Donald Trump would have received at least US$7.8 million from at least 20 foreign governments during his presidential term, according to a report released by House Democrats this Thursday (4). The majority of these funds, around US$5.6 million, would originate in China. There are suspicions of payments also from Brazil, but documents that would allow investigations were not provided, as indicated in the opinion. A similar situation occurred with amounts allegedly transferred by Russia, South Korea and South Africa.
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The payments identified were made directly by governments or state-owned companies to businesses controlled by the former president, such as Trump hotels in Washington, New York and Las Vegas, as detailed in the report titled “White House for Sale”. The investigation into Trump’s business relationship with foreign governments was launched in 2016 by the House Oversight Committee, led by Democrats at the time, shortly after the businessman’s election. Contrary to tradition, Trump refused to sever ties with his businesses, which extended to more than 25 countries at that time, before taking office. Representative Jamie Raskin, who signed the 156-page report produced by the Committee’s Democratic staff, accuses Trump of seeing the Presidency as a unique opportunity for personal enrichment and maximizing profits, courtesy of some of the most corrupt governments in the world.
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Raskin claims that the investigation was hampered for years by Trump’s lawyers, who tried to prevent Mazars, the businessman’s then accounting firm, from providing the documents. The dispute reached the Supreme Court, which ruled that the former president must comply with the Committee’s subpoenas. An agreement was later reached between the parties. However, with the change of control of the Committee from Democrats to Republicans, Mazars was relieved of completing the delivery of all materials in its possession, as Raskin notes. Therefore, the conclusion released this Thursday is limited, being the result of only the small fraction of the material to which the deputies had access.
In addition to China, the list of foreign governments that have allegedly made payments to Trump’s businesses includes Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait and India. Democrats argue that such transactions violate the constitutional ban on presidents receiving money from other countries.The release of the report comes amid efforts by House Republicans to move forward with impeachment proceedings against President Joe Biden. The opposition maintains that the Democrat benefited from deals carried out by his son, Hunter, with foreign companies during the period in which Biden was Barack Obama’s vice president.