House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) announced Wednesday his panel will broaden its investigation into President Trump to include his proposal to hold the 2020 Group of Seven (G-7) summit at one of his family-owned properties in Florida.
Nadler said the president’s pitch to host next year’s meeting of world leaders at Trump National Doral Miami is “only the latest in a troubling pattern of corruption and self-dealing by the President” and may violate both the foreign and domestic Emoluments Clauses.
{mosads}”The President’s personal financial interests are clearly shaping decisions about official U.S. government activities, and this is precisely the type of risk that the Constitution’s Emoluments Clauses were intended to prevent,” Nadler said in a statement.
“More importantly, the Doral decision reflects perhaps the first publicly known instance in which foreign governments would be required to pay President Trump’s private businesses in order to conduct business with the United States,” Nadler added.
Trump has publicly defended his resort as top contender for the next G-7 meeting, calling it a “natural” location because of its proximity to a major airport.
“Doral happens to be within Miami. It’s a city, it’s a wonderful place. It’s a very, very successful area of Florida,” Trump told reporters at a press conference Monday at the conclusion of this year’s G-7 summit, held in Biarritz, France. “It’s very importantly only five minutes from the airport – the airport is right next door. It’s a big international airport, one of the biggest in the world.”
The president has insisted he was not trying to boost his own properties.
“With Doral, we have a series of magnificent buildings, we call them bungalows, they each hold from 50 to 70 very luxurious rooms with magnificent views. We have incredible conference rooms, incredible restaurants, it’s like such a natural,” Trump said. “Each country can have their own villa or their own bungalow, and they have a lot of units in them, so I think it just works out well.”
The Emoluments Clause bars presidents from accepting gifts or other benefits from foreign and domestic governments without congressional approval.
Foreign and domestic government officials have frequently stayed at Trump-owned hotels and properties, prompting critics to argue Trump is benefitting financially from his role as president while in office.
Nadler, who is already leading a sprawling investigation examining allegations of obstruction of justice, public corruption and other abuses of power, said the Doral probe would be wrapped into the broader one.
“The Constitution demands that President Trump’s private interests and official conduct remain separate, and this latest announcement demands scrutiny by Congress,” Nadler said.
“Potential violations of the Foreign and Domestic Emoluments Clauses of the Constitution are of significant interest and grave concern to the Committee as it considers whether to recommend articles of impeachment,” he added. “The Committee will broaden its ongoing investigation to include these latest revelations and will take further investigative steps, including scheduling hearings and requesting additional documents from the White House.”
Nadler’s announcement comes as the White House has blocked both current and former officials from testifying before congressional committees, arguing that under the standard of immunity, confidentiality protections offered to the executive branch apply to current and former aides, effectively preventing them from disclosing what took place during their time in the administration.
The White House would likely follow a similar track if Nadler sought to subpoena administration officials over his property proposal.