Trump's companies receive money from foreign governments and companies during his term in office. A congressional report accuses him of violating the constitution.
Washington, DC – New trouble for Donald Trump. According to an investigative report by the US Congress, the former US president's companies received a total of at least 7.8 million dollars (7.1 million euros) from foreign governments and companies during his time in office.
The report was prepared by members of the Democratic Party in a government oversight committee House of Representatives created. They accuse Trump of violating a constitutional clause that prohibits public officials from receiving foreign income without congressional approval. The report is titled “White House For Sale.”
Money to Trump also from China
According to the report published on Thursday (January 4, local time), the money flowed from around 20 countries to the ex-president's hotels and real estate companies. As president, Trump received money “from some of the most repugnant regimes in the world,” the investigation says. Among them are China, Saudi Arabia, etc Türkiye and the Democratic Republic of Congo, according to the allegations. The authors also emphasize that they did not have access to all documents relating to foreign payments to the Trump companies.
The report states that at least $5.5 million went to Trump companies from the Chinese government and companies alone – including the ICBC bank and the airline Hainan Airlines. The sum could actually be higher because Trump's former accounting firm Mazar and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) only partially made the relevant files available to the investigation.
Expensive stays in Donald Trump's luxury hotels
The report specifically mentions a payment of $19,391 that a Chinese delegation made at the Trump International Hotel in Washington in August 2017. Foreign delegations were often accommodated in this hotel in close proximity to the White House. The hotel was sold to a private investor group in 2022, after Trump's term in office, and is now part of the “Waldorf Astoria” chain.
According to the report, at least $615,422 in prohibited payments from Saudi Arabia flowed to his companies during Trump's term in office, including for a stay at a luxury Washington hotel in March 2018. Trump maintained close contacts with Riyadh during his presidency.
Congress was not informed about payments to Trump's companies
According to US media, there is no sign that Trump or his companies informed Congress about the payments. NBC reporter Ryan Nobles answered no to a similar question on US television: “There are no records of this at all. And in fact, it never happened,” No
bles said, adding, “And that's one of the reasons why Democrats in the House believe this is a violation of the law… Now the time has come to release this report became. But the Democrats are in the minority. So there's not much they can do other than make this public. Unless that republican join in and either refer the matter to the Department of Justice or something along those lines.”
According to the polls, the 77-year-old right-wing populist Trump has the best chance of being re-appointed as presidential candidate by the Republicans, despite his various legal entanglements. The primary elections begin on January 15th in the state of Iowa, the presidential election is scheduled for November 5th. (skr)
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