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America First Audit

He said it in public. These are the documents on what happened next. Browse all records.

Why these cases

Trump sold “America First.” This record traces how public money, power, and risk moved toward family businesses, donors, favored firms, and foreign governments: and what workers, ranchers, retirees, patients, veterans, and small investors were left to absorb.

Said vs. done

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Case 89 of 254

The Government Lease Beneath the Trump D.C. Hotel

Actions
documentedGSA issued an estoppel certificate allowing the lease to continue under a revised operating arrangement after Trump took office.General Services Administration Office of Inspector GeneralRead record · 1 source
Outcomes
documentedGSA's inspector general found that the agency improperly ignored constitutional issues in its lease analysis.CBS NewsGeneral Services Administration Office of Inspector GeneralRead record · 2 sources
People and impacts
Who gained
  • Trump Old Post Office LLC
  • Trump Old Post Office LLC
Promise and assessment
The promise
documentedAt 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.TimeU.S. House Committee on Oversight and Government ReformRead record · 2 sources

Promise contradicted

The lease remained in place while Trump retained a beneficial interest, and the GSA inspector general found the agency's review improperly ignored constitutional questions; the report did not decide whether an Emoluments Clause violation occurred.

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