Foreign govts paid Trump firms $7.8mln while President: Report
4 Min Read
The revenues from overseas governments violate a constitutional ban on "foreign emoluments".
-
Former President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally on Saturday, Dec. 16, 2023, in Durham, N.H. (AP)
A congressional report on Thursday revealed that Donald Trump's businesses received at least 7.8 million dollars from foreign governments during his presidential term.
According to the Democrats on the House Oversight Committee, officials from China, Turkey, India, Saudi Arabia, and Congo were among the 20 countries that have all forwarded money to Trump's institutions.
This is considered a violation of the "foreign emoluments" clause, which states that federal officials cannot accept foreign payments without congressional discretion.
The report, titled "White House for Sale," stated that it could only trace back foreign revenues across four of Trump's multi-hundred businesses, paid by 20 countries including some "unsavory" ones, hinting at the Chinese Republic.
Subsequently, the report claimed that Trump enterprises accepted 5.5 million dollars in payments by Beijing, alongside China's Hainan Airlines and the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, without congressional consent. The accuracy of the number has not been disclosed as only limited financial sheets were studied by Trump's accountants and the SEC.
One disbursement alone made to the Trump International Hotel on August 27, 2017, allegedly by a Chinese embassy delegation was estimated at $19,391. Saudi Arabia also paid forward an unlawful $615,422 for just two stays at the Trump World Tower and the International Hotel.
The report also mentions Trump's enthusiasm about going into business with the Saudis "on terms highly favorable to him," then again violating articles from the emoluments clause that prohibits any private business conducted between a US Federal official and foreign officials without approval of Congress, something Trump clearly did not get.
Meanwhile, asked about the report at a regular press conference, China's Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Wang Wenbin said, "I don't have any information on that."
"I advise relevant US politicians not to attack China at every turn."
Read more: Hush money could prove falsified business records and indict Trump
Excerpts from Trump's defiance of the law
Besides the aforementioned violations, Trump currently faces a series of fraud lawsuits. He is currently on trial in New York over fraudulent financial statements that inflated the value of his real estate assets.
In March, he's expected to go on trial again for attempting to rescind the 2020 election results. Trump's campaign paid Berkeley Research Group researchers to examine the 2020 election results in six states in a bid to find irregularities and bring them up in courts and before the public, but nothing was found.
The areas that the researchers looked into included voter machine fraud and dead people voting, among other aspects, but nothing was found that would indicate fraud in the elections, as none of the findings ever saw the light of day, either before the public or in court.
The former US President has been for over two years claiming that the Democrats stole the 2020 election, despite his own campaign not finding any irregularities.
Among the states subjected to the investigation was Georgia, where he faces additional charges under the same allegations.
Man on trial, Leader of a country?
Despite the controversy surrounding the former President and the clear aversion to his incumbency in office by Democrats, Trump is running for the 2024 elections with very promising guarantees.
Among voters under 35, Trump is currently leading with 37% support, surpassing Biden's 33%. This marks a significant shift from the 24-point lead Biden had among this demographic in 2020.
US President Joe Biden is trailing behind former President Donald Trump despite the latter's legal trouble as he fights a slew of court lawsuits.
An appeals court in Colorado on December 20 ruled that Donald Trump cannot appear on the state's presidential primary ballot because of his involvement in the attack on the Capitol in January 2021.
Despite that, Trump is ahead of Biden by four points in the most recent Dailymail.com/J.L. Partners survey.
According to the statistics, the former President won over independent voters, while Biden lost support within his party and among women.
Read more: The spectacle continues: Biden hits 37% approval rating
