Trump hid over $70 million in losses on his D.C. hotel, House committee report alleges

[demmiblue]

Source: CNBC

WASHINGTON – Former President Donald Trump's luxury hotel in Washington, D.C., lost more than $70 million from 2016 to 2020, according to newly released confidential filings that his accountants submitted to the hotel's landlord, the General Services Administration.

While the hotel was losing money, Trump's annual financial disclosures filed with the Office of Government Ethics reported publicly only the hotel's revenues, which added up to nearly $156.6 million.

Yet over that same period, Trump's accounting firm, WeiserMazars LLP, disclosed in confidential reports to GSA that the hotel lost nearly $73.9 million.

According to a new report issued Friday by the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, the effect of the discrepancy between what Trump publicly reported and what he privately disclosed was to mislead the public about the president's financial situation.

Read more: https://www.cnbc.com/2021/10/08/trump-hid-over-70-million-in-losses-on-dc-hotel-house-panel-alleges.html

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Link to tweet

[Deminpenn]

1. American's worst businessman

nt

[Botany]

2. Trump reported $150 million in income but the hotel incurred more than $70 million in losses

Just a little rounding error.

https://www.democraticunderground.com/10142810452

[Deminpenn]

4. Aren't all the kids still getting hefty payments in millions

yearly from Fred Trump's estate or trust or whatever it is? That's wherethe bulk of Trump's income comes from, iirc.

[Botany]

5. I don't know but I think most of Trump's money has come from money laundering, grifts, and "loans"

He is not a billionaire and i doubt he is even a millionaire and it is all a con based on O.P.M. (other people's
money). I think he has gone through most of his daddy's money, although he has lots of properties but
most are leveraged to the hilt, and he owes Russia, China, and Saudi Arabia over a billion $s but at the end
of the day he is underwater.

[NQAS]

16. Which could mean. . .

That actual cash expenses were $220 million.

Or it could be from depreciating assets.

If the former, then how did he cover the $70 million in losses?

Apart from his "misleading" submissions to GAO, what did his projections for the hotel look like when he submitted his bid to run the hotel? Lemme guess. Revenues well in excess of the $156 million reported, expenses essentially zero, and profitability from the first month onward.

[SergeStorms]

18. He robs Peter to pay Paul.

That's been his m.o. since day one of this "self made man's" glorious career.

All smoke and mirrors, with no "there", there.

[NCjack]

30. Sometimes, TFG robs Peter and then robs Paul

[Botany]

24. Or lots of the "operating capital" for that Hotel came in "off the books."

Hey, Mr. Russian Oil Oligarch want to see President Donald? Fine stay @ his D.C. hotel
and pay cash. God only knows what kinds of scams got run through that hotel when
Trump was President. I know that China in his first week as POTUS "rented" some rooms for
20 million and Donald skimmed 15 off the top which he then parked in a bank in China.

[keithbvadu2]

36. Make him pay taxes on $80M.

Make him pay taxes on $80M.

Trump style math.

[Lonestarblue]

3. Are these real losses or paper losses created by special real estate rules?

Trump has long avoided paying taxes by claiming faie expenses, such as paying a salary to Ivanka and then also paying her consulting fees for the same work.

[OrangeJoe]

8. That's the question

[KS Toronado]

12. I'm betting "paper losses" to avoid paying taxes

Been his M.O. his entire life.

[reACTIONary]

32. I think real losses because...

... he doesn't and never did own the building. He leased it from the government.

[Bengus81]

33. Paper losses and probably a load of bullshit "bills" from contractors and vendors

Trump probably em..."pays" a lawn service $4,000 per month to mow the lawn and trim at Trump Tower.

[stillcool]

6. He sure knows how to make money disappear...

would be nice if those walls could talk

[Mawspam2]

7. Yo, Donald. Albuquerque car washes.

I'm just sayin.

[ZonkerHarris]

9. Have an A-1 day!

[Aviation Pro]

25. Effing Lydia

Who the hell washes a rental?

[Aviation Pro]

23. Nail salons

Or laser tag parks.

[Marthe48]

10. Bet he 'found' it in his pocket

n/t

[oldsoftie]

11. See, he cares more about his image than anything. Thats why i dont want him jailed.

I want his businesses to fail. Jailing him makes him an even bigger hero. Being a failure is something he himself cant handle.

[olegramps]

19. It would seem to me that jail time would accelerate the collapse of his phony empire.

Just how much of this is just plain leverage. I had a good friend that was riding high with mortgaged titles and then came the market collapse and he was bankrupt over night.

[SergeStorms]

20. He'd just blame Democrats....

for bankrupting him. They just couldn't stand his Horatio Alger success story.

Nothing is ever his fault.

[oldsoftie]

38. but he has SO MANY supporters, why didnt THEY support his businesses?

He could easily put a jail term on the dems, but failing to survive in business encompasses all of us!

The idiots are certainly still sending him money as far as i know

[SWBTATTReg]

13. And doesn't a president need to reveal significant sources of income, etc.? I seem to recall usual

filings etc. None of us heard anything about this abatement of not having to pay any principal (just interest), a significant source of income for six years...

[CloudWatcher]

14. Profit? Losses?

I would treat any statements of losses with the same skepticism of statements of profits. He'll never tell the truth if he can avoid it. You don't pay taxes on losses, so there's motivation to lie, especially if it's a "confidential" statement that won't hurt his brand.

[SergeStorms]

17. "The Art of the Steal", by Asshole45.

That seems like some critical information to omit when you're trying to sell the business, don't you think?

Once a con man, always a con man.

[Champp]

21. Republican liars are toxic

[monkeyman1]

22. I'D like to see the gao cancel his lease & screw him on selling the lease !

[Mike Nelson]

26. I think...

... the Trump family needs to live more simply. They should pay what they can, and go to work. McDonald's is hiring. Crooked Donald can retire on a big pension (although he doesn't deserve one). Also - prisons have free meals, a bed, and a toilet.

[Greyhead]

27. But

The toilets aren’t gold plated!!

[wnylib]

28. They will be once he uses them

for his golden showers.

[Ilsa]

29. An interest-only loan should be considered "nonperforming" by

the FDIC. I wouldn't invest in Deutsche Bank. They are too risky.

[LiberalFighter]

31. On Nicole Wallace suggesting it involved money laundering.

[Johnny2X2X]

34. Fraud

Um, he’s been trying to sell this property. If he’s lied in paperwork about its finances to try to sell it he’s committed a crime.

[BigmanPigman]

35. On CNN I heard that if he had diversified his properties

when he became POTUS, like he was supposed to do, he would be $80 million richer and still have his businesses and properties after he left office. What a moron.

[Blue Owl]

37. Fuck him and his shithole

[Hugh_Lebowski]

39. "reported publicly only the hotel's revenues, which added up to nearly $156.6 million"

It's totally possible to have $156M in revenue, but also negative $70M in profits. Just means your costs were $226M.

Ergo, seems more a case of omission than outright lying.

Office of Government Ethics probably should not have allowed him to report only the revenue number.

But if that is their policy (to allow it), then he technically did nothing wrong. He's a master of exploiting loopholes, I'll give him that one thing.