- The chair of the House Oversight Committee is asking the government to considering terminating Trump's DC hotel lease.
- Their letter comes after the Trump Organization's main accounting firm dumped the company this month.
- Trump's DC hotel, housed in the Old Post Office, has long attracted scrutiny and ethical concerns.
Top Democrats on the House Oversight Committee are asking the General Services Administration to consider terminating former President Donald Trump's lease for his Washington, DC hotel after his financial accountants dumped him earlier this week.
In a letter addressed to Administrator of General Services Robin Carnahan, House Oversight Committee Chair Rep. Carolyn Maloney of New York and Chairman of the Subcommittee on Government Operations Rep. Gerry Connolly of Virginia said that recent revelations about Trump's finances raise "serious ethical and legal concerns" about the lease.
On Monday, new court documents filed by New York Attorney General Tish James revealed that Mazars USA — an accounting firm that has long worked with the Trump Organization — recently said that 10 years worth of Trump's statements on his financial worth "should no longer be relied upon."
James' office is currently investigating whether there was rampant fraud inside the Trump Organization and is seeking the deposition of several members of the Trump family, including the former president himself.
"In light of these new revelations, including further evidence that the former President submitted at least one financial statement with possible material misrepresentations to GSA, we request that you consider terminating the Old Post Office Building lease to former President Trump and the Trump Organization," the duo wrote, adding that terminating the contract would "end, once-and-for-all, the grave damage this inappropriate lease has done to presidential ethics and integrity in government contracting."
The commitee previously revealed in October that Trump's hotel had lost over $70 million dollars during his presidency, raising questions about financial disclosures that Trump filed during those years.
Trump is now looking to sell the property for $375 million to an investment group that reportedly includes former New York Yankees baseball player Alex Rodriguez.
"If approved by GSA, the sale would yield a profit of approximately $100 million to the Trump Organization, of which approximately $76 million would flow to former President Trump," the 2 Democrats noted in their letter.
The hotel, which is housed in the federally-owned Old Post Office Building on Pennsylvania Avenue, became a frequent spot for Republican politicians and Trump fans alike to congregate during his presidency. But the hotel also raised significant ethical concerns, given Trump's continued financial stake in the hotel and the possibility that private actors and foreign governments alike might seek to curry favor with Trump by patronizing the hotel.
Recently, one ethics expert said the hotel was an "epicenter" of corruption during the Trump years.
The General Services Administration and representatives for former President Trump did not immediately respond to requests for comment.