In Response to Warren and Democratic Senators, Trust for the National Mall Reveals New Details About Trump Ballroom Payments, Potential for Corruption and Secret Quid-Pro-Quo Deals

In Response to Warren and Democratic Senators, Trust for the National Mall Reveals New Details About Trump Ballroom Payments, Potential for Corruption and Secret Quid-Pro-Quo Deals

Trust confirms it will make millions from Trump ballroom fundraising; Board, which includes business leaders who could benefit from favorable treatment from Trump, discussed and approved ballroom project

Lawmakers pressed Trust on previous, "woefully inadequate" response to oversight

Text of Response Letter (PDF)

Washington, D.C. - In response to a January letter from U.S. Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), and Ed Markey (D-Mass.), the Trust for the National Mall revealed new details about its role in fundraising efforts for President Trump's new White House Ballroom. Billionaires and billionaire corporations with business in front of the Trump administration have funneled money to the new ballroom, raising questions about corruption and quid-pro-quo deals.

"These new details raise even greater concerns about whether Donald Trump's gold-encrusted ballroom has become a vehicle for corruption. We now know the Trust is raking in millions off its Trump ballroom fundraising, and the Trust's board - stacked with business leaders who could benefit from favorable treatment from Trump - specifically agreed to take this on," said Senator Warren. "Americans deserve to know which billionaire corporations are shoveling money to Trump's vanity projects and what favors they may be seeking in return."

Key takeaways include:

• The Trust confirmed it "receives a 2 or 2.5 percent management allocation from each donation received," meaning that, if it is managing $400 million in ballroom donations, it will rake in $8 to $10 million from its fundraising role for Trump's ballroom.

• The Trust indicated that this is, by far, the largest project it has ever been involved with, saying that in the last 18 years, it has "a track record of investing over $100M in restoration projects and programs for the National Mall." President Trump has indicated his ballroom alone will cost approximately $400 million.

• The Trust revealed that its Board of Directors "discussed and agreed to proceed with this project," notable given that several Board members lead or are involved with companies and organizations that could benefit from favorable treatment from the Trump administration.

• The Trust said that it has not been involved in conversations to solicit funds or conversations regarding the design or planning for the project. The Trust also asserted that it has no contractual agreement with Trump fundraiser Meredith O'Rourke related to the ballroom project.

• The Trust confirmed its relationship as a partner with the National Park Service on this and other projects, indicating the ballroom was a "priority" for the Park Service.

• The Trust refused to reveal the names of all donors to the ballroom - and indicated that it would continue to allow donors to remain anonymous, stating that it could "withhold the names of donors from public versions of annual information reports."

The Trust was established as a nonpartisan, nonprofit partner of the National Park Service. But the scale of funds raised for President Trump's ballroom, Trump's personal involvement in fundraising for the project, and the number of corporate donors with business before the Trump Administration raised questions for the lawmakers about whether the organization is facilitating these donors' corrupt access to and favor-seeking from President Trump and his administration.

In October, the senators pressed President and CEO of the Trust, Catherine Townsend, and National Park Service Comptroller Jessica Bowron, about the exact agreements in place regarding the building of the ballroom, the source and amount of donations, whether the donations are charitable deductions, and more.

In the Trust's November response, Townsend confirmed the Trust is "managing the private donations gifted to support the [ballroom] project," but refused to answer questions regarding the agreements between President Trump, the White House, and the Trust with regard to funding and building the Trump Ballroom. Townsend also declined to release details about the donations made to date, along with any terms and conditions related to each of these donations, saying "donor names and identifying information are not subject to public disclosure under [federal law]."

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