House Oversight chairman accuses Trump of making ‘a lot of money’ off presidency

House Oversight and Reform Committee Chairman Elijah Cummings (D-Md.) is accusing President Trump of profiting off his job in the White House. 

Cummings made the accusation in an interview with “60 Minutes” aired on Sunday. He said that he believes Trump is making “a lot of money” off the presidency. 

“It’s not OK,” Cummings added. “I still believe that people — the average citizen, the guys on my block, they ought to know if the president is making a deal, whether he’s making it — making it in his self-interest or that of the country.

{mosads}The White House called Cummings’s claims “completely baseless” in a statement sent to CBS News, adding that it could not “comment further about ongoing litigation.”

The comments from Cummings come as he settles in to lead a committee that he has said will open a number of investigations into the Trump administration. 

The congressman issued 51 letters to the heads of various government agencies and officials with the White House and Trump Organization seeking documents for a series of congressional investigations.

He told “60 Minutes,” among other things, that he has not heard back from the administration on document requests related to things such as its policy that led to family separations at the southern border. 

“In order to do oversight, you got to have documents,” Cummings said, adding that he’d be prepared for court battles with the White House over document requests. “You got to have emails. You got to have information.”

Trump has faced scrutiny over the possibility that he is profiting off his presidency. For example, the Maryland and District of Columbia attorneys general have filed suit against Trump alleging that he has violated the Emoluments Clause of the Constitution by accepting payments from foreign and state governments through the Trump International Hotel.