US: Bar sues Trump for unfair competition

A Washington restaurant filed an unfair competition lawsuit Thursday against President Donald Trump and the company that runs his DC hotel, claiming he’s siphoning away customers who hope to “curry favor” with his administration.

Cork Wine Bar, a well-reviewed eatery about 1.5 miles from the $200 million Trump International Hotel, is suing Trump as a private businessman and not as president, but suggests that he could remedy the problem by resigning.

Alan Garten, a lawyer for the Trump Organization, called it “a wild publicity stunt completely lacking in legal merit.”

The suit points to a January press conference at which White House press secretary Sean Spicer plugged the “stunning” hotel and quotes an anonymous lobbyist saying that senior administration staff who hang out in the lobby bar see who is spending money there.

“Someone is paying attention to the person who orders the $1,000 bottle of wine,” the lobbyist was quoted as saying.

Pitts and Gross claim their loss of business spiked right after Trump was elected president. However, they declined to put a dollar-figure on it and could not point to specific bookings that were canceled.

Full Content: Huffington Post

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