WASHINGTON — A copy of a July 22 complaint letter obtained by the Washington Post claims that favoritism came into play when a company that President Donald Trump's younger brother, Rober,t has a financial stake in received a $33 million government contract.
As the Post reports, the U.S. Marshals Service gave the contract to a Reston, Virginia-based company called CertiPath to administer security services for prisons and federal courthouses. Robert S. Trump, the president's younger brother, has had a financial stake in CertiPath since 2013.
The company says it focuses on vetting online identities and verification, along with specializing in digital security.
Another bidder for the contract, who has remained anonymous, filed a Justice Department complaint which alleges that CertiPath did not reveal that President Trump's brother would gain wealth from the contract.
In the letter, obtained by the Post, the complaint reads, “one of the President’s closest living relatives stood to benefit financially from the transaction.”
In the Post's reporting, the letter goes on to say, “the circumstances of this contract award, and what appear to be CertiPath’s efforts to obscure Mr. Robert Trump’s financial interest in the company even as it trades on the Trump name, present the appearance of preferential treatment for those who are close to the President.”
CertiPath's founder and president Jeff Nigriny says that he is unaware of the complaint and said in a statement to the Post that Robert Trump “is one investor in an entity which holds a minority interest in Certipath.” Nigriny went on to say “he [Robert Trump] is exclusively a passive investor, has no management role whatsoever, is not an officer or director, and his name has never been used or mentioned by Certipath in any solicitation for a government contract, whether state or federal.”
A lawyer for Venable, the firm representing the anonymous client who made the Justice Department complaint in July, says that he has not received a response to calls he has made to the Justice Department inspector general's office, according to the Post's reporting.
Phone calls by the Post to Robert Trump were reportedly not returned.
