CREW requests documents on military ball at Trump Hotel
On February 7, 2019, the 4th Battalion of the U.S. Army’s 3rd Infantry Regiment held its annual ball at the Trump Hotel in Washington DC.
President Trump is both commander in chief of the United States Armed Forces and the principal beneficiary of the trust that owns the DC hotel. If military funds were spent at the hotel, that presents a conflict of interest for both the president and the involved Army unit. The 3rd Infantry Regiment’s Director of Communications said that the ball was funded solely through individual ticket sales and fundraisers by soldiers, but the public still has a right to know the details of the event.
CREW requested communications between the army and Department of Defense and Trump Hotel regarding the event, as well as communications within the army and DOD about the event. The requested records would shed light on this interaction between the U.S. Armed Forces and a private business that President Trump profits from.