GSA ignored Trump lease, report says
WASHINGTON — The General Services Administration “ignored” concerns that President Donald Trump’s lease on a government-owned building — the one that houses his Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C. — might violate the Constitution when it allowed Mr. Trump to keep the lease after he took office, according to a new report from the agency’s inspector general.
Mr. Trump’s company won the lease several years before he became president. After Mr. Trump was elected, the agency had to decide whether his company would be allowed to keep its lease.
At that time, the inspector general found, the agency should have determined whether the lease violates the Constitution’s emoluments clauses, which bar presidents from taking payments from foreign governments or individual U.S. states. But it did not, according to the report issued Wednesday.
The findings provide a fresh example of how Mr. Trump’s unprecedented decision to maintain ownership of his business while serving in the White House has prompted concerns about potential conflicts of interest and sown confusion among federal regulators, who have struggled to enforce ethical norms related to the presidency.
Reward not wanted
A couple who called 911 and alerted authorities that Jayme Closs was at their home said they did not want a $50,000 reward for providing information on the abducted girl’s whereabouts.
Kristin Kasinskas said that she and her husband, Peter, had not been approached by officials about the reward, but if anyone receives the money, it should be Jayme.
“Because she got herself out,” Ms. Kasinskas said.
The question of what to do with the reward money comes a week after Jayme, 13, was found alive and well outside Gordon, Wis. Her parents were killed and she was abducted Oct. 15 near Barron, Wis.
Jake Patterson, 21, has confessed to killing Jayme’s parents and kidnapping her, according to a criminal complaint. He was charged with two counts of intentional homicide and a count of kidnapping and armed burglary. He was ordered held on $5 million bail.
Workers called back
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration announced Wednesday that it is temporarily recalling about 2,500 federal employees tasked with helping America’s farmers and ranchers, part of its effort to insulate the nation’s agriculture industry from the impact of the partial government shutdown.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture will for at least three days reopen about 1,000 of the 2,100 Farm Service Agency offices nationwide. The recalled employees will return to work helping farmers process USDA farm payments and federal farm loans, among other tasks, according to a news release.
Farm Service Agency workers will return to work on Thursday, Friday and Tuesday, according to the release. They also will help farmers secure the 1099 tax documents borrowers need to file to the IRS. Farmers with loan deadlines with the USDA are not required to make payments until after the end of the shutdown, according to USDA.
The federal employees will be unpaid while returning to work, part of 800,000 federal employees who are either working without pay or furloughed during the shutdown that started Dec. 22.