The FBI Headquarters Rebuild and the Nearby Trump Hotel

2018-01-24

The FBI Headquarters Rebuild and the Nearby Trump Hotel

unresolved

Promised: 2017-01-11At Trump's January 2017 press conference, counsel for the Trump Organization said the arrangement would isolate him from the business, bar new foreign deals and donate foreign-government hotel profits to the Treasury.Open cited record · 2 sources
The record: 2018-01-24Trump participated in an Oval Office meeting about a revised plan to demolish and rebuild the FBI headquarters at its existing site.Open cited record · 1 source2018-08-27The GSA inspector general documented the meeting and gaps in information about the White House discussions.Open cited record · 1 source
Who gained: Trump International Hotel Washington, D.C.
Who paid: Federal Bureau of Investigation
United States taxpayers
United States taxpayers
Audit finding: unresolved
Trump's participation and the revised government plan are documented, but the official record does not establish that protecting the nearby Trump hotel motivated the decision.
Causal strength: not established

Evidence chronology

promise2017-01-11documented
At Trump's January 2017 press conference, counsel for the Trump Organization said the arrangement would isolate him from the business, bar new foreign deals and donate foreign-government hotel profits to the Treasury.
- Time: Read a Transcript of Donald Trump's Press Conference on Conflicts of Interest2017-01-11 · Sheri Dillon remarks: no new foreign deals, limited information rights, compliance counsel, and donation of foreign-government hotel profits
- U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform: Oversight Committee Requests Documents on Trump Organization's Treatment of Foreign Government Payments2017-04-21 · Bipartisan committee letter describing the January pledge and requesting implementation records
Open underlying ledger entry
action2018-01-24documented
Trump participated in an Oval Office meeting about a revised plan to demolish and rebuild the FBI headquarters at its existing site.
- General Services Administration Office of Inspector General: Review of GSA's Revised Plan for the FBI Headquarters Consolidation Project2018-08-27 · January 24 Oval Office meeting, revised plan and information-access limitations
Open underlying ledger entry
outcome2018-08-27documented
The GSA inspector general documented the meeting and gaps in information about the White House discussions.
- General Services Administration Office of Inspector General: Review of GSA's Revised Plan for the FBI Headquarters Consolidation Project2018-08-27 · January 24 Oval Office meeting, revised plan and information-access limitations
Open underlying ledger entry
limitation2020-09-24documented
The nearby-hotel competitive theory was raised by watchdogs, but the cited official record does not establish it as Trump's motive.
- General Services Administration Office of Inspector General: Review of GSA's Revised Plan for the FBI Headquarters Consolidation Project2018-08-27 · January 24 Oval Office meeting, revised plan and information-access limitations
- Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington: President Trump's 3,400 conflicts of interest2020-09-24 · FBI headquarters discussion and nearby Trump hotel context
Open underlying ledger entry

Responses, legal status, contrary evidence, and limitations

limitation
The nearby-hotel competitive theory was raised by watchdogs, but the cited official record does not establish it as Trump's motive.