Trump Organization says it has donated profits from foreign governments
WASHINGTON — A Trump Organization executive says the company has donated profits from foreign government patrons at its hotel properties to the U.S. Treasury, but won't say how much.
Executive Vice President and Chief Compliance Counsel George Sorial says in a statement that the donation was made on Feb. 22 and includes profits from Jan. 20 through Dec. 31, 2017. The company declined to provide a sum or breakdown.
The U.S. Treasury did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Sorial says the company has made good on an ethics pledge to donate foreign government profits during Donald Trump's presidency.
The watchdog group Public Citizen has questioned the spirit of the pledge because the methodology used would not require any donation from unprofitable properties receiving foreign government revenue.
The Trump Organization said in a pamphlet it released last year that it would rely on foreign representatives to self-report if they were paying a Trump company for something in their official capacity or if their government was footing the bill.
