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- President Donald Trump made at least $434 million in 2018, according to his annual financial disclosure, including $40.8 million from his hotel down the street from the White House.
- Trump International Hotel in Washington, DC, has been at the center of several lawsuits alleging the president has violated the foreign emoluments clause of the Constitution.
- The emoluments clause bars public officials from receiving gifts or cash from foreign or state governments without congressional approval.
- A lobbying firm with ties to the Saudi government paid $270,000 to Trump’s hotel in Washington between October 2016 and March 2017, and such payments are driving the lawsuits against him.
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President Donald Trump made $40.8 million last year from a hotel that critics say he’s using to profit from the presidency in violation of the Constitution.
Trump made at least $434 million in 2018, according to his annual financial disclosure that the White House released on Thursday.
This includes the nearly $41 million from Trump International Hotel in Washington, DC, which is located less than a mile from the White House.
The hotel has been at the center of several lawsuits alleging the president is violating the foreign emoluments clause of the Constitution, which bars public officials from receiving gifts or cash from foreign or state governments without congressional approval.
Read more: Democrats have just subpoenaed for Trump’s tax returns after weeks of defiance
A lobbying firm with ties to the Saudi government paid $270,000 to Trump’s hotel in Washington between October 2016 and March 2017, and such payments are driving the lawsuits against him.
Trump has been accused of violating the emoluments clause by the attorneys general of both Maryland and Washington, DC, as well as congressional Democrats. The Justice Department is actively fighting these efforts.
The subject of Trump’s finances has been an issue since his campaign — particularly in relation to his ongoing refusal to release tax returns, which breaks decades of precedent and continues to put his administration at odds with Democratic lawmakers.
The president has also broken precedent by maintaining ownership of his business empire. In the past, many presidents have placed their assets in a blind trust to avoid conflicts of interest, but Trump did not follow this trend.
Trump’s financial disclosure for 2018 also revealed he earned roughly $22.7 million from his Florida resort Mar-a-Lago, a property where he’s hosted foreign leaders and which has come under scrutiny on a variety of issues.
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Source: Business Insider – feedback@businessinsider.com (John Haltiwanger)