@HngB?? at the Haitian gatatea 4301 20515 December 14, 2016 The Honorable Denise Turner Roth Administrator General Services Administration 1800 Street, NW Washington, D.C. 20405 Dear Administrator Roth: We write to follow up on our request from November 30, 2016, for information about how the General Services Administration (GSA) plans to address the imminent breach-of?lease and con?ict-of?interest issues created by President?elect Donald Trump?s lease with the US. Government for the Trump International Hotel building in Washington, D.C.I Briefing from GSA Deputy Public Building Service Commissioner First, we would like to thank you for making the Deputy Commissioner of Public Buildings Service available for the brie?ng that he provided to our staffs on December 8, 2016. The brie?ng was very helpful in clarifying position on a number of issues relating to this lease. Most importantly, the Deputy Commissioner informed our staff that GSA assesses that Mr. Trump will be in breach of the lease agreement the moment he takes office on January 20, 2017, unless be fully divests himself of all financial interests in the lease for the Washington D.C. hotel. The Deputy Commissioner made clear that Mr. Trump must divest himself not only of managerial control, but of all ownership interest as well. Specifically, section 37.19 of the lease agreement provides: ?No member or delegate to Congress, or elected of?cial of the Government of the United States shall be admitted to any share or part of this Lease, or to any bene?t that may arise therefrom.?2 1 Letter from Ranking Member Elijah E. Cummings, House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, Ranking Member Peter A. DeFazio, House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, Ranking Member Gerald Connolly, Subcommittee on Government Operations, and Ranking Member Andre Carson, Subcommittee on Economic Developments, Public Buildings and Emergency Management, to the Honorable Denise Turner Roth, Administrator, General Services Administration (Nov. 30, 2016) (online at 1- 3 General Services Administration, Ground Lease, By and Between the United States OfAmerica (as ?Landlord PRINTED ON RECYCLED PAPER The Honorable Denise Turner Roth December 14, 2016 Page 2 The Deputy Commissioner con?rmed repeatedly during the brie?ng that GSA reads this provision as we do, which is a categorical ban on the President of the United States or any other elected official having any ?nancial interest in this lease, or taking any ?nancial bene?t from it. He explained that this provision is a standard clause that is included in many GSA leases to create a ?level playing ?eld? and protect the interests of the American people. The Deputy Commissioner also rejected alternative interpretations of this provision offered by others. or example, one former procurement of?cial has suggested that this lease provision theoretically could be interpreted to ban only of?cials who were elected at the time the lease was signed, but not those who are elected afterwards.3 The Deputy Commissioner con?rmed that position is that this provision applies to all elected officials, regardless of when they are elected. Going forward, the Deputy Commissioner explained that if the President?elect does not divest himself of all financial interest in the hotel lease agreement, the contracting of?cial handling the lease agreement at GSA would usually send a letter giving the lessee 30 days to review the matter and respond to GSA. if the breach is not resolved satisfactorily, GSA would then normally bring the matter before the US Civilian Board of Contract Appeals. Communications with Trump Officials About Imminent Breach in response to the questions in our letter on November 30, 2016, the Deputy Commissioner informed our staffs that GSA received no communications from Mr. Trump or his associates about this issue after he won the Republican primary, when it became clear that a breach of the lease agreement was at least a possibility. In addition, the Deputy Commissioner informed our staffs that GSA received no communications from Mr. Trump or his associates about this issue after he won the election in November, when it became clear that a potential breach of this lease agreement was imminent. In fact, the Deputy Commissioner informed our staffs that GSA has received no communications to date from Mr. Trump?s business organization about this issue. This raises serious questions about how Mr. Trump plans to proceed. When our staffs asked if GSA attempted to contact Mr. Trump or his associates about this issue, the Deputy Commissioner stated that GSA informed the Trump transition team about concerns raised by us and others about the imminent breach, but that GSA has heard nothing in response to date. and Trump Old Post Of?ce, LLC) (as ?Tenant 1-1307) (Aug. 5, 2013) (online at 3 To 2140199 Info White House, Trump Mm) Have to Dzmip DC Hotel, Associated Press (Dec. 1, 2016) (online at The Honorable Denise Turner Roth December 14, 2016 Page 3 Current Con?icts of Interest The Deputy Commissioner was very helpful in explaining the current status of the lease agreement and interpretation of its provisions, but his briefing raised a host of concerns about serious conflicts of interest that already exist and may become even more exacerbated going forward. For example, the Deputy Commissioner explained that, over the past several years, the top official from Mr. Trump?s business organization that GSA has worked with on the lease is Mr. Trump?s daughter, Ms. lvanka Trump. The Deputy Commissioner explained that Ms. Trump has been primary contact from the Trump Organization regarding the negotiations for, and implementation of, the lease for the Old Post Office Building. At the same time, Ms. Trump also serves on the Trump transition team?which GSA contacted to convey concerns about how to handle the breach of the hotel lease.4 in other words, Ms. Trump is all of the following?the President-elect?s daughter, a rep presidential transition team official, a lessee under the contract GSA oversees, and the primary contact for GSA on the lease. The conflicts of interest are obvious. Future Con?icts of Interests Going forward, our staffs asked about the possibility that a new GSA Administrator or General Counsel selected by Mr. Trump might seek to overrule current career officials handling this lease agreement. Specifically, our staffs asked how GSA would respond if a new Administrator or General Counsel of GSA directed career officials to amend the lease agreement to remove the prohibition against elected officials, reversed legal interpretation of the lease provision, or simply refused to support the agency?s position before the US Board of Contract Appeals or any subsequent legal action. In response, the Deputy Commissioner asserted that GSA contracting officials are independent, base their decisions on the laws and regulations governing the contracts they oversee, and would not change their positions based on political influence. However, he did not address the broader conflicts of interest that this issue poses, stating that GSA relies on the Office of Government Ethics and the Department of Justice for guidance on these questions. Requests for Additional Information As our staffs discussed at the briefing with the Deputy Commissioner, we request the following documentswin unredacted form?to continue investigating this issue: 4 Trump Adds Vice Chairs {0 Transition Team, Including Several Women, Politico (Nov. 29, 2016) (online at several-women-231975). The Honorable Denise Turner Roth December 14, 2016 Page 4 l. a list of any currently available, unleased space within the hotel; 2. a copy of the ?fth amendment to the lease; 3. a copy of Exhibit to the lease, which lists the ownership of the leasing corporate entity; 4. all expense and pro?t projections; 5. any legal memos regarding potential con?ict of interest of Mr. Trump having an ownership interest in the hotel and serving as President; 6. the ?rst report submitted to GSA by the Trump Organization in November describing revenues and expenses for September and, when it is provided this month, the next report describing revenues and expenses for October; and 7. a summary or analysis of the bankruptcy of the previous tenant leasing the Old Post Of?ce. Please provide these documents by Friday, December 20, 2016. Thank you for your continued cooperation on this request. Sincerely, lijah . Cumming A. DeFai Ranking Member Ranking Member - Committee on Oversight and Committee on Transportation and Government Reform Infrastructure [70 Gerald E. Connolly (Aerial Carson Ranking Member Rankin enfbg Subcommittee on Government Subcommittee on Economic Operations Development, Public Buildings and Emergency Management The Honorable Denise Turner Roth December 14, 2016 Page 5 cc: The Honorable Jason Chaffetz Chairman, Committee on Oversight and Government Reform The Honorable Bill Shuster Chairman, Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure The Honorable Mark Meadows Chairman, Subcommittee on Government Operations The Honorable Lou Barletta Chairman, Subcommittee on Economic Developments, Public Buildings and Emergency Management