[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 39 (Tuesday, March 7, 2017)]
[House]
[Pages H1575-H1576]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   PRESIDENT TRUMP'S FAMILY BUSINESS

  (Ms. KAPTUR asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Speaker, President Trump is a master at diverting 
attention, even the media's. His diversions are a perfect foil from the 
constitutional questions that his and his family's behavior have raised 
since he took the oath of office.
  With hotels and property developments all over America and the world, 
the Trump empire is dramatically expanding its domestic business, 
raising vital questions as to the Trumps' profiting from public 
service, including from foreign entanglements that violate the 
Constitution.
  Outlined in Article II of the Constitution, the clause prohibits the 
President from receiving, other than his salary, any compensation, 
gift, or other form of profit from the United States, a State 
government, or their instrumentalities.
  Congress reserves its ability to consent to foreign emoluments but 
not to domestic emoluments. Our Founding Fathers were clear--no 
exceptions.
  It has been heavily reported in the papers that the Trump sons have 
now signed at least 17 new letters of intent with potential developers, 
even listing specific cities. They don't have to tell their father 
about all this. The newspapers cover it in abundance. And the American 
people should never have to wonder whose interests the President 
serves.
  Today those doubts abound. America, the scales of justice need 
tending.

                [From The Washington Post, Mar. 4, 2017]

  Trump Sons, Planning Expansion of Family Business, Look to Leverage 
                          Campaign Experience

      (By Jonathan O'Connell, David A. Fahrenthold and Matea Gold)

       New York.--Donald Trump's adult sons, who are overseeing a 
     nationwide expansion of the family business during their 
     father's presidency, are envisioning ways that their 
     experiences from the campaign trail can help them establish a 
     footing in dozens of new markets.
       The idea is to move beyond a focus on luxury hotels in big 
     metropolises and build boutique properties in a broader mix 
     of cities, including some the Trump brothers came to know 
     well during more than a year of intensive travel, fundraising 
     and grass-roots networking on the road to The White House.
       ``I got to see a lot of those markets on the campaign,'' 
     Donald Trump Jr., the president's eldest son, told The 
     Washington Post in a recent interview from his office on the 
     25th floor of Trump Tower. ``I think I've probably been in 
     all of them over the last 18 months.''
       The initial plan is tied to the Trumps' previously 
     announced new chain, Scion, which is being designed as a 
     less-corporate feeling brand of high-end hotels with a more 
     affordable per-room price point than the Trumps' five-star 
     properties.
       As with many existing Trump-branded property deals, the 
     developers would own the hotels while the Trumps would be 
     paid licensing and management fees.
       The company says it has signed at least 17 letters of 
     intent with potential developers. It is targeting an array of 
     cities such as Austin, Dallas, St. Louis, Nashville and 
     Seattle--and Trump Jr. said the campaign proved useful in 
     forging relationships with potential new connections.
       ``I met people along the way that would be awesome 
     partners,'' he said.
       The expansion plan illustrates how President Trump's 
     political rise has the potential to affect his business even 
     as he and his sons promise to adhere to a strict ethical 
     boundary between the company's moves and the Trump 
     administration. And it shows the inherent challenge in 
     separating the family's political work from its corporate 
     interests, with upsides and potential problems.
       Extending the Trump business into a greater cluster of 
     American cities could bring political benefits for a 
     president who has vowed to bring jobs and economic prosperity 
     to struggling communities. But it also comes as Trump has 
     faced criticism from Democrats and ethics officials for his 
     decision to retain his ownership stake in the company, a 
     decision that means he stands to personally benefit from its 
     growth.
       Building new hotels, for example, could create issues--tax 
     disputes, allegations of labor violations or environmental 
     violations--that require federal departments to consider 
     cases that could directly impact the president's finances. 
     And while the Trumps have vowed to sign no new foreign deals, 
     pursuing a raft of new domestic contracts from coast to coast 
     means the Trumps are likely to engage in negotiations with 
     private developers, banks and investors who see additional 
     benefits in doing business with the president's company.
       ``It's just going to add fuel to the fire that is already 
     burning . . . with him having still a foot in both the 
     boardroom and one in the Oval Office,'' said Scott Amey, the 
     general counsel of the nonpartisan watchdog group Project on 
     Government Oversight.
       The White House did not respond to a request for comment. 
     The president in January added a team of ethics lawyers to 
     the White

[[Page H1576]]

     House Counsel's Office, while the company hired a longtime 
     Republican attorney tasked with ensuring the Trump 
     Organization minimizes conflicts of interest.
       In interviews, the Trump sons waved off the idea that their 
     plans created any potential ethical problems.
       ``There are lines that we would never cross, and that's 
     mixing business with anything government,'' Eric Trump said.
       Donald Trump Jr. said that since the inauguration, he has 
     spoken with his father twice on the phone and once in 
     person--when he and his brother attended the announcement of 
     their father's Supreme Court nominee, Neil Gorsuch. Eric 
     Trump said he may ask his father how things are in the White 
     House but would never discuss government or business affairs.
       ``Will we ever talk about tax policy? Will I ever ask for 
     anything that could otherwise benefit the business? 
     Absolutely, emphatically not,'' Eric Trump said. ``He has no 
     need to know what we're doing, and I certainly don't need to 
     know what they're doing, and I don't want to.''
       The Trumps' point man on the expansion is Eric Danziger, an 
     experienced executive who was hired in 2015 after previously 
     overseeing expansions at Carlson Hotels Worldwide, Starwood 
     Hotels and the former Wyndham International.
       One of the first Scion projects is slated to open in 
     Dallas, where a Turkish-born developer aims to open a sleek 
     glass six-story hotel as part of a $50 million mixed-use 
     downtown development. The Austin, Cincinnati, Denver, 
     Detroit, Nashville, Seattle and St. Louis areas are also 
     possible targets, according to reports by Bloomberg News and 
     business trade publications.
       The Trumps declined to say what other cities they were 
     exploring for projects but said they were actively seeking 
     contracts in many places. Danziger, speaking last month to 
     Skift, an industry publication, called Scion a ``four-star 
     lifestyle brand'' with wide geographic appeal.
       ``That kind of brand can be in every city--tertiary, 
     secondary,'' he said. ``So, how many is that? The opportunity 
     is for hundreds.''
       Because of the prohibition on foreign deals, Danziger said 
     the company is ``going to have full focus--instead of some 
     focus--on growth domestically of both Trump and Scion.''
       The expansion will not be easy, according to analysts. The 
     Trumps will be entering a crowded marketplace of new hotel 
     lines from Marriott, Hilton and Hyatt designed to appeal to a 
     broad cross-section of customers, said Michael J. Bellisario, 
     a senior research analyst with the firm Robert W. Baird & Co.
       ``There are so many more competitors out there today,'' 
     Bellisario said.
       For the Trumps to distinguish their projects from their 
     competitors, they will need to be choosy about locations, 
     Bellisario said. ``You've got to be on the right street comer 
     in the right market. You can't open these hotels in Topeka, 
     Kansas,'' he said. ``So when you think about that, how big 
     can the new line get?''
       The plan is a big test for the younger Trumps.
       Just as Donald Trump stepped out from his father's shadow 
     in the 1970s to build the family real estate business into 
     today's worldwide collection of golf courses, hotels, condo 
     towers, branded merchandise and other commercial holdings, 
     now Donald Trump Jr., 39, and Eric Trump, 33, have a 
     chance to make their mark.
       Along with their sister, Ivanka, who departed the company 
     when their father entered office, the brothers have long 
     served as executive vice presidents.
       Before their father ran for president, the three siblings 
     helped expand the firm from focusing on New York to including 
     the management of luxury hotels in top U.S. cities and seven 
     countries, plus more than a dozen golf courses.
       The fruits of that work are still coming, as last month the 
     company opened a new golf club in Dubai and, last week held a 
     grand opening for a new hotel-condominium tower in Vancouver, 
     B.C.
       A major transition for the sons is taking over a company in 
     which the force behind every Trump company offering--whether 
     it was selling hotel rooms, office buildings, golf outings, 
     ties or raw steaks--was Donald Trump himself.
       In interviews, Trump Jr. and Eric Trump said they consider 
     themselves protectors of the Trump brand, an effort they said 
     is sometimes misunderstood. Critics viewed the announcement 
     of Scion during the campaign as a move away from the Trump 
     name. The family's intent was the opposite; since they view 
     the name Trump has a standard for luxury that ought to be 
     insulated, they will use other brands for less pricey 
     products.
       ``We would never want to dilute the real estate brand by 
     going into tertiary markets that can't sustain the [luxury] 
     properties as we build them,'' Eric Trump said, ``A lot of 
     hotel companies have gotten this wrong.''
       Both sons worked for their father starting at young ages, 
     doing landscaping and other labor on his projects.
       A University of Pennsylvania graduate, Trump Jr.'s first 
     assignment at the company was to work with executives at New 
     York City real estate projects.
       Eric Trump joined after graduating from Georgetown in 2006. 
     He has overseen the Trump Winery near Charlottesville and 
     worked on the Trump hotel in Las Vegas, where he developed a 
     reputation as a hands-on executive.
       ``If there's a property tax issue or any litigation, he 
     flies into Las Vegas and takes care of it,'' said Phil 
     Ruffin, a casino mogul who is the Trumps' partner in the Las 
     Vegas project. ``He hires the lawyer. If there are any 
     capital improvements, he approves them. He is very energetic 
     like his father--he will just work night and day.''
       With their father in charge, there was an informal division 
     of labor among his three eldest children, governing which 
     projects each swooped in to help.
       Ivanka Trump created her own brands of shoes, jewelry, 
     handbags and coats. She took the lead on some of the Trump 
     Organization's mast prominent recent projects, such as the 
     $212 million D.C. hotel, which had its soft opening in 
     September.
       ``I'm probably the most obviously like [Trump Sr.],'' 
     Ivanka Trump said in a 2011 company video titled ``Trump: The 
     Next Generation.''
       ``In certain ways,'' she added, ``Eric is very similar to 
     him in terms of his love of construction and building. And 
     Don has his sense of humor.''
       The Trumps' planned corporate expansion comes as the 
     president has faced intense criticism from Democrats and 
     ethics experts for his continued ownership interest.
       A liberal watchdog organization, Citizens for 
     Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), has sued 
     Trump, arguing that his hotel operations violate a 
     constitutional provision barring the president from accepting 
     gifts or payments from a foreign government. Some Democrats 
     have argued that Trump's international trademarks, including 
     one long-sought registration granted in February by China, 
     also violate the Constitution's emoluments clause.
       Trump has called the CREW lawsuit ``totally without 
     merit.''
       Amey, of the Project on Government Oversight, said there 
     were ways for the Trumps to avoid potential domestic 
     conflicts related to the hotel expansion. He said they could 
     put the hotel business under another corporate structure, 
     which does not involve a trust directly owned by the 
     president himself.
       ``There are solutions to solving this, [hut] there doesn't 
     seem to be a will and a desire to do that within the White 
     House,'' Amey said.
       The Trump brothers say they are taking ethics concerns 
     seriously and are doing everything necessary to avoid 
     distracting from their father's work as president.
       ``Have I used him as a sounding board in the past? One 
     hundred percent,'' Trump Jr. said. ``Have I learned a lot 
     from him? Couldn't have had a better mentor. But he's got 
     real stuff he's got to deal with. These are real people's 
     lives . . . . So this notion that he is still running the 
     business from the White House is just insane.''
       Trump Jr. scoffed at the idea that his father might have 
     somehow viewed running for president--spending millions of 
     dollars of his own money to run against more than a dozen 
     Republican challengers and Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton 
     when few pundits gave him a chance to win--as a moneymaking 
     endeavor.
       ``That's not a get-rich-quick scheme,'' he said. ``That 
     doesn't make any sense whatsoever.''

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