Federal government takes down data on President Trump's DC hotel

The General Services Administration (GSA) pulled unredacted documents from its website Aug 10 that revealed President Donald Trump's Washington hotel has made $1.97 million in profits so far in 2017. "The documents were posted inadvertently and have been removed from the website," said Pamela Dixon, a spokeswoman for the GSA. Trump International Hotel, which sits blocks away from the White House, was expected to lose more than $2 million in its first four months, according to the documents. But the hotel raised its room rates after Trump took office, charging an average of $652.98 per night from January to April and resulting in a sizable profit. Comparable luxury hotels, according to The Washington Post, charged an average of $495 per night, putting Trump's hotel among Washington's most expensive. The Trump Organization leases the building in which the hotel is located from the GSA, the agency that acts as the federal government's landlord. The hotel has also become a point of controversy for the president, with ethics watchdogs questioning whether Trump is using the presidency to drum up business at the hotel.