Department of Defense looks to rent space in Trump Tower

The Department of Defense is seeking to rent space in President Trump’s New York skyscraper, Trump Tower, a move that could directly funnel government money into the president’s business interests.

The U.S. military agency is “working through appropriate channels .?.?. to acquire a limited amount of leased space in Trump Tower,” Lt. Col. J.B. Brindle, a Pentagon spokesman, told The Washington Post in a statement late Tuesday.

“The space is necessary for the personnel and equipment who will support the POTUS at his residence in the building,” Brindle said.


Defense officials made similar arrangements for past presidents, including at the Chicago home of Barack Obama, to offer support for day-to-day operations of the president and his staff.

But the prospect of a government agency paying rent to a company owned by the president again raises additional questions about the mingling of Trump’s financial interests with his presidency. Trump led the development of the Fifth Avenue skyscraper in the 1980s and still owns it.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/department-of-defense-looks-to-rent-space-in-trump-tower/2017/02/07/6dec7252-edb0-11e6-9662-6eedf1627882_story.html?utm_term=.fa3215058637