While we’re ll celebrating recent events, and pondering the distinct possibility that the Russian connection may yet bring Trimp down, we must not forget all the other impeachable offenses the small handed one is committing. This one is via Laurence Tribe, who is more assiduously keeping count than am I.
Mr. Trump’s 2013 lease with the General Services Administration stipulates that no elected official “shall be admitted to any share or part of this Lease, or to any benefit that may arise therefrom.” Legal experts say the president is clearly in violation of that clause and the government should either terminate the lease or force Mr. Trump to transfer it to somebody else. On Thursday, however, an agency contracting official, Kevin Terry, declared that the president was not in violation because he had agreed not to receive any profits from the hotel until after he leaves office.
Mr. Terry engages in legal gymnastics that no lawyer could credibly defend. It should not matter when Mr. Trump accepts the profits from the hotel; he benefits even if he waits until after he leaves the White House to pocket them. Mr. Terry argues that as long as Mr. Trump’s profits are reinvested in the hotel, rather than deposited in his bank account, there is no violation. But by reinvesting the profits, Mr. Trump is increasing the value of the hotel and its ability to earn more money in the future. He has a 60-year lease on the building, and not pocketing profits for a few years is hardly a sacrifice.
When I first heard about this rationale, I was boggled in the extreme. It would be interesting to know the backstory. Did Terry come up with this bullshit on his own, or was it put in front of him with the suggestion that he would be far better off if he signed.
Anyway, that’s one more for the list.
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