House Democrats have released emails which show that that President Donald Trump was more actively engaged in stopping a proposed move of FBI headquarters in Washington, D.C., than previously realized. These new emails strengthen the narrative established by a report released by the Office of the Inspector General in August, which documented that the president participated in meetings where the fate of the FBI headquarters was discussed. Trump’s involvement is potentially scandalous because the FBI building is near a hotel the president owns, raising the possibility that the decision was made for personal reasons.
As The Huffington Post reports, “President Donald Trump personally intervened to stop the FBI from moving its headquarters in Washington, D.C., to the Maryland or Virginia suburbs.” The emails contain phrases such as “what was decided in the meeting with POTUS,” “the President’s instructions,” and “direction from WH.”
Maryland Congressman Elijah E. Cummings, one of the authors of a letter expressing concern on the matter, suggested that the possible private motives of the FBI building decision would be taken up by the Democrats if they became the majority party in the House of Representatives after the midterm elections.
“It is Congress’s duty under the Constitution to make sure President Trump is serving the interests of the American people rather than his own financial bottom line,” Mr. Cummings told The New York Times. “Republicans have failed to conduct basic, independent investigations of President Trump’s conflicts of interest, but this is exactly what the Constitution requires, and it is what Democrats will do if we are fortunate enough to be in the majority in November.”