FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

January 16, 2019

Contact: Jordan Libowitz | CREW

202-408-5565 | [email protected]

CREW Statement on GSA IG Report

Washington — Following the release of a GSA Inspector General report which concluded that, when deciding to allow President Trump to hold the lease on the Old Post Office for the Trump Hotel, “GSA’s decision to ignore the Emoluments Clauses was improper,” Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) Executive Director Noah Bookbinder released the following statement:

“Seconds after President Trump took the oath of office, we filed a complaint with GSA asserting that his holding of the lease on the Old Post Office violated the terms of the lease, and we announced that he was in violation of the Constitution’s Emoluments Clauses. A few days later, we filed our historic emoluments lawsuit. The Inspector General’s report vindicates our conclusions, agreeing with our definition of emoluments. It further takes the GSA to task, finding they ‘all agreed early on that there was a possible violation of the Constitution’s Emoluments Clauses. Nonetheless, the attorneys decided to ignore the emoluments issues.’ President Trump stood in violation of the Constitution the moment he took office, and compounded the problem by improperly holding the lease on a government building. The corruption of the presidency has never been clearer.”

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