ETHICS/NEIL GORSUCH/SUPREME COURT/TRUMP BUSINESS: “Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch is slated to headline a September event at the Trump International Hotel.
The ‘Defending Freedom Luncheon,’ hosted by the nonprofit Fund for American Studies, is an invitation-only event to celebrate ‘the constitutional framework that has protected our free society and made America exceptional,’ according to the group’s website.
Gorsuch, whose appointment to the Supreme Court is considered to be among Trump’s most significant accomplishment in the White House, will deliver the keynote address.
Trump’s D.C. hotel has become a flash point for critics and ethics experts who claim the for-profit hotel bearing the president’s name allows individuals and groups, including foreign diplomats, to influence the president by spending money at the lavish hotel.
The Washington Post recently reported that the hotel turned a $2 million profit in the first four months of 2017, exceeding expectations. Trump himself has dined repeatedly at the hotel, and Republican operatives, lobbyists and Cabinet officials can often be spotted there.
Representatives for the Supreme Court and the Fund for American Studies did not immediately return requests for comment.”
-Matthew Nussbaum, “Gorsuch to headline event at Trump Hotel,” Politico, Aug. 17, 2017 11:56am