The plot thickens, and Trump's defence thins...
Officials from six nations spent more than $750,000 at the failed president's
hotel in Washington when they were seeking to influence his administration,
renting rooms for more than $10,000 per night, according to documents that
his former accounting firm turned over to Congress.
The governments of Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates,
Turkey and China spent more money than previously known at the Trump
International Hotel at crucial times in 2017 and 2018 for those countries’
relations with the United States, according to the documents.
The documents build on the public record of how Trump’s hotel brought in
millions during his presidency from foreign governments. The Committee
has previously estimated that the hotel received more than $3.75 million
from foreign governments from 2017 to 2020, raising concerns about possible
violations of the US Constitution’s
foreign emoluments clause.
Quote:The Foreign Emoluments Clause is a provision in Article I, Section 9, Clause 8
of the United States Constitution, that prohibits the federal government from
granting titles of nobility, and restricts members of the federal government from
receiving gifts, emoluments, offices or titles from foreign states and monarchies
without the consent of the United States Congress. Also known as the Titles of
Nobility Clause, it was designed to shield the federal officeholders of the United
States against so-called "corrupting foreign influences.
They provide a revealing window into how foreign governments spent heavily at
the hotel during key months
when they were trying to influence Trump’s
administration. The documents also show that Republican lobbyists working on
behalf of these countries—some operating without registering as foreign agents,
as required by law—spent tens of thousands more at the Trump hotel during the
same periods.
The documents "sharply call into question the extent to which Trump was guided
by his personal financial interest while in office rather than the best interests of
the American people".
—
Excerpted from the NYT, 14 November 2022.