According to a congressional report, former US President Donald Trump’s companies received a total of at least 7.8 million dollars (7.1 million euros) from foreign governments and companies during his term in the White House. The money flowed to Trump’s hotels and real estate companies from around 20 countries, including China, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and the Democratic Republic of Congo, according to the report published on Thursday.
The report was written by Democratic representatives on a House committee responsible for government oversight. The authors accuse the Republican former president of violating a constitutional clause that prohibits public officials from receiving foreign salaries without congressional approval. Their report is titled “White House For Sale.”
As president, Trump received money “from some of the most repugnant regimes in the world,” the report said. 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 ICBC Bank and 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.
Specifically, a payment of $19,391 is mentioned that a Chinese delegation made in August 2017 at the Trump International Hotel in Washington. Foreign delegations were often accommodated in the hotel near the White House. The hotel was sold to a private investor group in 2022 – after Trump left 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.
According to the polls, the 77-year-old right-wing populist has the best chance of being nominated as a presidential candidate by his Republicans again, 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.
Trump has been charged, among other things, with attempts to manipulate the election after his election defeat in November 2020 against now-President Joe Biden by the federal judiciary in Washington and in the state of Georgia. There is also a civil lawsuit against him in New York over allegations that he overstated the value of his real estate for years in order to gain advantages from banks and insurance companies.
