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Trump Will Host Next G7 Summit at His Doral Resort Trump Will Host Next G7 Summit at His Doral Resort
(about 3 hours later)
WASHINGTON — President Trump has decided to host the Group of 7 meeting next June at the Trump National Doral resort near Miami, Mick Mulvaney, the acting White House chief of staff, announced Thursday, a decision that immediately raised questions about whether it was a conflict of interest for him to choose one of his own properties for a diplomatic event. WASHINGTON — President Trump has decided to host the Group of 7 meeting next June at the Trump National Doral near Miami, Mick Mulvaney, the president’s acting chief of staff, said Thursday, a decision that prompted immediate questions about whether it was a conflict of interest for him to choose one of his own properties for a diplomatic event.
Mr. Mulvaney said the president had considered the possibility of “political criticism” for picking the resort. But Mr. Trump chose it anyway because administration officials had considered hotels throughout the country, and concluded that it was “by far and away, far and away, the best physical facility for this meeting,” Mr. Mulvaney said. Mr. Mulvaney said the president had considered the possibility of the “political sort of criticism” in picking the resort. But he said Mr. Trump chose it anyway because administration officials had considered hotels throughout the country, and concluded that the Trump National Doral was “by far and away, far and away, the best physical facility for this meeting.”
“‘It’s almost like they built this facility to host this type of event,’” Mr. Mulvaney told reporters, quoting what he said an unnamed official told him during the planning process. And he dismissed any suggestion that the president would profit from the choice.“‘It’s almost like they built this facility to host this type of event,’” Mr. Mulvaney told reporters, quoting what he said an unnamed official told him during the planning process. And he dismissed any suggestion that the president would profit from the choice.
Mr. Mulvaney said the hotel would put on the summit “at cost,” dismissing questions about whether Mr. Trump would profit from the choice. “The president has made it clear since he’s been here that he hasn’t profited since he’s been here,” he said. Mr. Mulvaney said the hotel would put on the summit “at cost.” “I think the president has pretty much made it very clear since he got here that he doesn’t profit from being here,” he said. “He has no interest in profit from being here.”
But Representative Jerrold Nadler, the New York Democrat who leads the House Judiciary Committee, said that in hosting a summit for hundreds of world leaders and their staffs, the White House had potentially violated the emoluments clauses of the Constitution, which prohibit gifts or payments from foreign government sources. But House Democrats said the president’s choice of his own hotel was just the latest example of Mr. Trump using his office to promote his business interests.
“The administration’s announcement that President Trump’s Doral Miami resort will be the site of the next G7 summit is among the most brazen examples yet of the president’s corruption,” Mr. Nadler said. “He is exploiting his office and making official U.S. government decisions for his personal financial gain. The emoluments clauses of the Constitution exist to prevent exactly this kind of corruption.” “The administration’s announcement that President Trump’s Doral Miami resort will be the site of the next G7 summit is among the most brazen examples yet of the president’s corruption,” said Representative Jerrold Nadler of New York, the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, which is charged with drawing up articles of impeachment against the president.
“He is exploiting his office and making official U.S. government decisions for his personal financial gain,” Mr. Nadler said. “The emoluments clauses of the Constitution exist to prevent exactly this kind of corruption.”
He added that the committee would continue “pressing for answers to our prior requests about the G7 selection process.”
Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who on Wednesday had a contentious exchange with the president over his decision to pull American troops from Syria, said Mr. Trump was violating long-established laws meant to protect against foreign influence.
“The Constitution is clear,” Ms. Pelosi wrote on Twitter, citing the emoluments clause. “The President cannot accept gifts or payments from foreign governments. No one is above the law.”
Legal experts said hosting the Group of 7 summit at the Doral might violate the Constitution in two ways.
First, the Constitution prohibits the president from accepting a gift or payment from a foreign government source, technically called a foreign emolument. And second, the president is prohibited from taking any kind of payment from the federal government that is beyond his salary.
Holding the summit there would effectively force government officials to pay the Trump family to stay at his resort, said Deepak Gupta, a constitutional lawyer who is already involved in two lawsuits accusing Mr. Trump of violating the Constitution by accepting foreign government payments at his hotels.
“Apparently, President Donald Trump no longer sees fit even to pretend that he is constrained by the law or the Constitution,” said Robert Weissman, the president of Public Citizen, a nonprofit group that has tracked millions of dollars in political and government spending at Trump hotels and resorts worldwide since 2017. “He doesn’t care to disguise his contempt for the rule of law.”
Holding the event at the Doral would effectively be forcing foreign government officials to pay the Trump family to stay at his resort, said Deepak Gupta, a constitutional lawyer who is already involved in two lawsuits claiming that Mr. Trump is violating the Constitution by accepting foreign government payments at his hotels. The Doral is operated by the Trump Organization, run on a day-to-day basis by the president’s sons Eric and Donald Trump Jr., since their father became president. But Mr. Trump has both frequented and promoted his properties throughout his time in the White House.
“This is indefensible,” Mr. Gupta said. “It is as blatant of a mixing of private interests and official action that we have seen from this president.” In Washington, Mr. Trump regularly meets supporters over dinner at the Trump International Hotel, which has become the most popular venue for political fund-raisers in the capital. And he has spent a total of 308 days since 2017 spent at one of his properties, or about a third of his days in office.
Mr. Mulvaney’s announcement was hardly a surprise; the president had not made it a secret that he wanted to hold the summit at his hotel. At the Group of 7 summit this year, held in Biarritz in the south of France in August, Mr. Trump suggested the resort would be a “great place” to hold next year’s meeting. Over all, Mr. Trump has made visits to at least 13 of his family’s revenue-generating properties since he was sworn in, including golf courses in Ireland and Scotland, according to a tally by The New York Times. The most frequent location in the Mar-a-Lago club in Florida, followed by Trump National Golf Clubs in New Jersey and Virginia.
“It’s got tremendous acreage, many hundreds of acres, so we can handle whatever happens,” Mr. Trump said. “People are really liking it, and plus it has buildings that have 50 to 70 units. And so each delegation can have its own building.” The use by Mr. Trump of his properties has drawn criticism as has that of other federal government employees who have stayed in Trump-owned hotels in the United States and overseas.
In the past Mr. Trump has been an aggressive promoter of the hotel. When the PGA Tour announced in 2016, while Mr. Trump was running for president, that it was moving its annual golf tournament — which had brought international attention to the resort for over five decades — to Mexico City, he reacted angrily. Questions were raised about the Pentagon spending $184,000 in the last two years paying for the Air Force to send dozens of flight crews making stopovers at an airport in Scotland to stay at the Trump Turnberry resort in Scotland.
“They’re moving it to Mexico City which, by the way, I hope they have kidnapping insurance,” Mr. Trump said at the time, in an interview on Fox. And during a trip to Ireland in September, Vice President Mike Pence was criticized for staying at the Trump International Golf Links and Hotel in Doonbeg — a resort nearly an hour away from where Air Force Two was holding at the airport in Shannon. The president suggested that Mr. Pence stay there, according to Mr. Pence’s aides.
But the resort has struggled financially since the Trump family bought it out of bankruptcy in 2012, reportedly paying $150 million for the property. More than $100 million in loans to help finance the project came from Deutsche Bank. Mr. Mulvaney said that the president had made a similar suggestion when White House officials were discussing locations for the Group of 7.
Financial documents obtained by The New York Times as part of tax appeals filed by the Trump Organization showed that the property lost $2.4 million in 2014. The Trump Organization has not disclosed profits in the past several years. “We sat around one night,” Mr. Mulvaney said. “We had the list, and he goes, ‘What about Doral?’ And it was like, that’s — that’s not the craziest idea.”
Still, the resort as of last year was the single biggest moneymaking asset, among the hotels, golf courses, office buildings and other properties owned by the Trump family. It generated $75.96 million in income in 2018, up from $74.76 million in 2017. But both of those figures are overall revenue, not profits. The Group of 7 meeting will be held in the middle of June, the off-season in South Florida when temperatures are often in the 80s and humid, and vacancy rates are high. Several event planners reached Thursday noted that the Trump Doral was certainly not the only resort in the United States that could handle an event like the Group of 7.
Since he was elected, Mr. Trump has made a habit of visiting his own resorts and hotels, with a total of 308 days since 2017 spent at one of his properties, or about a third of his days in office. “There are lots of options in picking venues,” said Michelle Milligan, the president of the Society of Government Meeting Professionals. “We are a pretty large country.”
His most frequently visited spot is his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida, followed by Trump National Golf Clubs in New Jersey and Virginia. Another frequent venue has been the Trump International Hotel in Washington, which has become a magnet for Republican political events and other conferences hosted by Trump supporters. But the president had not made it a secret where he wanted to hold the summit. At this year’s Group of 7 summit, held in August in Biarritz in the south of France, Mr. Trump suggested the resort would be a “great place” to hold next year’s meeting.
Overall, Mr. Trump has made visits to at least 13 of his family’s revenue-generating properties since he was sworn in, including golf courses in Ireland and Scotland, according to a tally by The Times. “It’s got tremendous acreage, many hundreds of acres, so we can handle whatever happens,” Mr. Trump said. “People are really liking it and plus it has buildings that have 50 to 70 units. And so each delegation can have its own building.”
Previous use of Mr. Trump’s properties by the president and other federal government employees has drawn controversy, including the decision by the Air Force to send dozens of flight crews making stopovers at an airport in Scotland to the Trump Turnberry resort, where the Pentagon alone has spent $184,000 in the past two years. The president has been an active promoter of the hotel in the past. When the PGA Tour announced in 2016, while Mr. Trump was running for president, that it was moving its annual golf tournament — which had brought international attention to Doral for over five decades — to Mexico City, he reacted angrily.
The Group of 7 meeting will be held in the middle of June, the off-season for South Florida when the weather is hot and humid, and hosting a summit at the Doral will be complicated, local officials said, given the proximity of the resort to major area roads, including two right next to the resort that may need to be closed to ensure security. “They’re moving it to Mexico City, which, by the way, I hope they have kidnapping insurance,” Mr. Trump said in an interview at the time on Fox.
“It is the middle of the metro area of Dade County,” said Rey Valdes, a Doral Police Department spokesman. “This will require a logistical feat. But with careful planning, I am confident we will be able to pull it off.” But Doral has struggled financially since the Trump family bought the resort out of bankruptcy in 2012, reportedly paying $150 million for the property. More than $100 million in loans to help finance the project came from Deutsche Bank.
Juan Carlos Bermudez, the mayor of Doral, did not have advance notification from the White House that the city had been picked for the Group of 7 summit. Mr. Bermudez said Thursday that he would leave questions surrounding potential conflicts of interest for the “Democrats and Republicans and pundits” to discuss. Financial documents obtained by The Times as part of tax appeals filed by the Trump Organization showed that the property lost $2.4 million in 2014. The Trump Organization has not disclosed profits in the last several years.
Still, Doral as of last year was the single biggest moneymaking asset, among the hotels, golf courses, office buildings and other properties owned by the Trump family. It generated $75.96 million in 2018, up from $74.76 million in revenue in 2017. But both of those figures are just overall revenue, not profits.
Local officials were not given a heads-up about the decision, and said holding a summit at the report would be complicated given the proximity of the resort to major area roads, including two that are immediately adjacent to the resort and might need to be closed to ensure security.
“It is the middle of the metro area of Dade County,” said Rey Valdes, a spokesman for the Doral Police Department. “This will require a logistical feat. But with careful planning, I am confident we will be able to pull it off.”
Juan Carlos Bermudez, the mayor of Doral, noted the logistical feat, but said Thursday that he would leave questions surrounding potential conflicts of interests for the “Democrats and Republicans and pundits” to discuss.
“We are honored that it is being held here,” Mr. Bermudez said. “And the world will be able to see what Doral and South Florida are about.”“We are honored that it is being held here,” Mr. Bermudez said. “And the world will be able to see what Doral and South Florida are about.”