- The Washington Times - Wednesday, October 30, 2019

Donald Trump Jr. on Wednesday said it’s still an open question as to whether the Trump Organization will sell the leasing rights to the company’s Washington, D.C., hotel.

“Listen, we’ll explore it. The reality is this: Everyone’s saying we’re getting so rich. … We can’t rent rooms to people who are in other governments — we voluntarily did that,” he said on “Fox & Friends.” “We can’t maximize the assets. … We literally volunteered to not do any new international deals.”

Asked if they’re leaning toward giving up the lease, Mr. Trump said: “We’ll see what happens.”

The Trump Organization said last week that it was exploring a sale.

The eldest son of the president went on to knock Hunter Biden, the son of Joseph R. Biden, a Democratic presidential candidate and former vice president, for profiting off of his father’s name.

“The reality is this: Unlike Hunter Biden, who magically became an international businessman the second his father stepped on that world stage as VP, we’ve been international businesspeople for decades,” Mr. Trump said. “But we can’t even do those kind of deals anymore. … We chose not to [because] we didn’t think it was appropriate.”

The Bidens are facing intense scrutiny over Hunter Biden’s business ties in Ukraine and China in recent years.

“It’s D.C. It’s all international business, and we chose not to do that,” Mr. Trump said. “And then every time we do, we get another lawsuit about this and another lawsuit. … It’s almost easier just to stay away from it.”

The Trump International Hotel in D.C., which is several blocks from the White House on Pennsylvania Avenue, is part of ongoing lawsuits where the president has been accused of improperly profiting off of his office.

• David Sherfinski can be reached at dsherfinski@washingtontimes.com.

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