CREW requests State records on foreign governments and the Trump Hotel

Under the Freedom Of Information Act, CREW requests all communications between State Department employees and representatives of foreign governments that mention or refer to Trump International Hotel in Washington, DC.

Former Mexican diplomat Arturo Sarukhan tweeted on October 31, 2017 that he was told that the State Department is pressuring foreign leaders who visit the United States for official trips to stay at the Trump International Hotel in Washington, DC. Indeed, foreign governments have chosen the president’s hotel for lodging and events. For example, Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak and his entourage stayed at the Trump International Hotel when the prime minister visited Washington, DC to meet with President Trump at the White House.

The records CREW requests may shed light on whether Ambassador Sarukhan’s assertion is correct by showing how the State Department has been advising foreign governments on the question of lodging in Washington, DC. If this is true, it means that the scope of the president’s violation of the Emoluments Clause may be greater than previously known and the State Department is complicit in the violation.