The rental transactions, dating from the early months of Trump’s presidency, could add to mounting scrutiny of his business dealings with foreign governments, which are now the subject of multiple lawsuits
The Trump World Tower had housed diplomats and foreign officials before the property developer became president. But now that Donald Trump is in the White House, such transactions must pass muster with federal lawmakers, some legal experts say.The U.S.
A State Department spokesperson referred Reuters to the Justice Department because the subject involved “matters related to ongoing litigation.” The Justice Department declined to comment. The White House referred a request for comment to the State Department and the Trump Organization, which did not comment.
Reuters could not confirm whether the State Department signed off on two other lease requests from Algeria and South Korea and three additional requests from Kuwait.“Letting this go without Congress knowing about it condones the creation of a second, opaque track of foreign policy,” said Harold Hongju Koh, a professor at Yale Law School and former legal adviser at the State Department.
Trump’s attorneys have argued in court that the Constitution only requires him to seek congressional approval for foreign emoluments offered in connection with his role as president. Trump has retained ownership of his global business interests while president, but handed off day-to-day control to his oldest sons and a longtime company executive.
In 2017, the median monthly asking rent for units in Trump World Tower was $8,500, according to real estate website StreetEasy. That was more than 2.5 times the median in the surrounding neighborhood, known as Turtle Bay.Some of the foreign governments, including Saudi Arabia, had previously purchased property in the building, where the average unit currently sells for nearly $7-million, according to StreetEasy.
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