House Democrats released new documents Thursday showing that Donald Trump’s businesses got $7.8 million from 20 foreign governments during his presidency.
Democrats on the House Oversight Committee made a 156-page report, “White House for Sale,” about transactions during Trump’s time in the White House, with a big part of it involving China.
The report describes how foreign governments and their controlled entities interacted with Trump’s businesses during his presidency. It is based on documents obtained through a court battle. The payments were directed to properties such as the Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C., the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas, the Trump Tower on Fifth Avenue in New York, and the Trump World Tower at 845 United Nations Plaza in New York.
House Democrats presented these transactions as evidence of conduct like what House Republicans have been trying to prove against President Biden in their ongoing impeachment inquiry. The report claims that Trump, who was impeached twice, broke the rules of the Constitution and historical standards by putting his own financial interests and the preferences of corrupt foreign powers before the interests of the American public.
Trump has been indicted four times and is currently facing 91 felony counts. These charges are related to his alleged illegal efforts to remain in power by falsely claiming the 2020 election was stolen and inciting a deadly insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.
“By elevating his personal financial interests and the policy priorities of corrupt foreign powers over the American public interest, former President Trump violated both the clear commands of the Constitution and the careful precedent set and observed by every previous commander in chief,” Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland, the top Democrat on the Oversight Committee, wrote in the report’s foreword.
In office, Trump continued to expand his well-branded global corporate empire. He used his power as president to revive business deals in countries such as India, Uruguay, and the Dominican Republic. Trump’s business interests also bled into his administration’s foreign policy. In 2019, he surprised his Republican allies by withdrawing U.S. troops from northeast Syria, which was likely to help Turkey, where the Trump Organization has many business interests.
The report shows that China is the top contributor, paying Trump’s business $5.5 million. Payments included millions from China’s Embassy in the United States, the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, and the Hainan Airlines Holding Company.
Saudi Arabia emerged as the second-largest spender, contributing over $615,000 to the Trump World Tower and Trump International Hotel. The Constitution prohibits the president from accepting money or gifts from foreign governments and monarchs without Congress’ consent. The report notes that Trump never sought such consent.
“Critically, even this subset of documents reveals a stunning web of millions of dollars in payments made by foreign governments and their agents directly to Trump-owned businesses, while President Trump was in the White House,” Democrats wrote in their report. “By pocketing foreign states’ payments, President Trump repeatedly placed his personal financial interest and the interests of foreign wealth and power above the public interest, resulting in precisely the split loyalty between foreign power and the American people that the Framers sought to avoid.”
