversight—The subcommittee held its first 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 Rep. John Lewis (D–GA). Experts in tax law testified.
Legal cases, current status (latest change, Feb. 7, 2019)
D.C. and MD attorneys general’s emoluments lawsuit (district court docket, appellate court docket)—
Official capacity—On Dec. 20, 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, and 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 already having issued subpoenas, including to the Trump Organization, including its Scotish 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 are scheduled for March 19. The AGs filed their brief opposing the president’s appeal on Feb. 6, stating “The President is not entitled to an order requiring the district court to certify for interlocutory review its denial of his motion to dismiss. No court has ever issued such relief.”
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. On Dec. 19, the AGs replied to Trump’s motion for a stay pending that appeal by voluntarily dismissing the claims against Trump in his “individual capacity to allow the claims against President Trump in his official capacity to move forward expeditiously.” (The AGs only brought suit against Trump in his individual capacity after the judge suggested they do so.) Trump’s personal attorneys, on Dec. 21, opposed the motion to dismiss at the district level, saying the appeals court now has jurisdiction and accusing the AGs of “gamesmanship.”
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. And 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 U.S. Constitution after Donald 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.
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 and on Jan. 10 they submitted a statement of issues to be raised. The next steps, which don’t yet have a timeline, include a briefing schedule being set and both sides filing appellate briefs.
Employees’ class-action suit alleging racial discrimination—Two of the three plaintiffs did not appear at a status hearing on Jan. 25; their cases were moved to arbitration. Via email, their attorney, A.J. Dhali, said his clients did not appear at the hearing 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, 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
One thing that has nothing to do with Trump’s businesses (I think, tough to tell sometimes!)
From “Philadelphia politics are stuck in the era of prog rock” by The Economist:
The national ironworkers’ union has already taken control after its local leaders ordered a Quaker Meeting house, built by non-union workers, to be torched.
Thanks for reading. If you like what you see, tell someone—and support this work by becoming a paying member ($5/month or $50/year). If you’ve been forwarded this newsletter, subscribe for yourself at zacheverson.substack.com. Questions? Read our FAQ/manifesto. Tips or feedback? Contact me, Zach Everson, securely via email at 1100Pennsylvania@protonmail.com or on Signal at 202.804.2744.