Supreme Court will consider Democrats’ bid to sue Biden for Trump hotel records
Kaelan Deese
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The Supreme Court on Monday agreed to take up a lawsuit surrounding the Biden administration‘s bid to block several congressional Democrats seeking records of a government lease for a Washington hotel surrounding its previous ownership by former President Donald Trump.
The nine justices took up an appeal by the General Services Administration, which handles the federal government’s real estate. A lower court ruling allowed the lawsuit by House Democratic lawmakers to proceed.
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Democrats sued after the GSA declined to provide details of a 2013 lease of the Old Post Office building to the former president’s company to convert it into a hotel.
Justice Department attorneys argued in court filings that an appeals court decision that allowed the lawsuit “contradicts historical practice stretching to the beginning of the Republic” and “threatens serious harm to all three branches of the federal government.”
The Trump International Hotel operated throughout Trump’s four years in office and brought about legal and ethical concerns from critics, including whether people buying rooms at the hotel were seeking influence from within the White House. Trump’s company sold the lease last year, and the hotel is now known as the Waldorf Astoria.
After Trump’s 2016 victory, 17 Democrats on the House Oversight Committee, led by the late Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD), wanted access to documents tied to the agreement, questioning if Trump had a conflict of interest.
The House members sought those records through a variety of means, including the citation of a federal law that requires executive agencies to provide information to members of Congress.
Although the GSA controlled under Trump refused the request, the surprising twist is that the Biden administration is maintaining a similar defense as the previous administration. That’s likely because the Biden DOJ sees the lower appeals court ruling as an undesirable precedent that could involve any administration in tenuous litigation.
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Attorneys for the Democratic lawmakers did not want the Supreme Court to get involved in the case, arguing that the GSA’s typical practice is to grant document requests.
The case will be heard by the justices sometime in the fall 2023 term, and a decision likely won’t come before at least February next year.