NEW: The U.S. State Department allowed at least seven foreign governments to rent luxury condominiums in New York's Trump World Tower in 2017 without approval from Congress, a potential violation of the U.S. Constitution's emoluments clause
The 90-story Manhattan building, part of the real estate empire of Donald Trump, had housed diplomats and foreign officials before the property developer became president. But now that he is in the White House, such transactions must pass muster with federal lawmakers, some legal experts say. The emoluments clause bans U.S. officials from accepting gifts or payments from foreign governments without congressional consent.
A State Department spokesperson referred Reuters to the Justice Department because the subject involved"matters related to ongoing litigation." The Justice Department declined to comment. The White House referred a request for comment to the State Department and the Trump Organization, which did not comment.
Reuters could not confirm whether the State Department signed off on two other lease requests from Algeria and South Korea and three additional requests from Kuwait. The revenue Trump draws from foreign government business at his properties, such as the recently opened Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C., has sparked lawsuits by U.S. lawmakers and the attorneys general of Maryland and the District of Columbia, alleging this income violates the emoluments clause.
If the State Department began obstructing requests from foreign governments to lease units in Trump-affiliated properties, he said, it could prompt them to retaliate against U.S. diplomats seeking housing in their territories. Mohammad Alkadi, a spokesman for the Saudi Mission to the United Nations, said Trump World Tower's prime location near U.N. headquarters was the kingdom's motivation to lease there.
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