In 1975, President Trump settled a huge case – all while pleading innocent – with the federal government involving housing discrimination.
Now, decades later, it has become clear that Trump was, in fact, guilty. In a shocking 389 page document released by the FBI, information confirms Trump and his organization actively tried to keep their apartment buildings free of African-Americans.
The files contain a mass mount of details including interviews with tenants, managers, and employees of the Trump complexes.
Although it is noted that most of the people involved were unaware of any discrimination, there are numerous cases where black applicants applied for rentals only to be told there were none. Meanwhile, when white applicants applied to the same apartments, they were offered leases.
The settlement agreement involved over 9,000 apartment units and 35 properties. Of these 9,000 apartments, not even 400 housed minority residents. This means only 4.4% of the Trump empire was occupied by minority residents.
Trump has adamantly denied discriminating against minorities for years but these claims appear to be a lie considering the release, prior to last year’s election in November, of the 1977 documents. These documents appear to prove the Trump empire purposely attempted to avoid abiding by the Fair Housing Act of 1968.
It is reported that a doorman was allegedly forced to assist a Trump building manager in his efforts to rid the apartments of minorities – a direct violation of the Fair Housing Act. The doorman was supposedly advised to tell any black applicants “that the rent was twice as much as it really was” in order to make them believe they could not afford the price of rent.
Although he denied discrimination of any kind, Trump did write in his 1987 book that his managers aimed to weed out particular types of tenants such as anyone on welfare.
This report comes at an especially inconvenient time for Trump who is currently watching several investigations unfold. These investigations involve several members of his inner circle and possible contact with Russian officials.
The bottom line is that these file releases highlight an important truth: It is possible that the secret to Trump’s massive business success was actually racism.