'Pay Trump bribes here' projected on Trump hotel
An artist on Monday projected the words "Pay Trump bribes here" on the front of the Trump International Hotel in Washington.
Filmmaker and artist Robin Bell told CNN he projected the words on the hotel to draw attention to accusations that foreign leaders can gain access to the President by paying to stay at the Trump property in nation's capital.
"It's a pretty clear cut example of impropriety," Bell told CNN. "This is not like politics as usual. The rules and the lines are being pushed so far and this seemed to be so clear to me."
The message was projected on the hotel the same night that news broke about President Trump's reported decision to leak highly classified information to top Russian diplomats.
Bell also projected the emoluments clause, an anti-bribery provision that forbids any U.S. president from receiving gifts from foreign leaders and is derived from the Latin word “emolumentum,” meaning “profit” or “gain.”
In March, the General Services Administration concluded that the Trump family is in "full compliance" with its government lease of the Old Post Office Building in Washington, and is not violating a provision prohibiting the president from gaining an interest in the property.
Trump signed the lease in 2014, redeveloping the signature Pennsylvania Avenue property into a luxury hotel. The government is receiving $250,000 a month on the lease, turning the once-dilapidated building "into a revenue-generating asset."
Immediately after Trump was sworn in Jan. 20, the GSA was faced with the question of whether Trump Old Post Office LLC had violated a clause in the lease prohibiting elected officials from being "admitted to any share or part" of the lease.
More coverage:
How Trump is navigating the Emoluments Clause
Agency: Trump family is in 'full compliance' with Old Post Office lease
Is it legal for Trump to share classified intelligence? Yes, but risky, experts say
Hotel staff quickly asked Bell to take the projection down, CNN reported.
Bell told CNN it was the fifth time he's projected a message on the Trump International Hotel, and he has no plans of stopping.
"There will be a lot more projections to come," he said. "We're going to keep going."
Contributing: Gregory Korte and Heidi M Przybyla.