Well it appears that Trump just got Trumped.

[politicaljunkie41910]

It appears that there is a clause in the contract for his new D.C. hotel that says that no elected official can be a party to the contract. The contract was reviewed by a law professor who pointed it out.

After Donald Trump is sworn in as president on Jan. 20, he will follow a time-honored tradition and make his way from the U.S. Capitol down Pennsylvania Avenue.

Along the way, just a few blocks before he reaches the White House, he'll pass the Trump International Hotel. The 263-room luxury hotel is becoming the focus of a debate over conflict of interest between Trump and his business dealings.

Trump doesn't actually own the landmark building, which was once the headquarters of the U.S. Post Office. In 2013, he signed a 60-year lease for the building with the General Services Administration, which helps manage and support federal agencies. The Trump Organization spent upwards of $200 million on renovations and reopened it as a hotel about a month before the Nov. 8 presidential election.

But there's a hitch, according to Steven Schooner, a government procurement expert who is also a law professor at the George Washington University School of Law. Schooner has studied the 100-plus-page contract and says there's a clause that clearly states elected officials should have no role in the lease.

"The contract between GSA and the Trump Organization specifically says that no elected official of the United States government shall be party to, share in, or benefit from the contract," he says, citing clause 37.19 of the contract.

http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2016/11/29/503740464/law-professor-trump-cant-hold-lease-on-his-hotel-near-white-house?utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=thetwoway

[MFM008]

1. boy is he asking for it

he will get plenty of protesting and it will GALL his ass.
Its going to happen everywhere he goes.
Maybe someone will throw a shoe at him.

[TreasonousBastard]

2. I'd love to be there when they take his name off the place.

[elleng]

5. They've already done that!

Couldn't take the publicity!

[TreasonousBastard]

7. They did? I know there was concern over the huge Trump sign...

when it was under construction, but what about his usual gold sign on the actual building?

[elleng]

8. Removed his name, couple weeks ago.

[TreasonousBastard]

10. So that's why he's so upset! :)

[elleng]

11. ONE of the reasons.

There will be more, so we get to watch explosions for a while!

[HockeyMom]

3. Der Fuhrer

This is how THAT started. You take away 1st Amendment rights of free speech,freedom of the free press, and you are back to the Third Reich in the very beginning.

[rzemanfl]

4. This looks like it might be perfect for

a qui tam action should the government not want to enforce the lease.

[FBaggins]

13. You just caught a problem with the OP

Who has standing to bring it up in court? The federal agencies are all part of the Executive branch (which means Trump himself).

[Aimee in OKC]

14. Perhaps citizenry in Washington DC has standing to sue.

Commenter ReHoShark in a DKos diary =
http://www.dailykos.com/comments/1605242/64611406#comment_64611406

"... DC is a signatory to the lease contract, so the citizenry in DC has standing to sue."

"DC's courts are solidly law and order progressives.

The DC AG is an arrow the good guys might have to take out of the quiver, sooner than later. Beyond the DC AG, several states will have significant legal authority to keep check on a run away executive."

* * * * * * *
"Contact Mayor Muriel Bowser and request she enforce the lease agreement:

Phone: [phone]; TTY: 711; Email: [e-mail]

Also contact the DC Attorney General Karl Racine:

Phone: [phone]; Fax: [phone]; TTY: [phone]; Email: [e-mail]"

[progressoid]

6. So they just give it to Donny or one of the other children of the corn to deal with.

His lawyers will find way to skirt the law.

[Dark n Stormy Knight]

15. I'm no lawyer, and maybe--hopefully--there's something that will block such moves.

But, if I had to bet, I'd bet he'll continue doing what he always does: skirting, when he can't get away with full on pantsing, the law.

[C_U_L8R]

9. Is the contract transferable?

Or is it void? I'm guessing Trump has wiggle room to work it his way.
If it stays, it will be payola central.

[SeattleVet]

12. Yep, in violation of his lease as soon as he is sworn in.

Since his lease is with the GSA, and he appoints the administrator os the GSA, he is essentially landlord AND tenant, and involved in a massive conflict of interest.

The article from 'Government Executive' goes into pretty good detail on it all:

http://m.govexec.com/excellence/promising-practices/2016/11/gsas-trump-hotel-lease-debacle/133424/

[Retrograde]

16. He'll just sue the government

(yeah, logic doesn't enter into this)