In early 1954, President
Dwight D. Eisenhower and other federal leaders began denouncing real-estate profiteers. On June 11,
The New York Times included Trump on a list of 35 city builders accused of profiteering from government contracts.
[42] He and others were investigated by a
U.S. Senate Banking committee for
windfall gains. Trump and his partner William Tomasello (who previously had
mafia ties)
[43] were cited as examples of how profits were made by builders using the
Federal Housing Administration (FHA). ...
In 1966, Trump was again investigated for windfall profiteering, this time by New York's State Investigation Commission. After Trump overestimated building costs sponsored by a state program, he profited $598,000 on equipment rentals in the construction of Trump Village, which was then spent on other projects. ...
Minority applicants turned away from renting apartments complained to the New York City
Commission on Human Rights and the
Urban League, leading the League and other groups to send test applicants to Trump-owned complexes in July 1972. They concluded that
whites were offered apartments, while
blacks were generally steered away. Both of the aforementioned advocacy organizations then raised the issue with the
Justice Department.
[53] In October 1973, the
Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) filed a civil rights suit against the Trump Organization (Fred Trump, chair, and Donald Trump, president) for infringing the
Fair Housing Act of 1968.
[53] In response, Trump attorney
Roy Cohn countersued for $100 million by implicating the DOJ for allegedly false accusations.
[53]
Court records showed that four landlords or rental agents confirmed that applications sent to the Trump organization's head office for approval denoted the race of the applicant.
[54] A rental agent said that Fred Trump had instructed him "not to rent to blacks" and to "decrease the number of black tenants by encouraging them to locate housing elsewhere."
[54] A
consent decree between the DOJ and the Trump Organization was signed on June 10, 1975, with both sides claiming victory—the Trump Organization for its perceived ability to continue denying rentals to welfare recipients, and the head of DOJ's housing division for the decree being "one of the most far-reaching ever negotiated."
[53][54] It personally and corporately prohibited the Trumps from "discriminating against any person in the ... sale or rental of a dwelling," and "required Trump to advertise vacancies in minority papers, promote minorities to professional jobs, and list vacancies on a preferential basis".
[54] Finally, it ordered the Trumps to "thoroughly acquaint themselves personally on a detailed basis with ... the
Fair Housing Act of 1968."
[53][55]
In early 1976, Trump was ordered by a county judge to correct
code violations in a 504-unit property in
Seat Pleasant, Maryland. According to
the county's housing department investigator, violations included broken windows, dilapidated gutters, and missing fire extinguishers.
After a court date and a series of phone calls with Trump, he was invited to the property to meet with county officials in September 1976 and arrested on site.[57] Trump was released on $1,000 bail.[56]