CONFLICT OF INTEREST/LEGAL/TRUMP BUSINESS: “A lawsuit filed Thursday [3-9-17] by a Washington wine bar targets President Donald Trump’s lease with the federal government to rent the Old Post Office downtown, with the aim of forcing him to divest himself from the Trump International Hotel operating in the historic building.
Filed by a cafe called Cork Wine Bar, the suit alleges Mr. Trump is in violation of the 2013 lease agreement, which states that no elected official of the U.S. government can be a party to the rental agreement, or share in ‘any benefit that may arise’ from it.
Although operated by his sons, the Trump International Hotel operations and the family’s other businesses are held in a trust, and Mr. Trump is the beneficiary.”
-James V. Grimaldi, “D.C. Wine Bar’s Lawsuit Targets Trump Hotel Lease,” The Wall Street Journal online, March 9, 2017