The General Services Administration said it has not yet determined President-elect Donald Trump, seen here during the opening ceremony of the Trump International Hotel in Washington, DC., on October 26, will be in violation of the hotel's lease agreement if he does not divest his financial interests before he is sowrn in. File Photo by Kevin Dietsch/UPI |
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WASHINGTON, Dec. 15 (UPI) -- The U.S. General Services Administration said it would be "premature" to determine if Donald Trump is in violation of the lease of his luxury Washington, D.C., clarifying its position after four House Democrats said the agency required the president-elect to divest himself of the property.
The GSA statement comes after four Democratic members of the U.S. House of Representatives wrote to GSA Administrator Denise Turner Roth on Wednesday requesting documents related to the lease. In the letter, the Democrats said the GSA's deputy commissioner told them Trump would be in breach of the lease agreement the moment he takes office unless he divests himself of his interest in property.
Democratic Reps. Elijah Cummings of Maryland, Peter DeFazio of Oregon, Gerald Connolly of Virginia and Andre Carson of Indiana, members of the House Oversight Committee, signed the letter.
The Trump International Hotel sits on federal property -- once the Old Post Office -- the lease for which says any elected official may not benefit from the lease. GSA records show Trump owns about 77 percent of the entity leasing the hotel, while his children own most of the rest.
In a statement, GSA officials said the agency "does not have a position that the lease provision requires the president-elect to divest of his financial interests."
"We can make no definitive statement at this time about what would constitute a breach of the agreement, and to do so now would be premature," the GSA said. "In fact, no determination regarding the Old Post Office can be completed until the full circumstances surrounding the President-elect's business arrangements have been finalized and he has assumed office. GSA is committed to responsibly administering all of the leases to which it is a party."
After the GSA clarified its position, Cummings said he was aware a breach had not yet occurred, adding the GSA viewed it as a "hypothetical" issue until then."
