hi. i am maga. can someone please explain to me why this is problematic and why i should care. thank you.
Why sure, because the drug addled son of a former vice president and private citizen has way more influence over the deep state and the child sex trafficking dem party than a current POTUS with direct involvement with policy toward Chiiiiiiiii-naaaaa.
For anyone wondering how much it costs to have the troops removed from your country, now you know. But have you heard about Hunter's laptop?
The Democrats on the House Oversight Committee today released a 156-page report showing that when he was in the presidency, Trump received at least $7.8 million from 20 different governments, including those of China, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait, and Malaysia, through businesses he owned.
The Democrats brought receipts.
According to the report—and the documents from Trump’s former accounting firm Mazars that are attached to it—the People’s Republic of China and companies substantially controlled by the PRC government paid at least $5,572,548 to Trump-owned properties while Trump was in office; Saudi Arabia paid at least $615,422; Qatar paid at least $465,744; Kuwait paid at least $300,000; India paid at least $282,764; Malaysia paid at least $248,962; Afghanistan paid at least $154,750; the Philippines paid at least $74,810; the United Arab Emirates paid at least $65,225. The list went on and on.
A little light reading, you know, for those nights that you have trouble falling asleep. Its only 156 pages to read but you could have your computer read it to you.
Further, while this report focuses on former
President Trump’s violations of the Constitution’s Foreign Emoluments Clause, the Mazars
documents also reveal a pattern of payments from domestic individuals, entities, and government
agencies that raise significant potential conflicts of interest and potential violations of the
Constitution’s Domestic Emoluments Clause through expenditures at Trump-owned businesses.
These will be the focus of a subsequent report.
Money laundering? Or so much winning? Are you sick of winning? How about giving POOTWH your cash? You sick of that yet? Pages 26 & 27:
The significant benefit to former President Trump from revenues generally—regardless
of any profits—is demonstrated by the precarious financial condition of the Trump International
Hotel in Washington, D.C., during his presidency. As Committee Democrats have previously reported, a review of financial documents regarding the Trump International Hotel in
Washington, D.C., provided by the General Services Administration (GSA) revealed that while
President Trump claimed on required financial disclosures that he made $156 million in
employment income from the hotel between 2016 and 2020, the hotel in fact lost more than $73
million during this period.74 Reflecting the serious financial problems at the Trump International
Hotel in Washington, D.C., annual financial statements obtained by the Committee also reveal
that one of President Trump’s holding companies, DJT Holdings LLC, injected tens of millions
of dollars into the Trump International Hotel as loans, the vast majority of which were never
repaid and were later converted to capital contributions. The hotel’s significant losses were due
in part to the hotel’s fixed costs, including general and administrative expenses, sales and
marketing expenses, and property operations and maintenance.75 Given that the hotel was
operating at a significant loss, foreign government revenue would have helped to cover a portion
of these fixed costs, even if alleged “profits” were donated.
Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
And we've forgotten about how much money tRump funneled to himself by staying at his properties and charging the secret service for room and board all those weekends....
Remember the Thomas Nine !! (10/02/2018)
1998: Noblesville; 2003: Noblesville; 2009: EV Nashville, Chicago, Chicago 2010: St Louis, Columbus, Noblesville; 2011: EV Chicago, East Troy, East Troy 2013: London ON, Wrigley; 2014: Cincy, St Louis, Moline (NO CODE) 2016: Lexington, Wrigley #1; 2018: Wrigley, Wrigley, Boston, Boston 2020: Oakland, Oakland:2021: EV Ohana, Ohana, Ohana, Ohana 2022: Oakland, Oakland, Nashville, Louisville; 2023: Chicago, Chicago, Noblesville 2024: Noblesville, Wrigley, Wrigley, Ohana, Ohana
From an article in Classic Rock Mag about new PJ album....
McCready didn’t provide a title or release date, but said he hoped the album would arrive in 2024. He also agreed with the suggestion that the current socio-political state of America was “killing” bandmate Vedder.
“Oh yeah. I think Ed has always been very aware of everything that’s going on and always fighting for the underdog,” the guitarist said. “Certainly America has got so many fucked-up issues. Guns. Racism. That idiot Trump.
Mike McCready’s Hopes for 2024
“All that stuff has always been there, but you have to be aware of it and consciously fight it, because you want this to be a better world, if you’re a good human. And I see Ed as that, and hopefully we are. We try to be proactive and solution-oriented, and not sit back and do nothing.”
Asked about how well or badly the coming year could go, McCready replied: “Well, if Trump got elected, that’d be the worst thing in the world to me. I’d rather think about the best things that can happen.
“We have to come together. We have to be compassionate. We have to take care of the environment. We have to not be racist. We have to not be idiots. There’s all these things we can do. But we have to choose to think that way.”
From an article in Classic Rock Mag about new PJ album....
McCready didn’t provide a title or release date, but said he hoped the album would arrive in 2024. He also agreed with the suggestion that the current socio-political state of America was “killing” bandmate Vedder.
“Oh yeah. I think Ed has always been very aware of everything that’s going on and always fighting for the underdog,” the guitarist said. “Certainly America has got so many fucked-up issues. Guns. Racism. That idiot Trump.
Mike McCready’s Hopes for 2024
“All that stuff has always been there, but you have to be aware of it and consciously fight it, because you want this to be a better world, if you’re a good human. And I see Ed as that, and hopefully we are. We try to be proactive and solution-oriented, and not sit back and do nothing.”
Asked about how well or badly the coming year could go, McCready replied: “Well, if Trump got elected, that’d be the worst thing in the world to me. I’d rather think about the best things that can happen.
“We have to come together. We have to be compassionate. We have to take care of the environment. We have to not be racist. We have to not be idiots. There’s all these things we can do. But we have to choose to think that way.”
Great bring on the Trump bashing at the shows screw who’s feeling get but hurt! I hope the Trump baby blimp makes an appearance at the European festivals not sure that could happen here!
From an article in Classic Rock Mag about new PJ album....
McCready didn’t provide a title or release date, but said he hoped the album would arrive in 2024. He also agreed with the suggestion that the current socio-political state of America was “killing” bandmate Vedder.
“Oh yeah. I think Ed has always been very aware of everything that’s going on and always fighting for the underdog,” the guitarist said. “Certainly America has got so many fucked-up issues. Guns. Racism. That idiot Trump.
Mike McCready’s Hopes for 2024
“All that stuff has always been there, but you have to be aware of it and consciously fight it, because you want this to be a better world, if you’re a good human. And I see Ed as that, and hopefully we are. We try to be proactive and solution-oriented, and not sit back and do nothing.”
Asked about how well or badly the coming year could go, McCready replied: “Well, if Trump got elected, that’d be the worst thing in the world to me. I’d rather think about the best things that can happen.
“We have to come together. We have to be compassionate. We have to take care of the environment. We have to not be racist. We have to not be idiots. There’s all these things we can do. But we have to choose to think that way.”
Great bring on the Trump bashing at the shows screw who’s feeling get but hurt! I hope the Trump baby blimp makes an appearance at the European festivals not sure that could happen here!
Any Manhattan real estate folks here? Sounds like a bargain, eh? Page 40.
With respect to Trump World Tower, Mazars produced records only for the year 2018.
Accordingly, the report identifies the monthly common charges paid by foreign governments and
entities for units in Trump World Tower for the year 2018 as noted in the Mazars records. In
addition, where public records confirm that a foreign government owned a property at Trump
World Tower throughout the Trump presidency—and therefore incurred monthly common
charges throughout this period—this report also includes an estimated total for the entire Trump
presidency using the 2018 figures provided by Mazars. For example, Saudi Arabia owned the
45th floor of Trump World Tower throughout the Trump presidency. Mazars records show that
in 2018, it paid a monthly base charge of $11,189 for this property, totaling $134,270 for the
whole of 2018. This report includes the $134,270 figure based on the Mazars records, as well as
an estimated total emolument of $537,080—four times the 2018 total to account for the four
years of the Trump presidency.111
The set of documents that Mazars produced before Chairman Comer shut down the
production also contained highly troubling omissions. For example, the Committee’s
Democratic staff specifically requested that Mazars provide records related to a $20 million loan
from Daewoo, a South Korean entity, that was not reported on former President Trump’s 2015,
2016, or 2017 public financial disclosures. Spreadsheets prepared by Jeffrey McConney, The
Trump Organization’s former controller, reflect that former President Trump’s “LOANS
PAYABLE” included a loan for $19,760,000 owed to “L/P Daewoo” as of June 30, 2015.113 This
loan remained outstanding until Daewoo was “bought out of its position on July 5, 2017.”114
Critically, as Forbes reported: “Although the debt appeared on The Trump Organization’s
internal paperwork, it did not show up on Trump’s public financial disclosure reports, documents
he was required to submit to federal officials while running for president and after taking office.”115 Yet Mazars informed the Committee’s Democratic staff it had no records to produce
regarding the Daewoo loan.
The Committee’s Democratic staff also requested hotel guest ledgers for the Trump
International Hotel in Washington, D.C. covering the 2017 presidential inauguration and
documents regarding Chinese mega-bank ICBC’s nearly two-million dollar a year lease in Trump
Tower. Once again, Mazars represented it had no documents responsive to either of these
requests.
This report also discusses former President Trump’s recent disclosures regarding a
sprawling trademark portfolio that the government of the P.R.C. enlarged during President
Trump’s term. Although Mr. Trump was required to complete a financial disclosure form each
year that he was in office, he “neglected to include hundreds of trademarks he owns” on these
forms during his presidency.119 As Business Insider noted: “The belated disclosures mean that
Americans had little insight into the scope of Trump’s foreign asset holdings during his
presidency, and are only learning about them as he runs for a second term in the 2024
election.”120 Notably, if not surprisingly, the ability of Trump family businesses to secure
trademarks in China improved markedly and rapidly after Trump entered office.121
Tell me about Hunter's laptop and the quid pro quos again, please? Pages 47-48:
As a candidate, Donald Trump accused China of stealing U.S. jobs, orchestrating “the
greatest theft in the history of the world,” and “raping” the United States with its trade policy.125
In office, however, President Trump’s public rhetoric and engagement with the P.R.C. initially
softened. While then-President Trump’s policies toward the P.R.C. were frequently inconsistent,
they repeatedly deviated from the combative approach he articulated when he “made Chinabashing a pillar of his 2016 campaign.”126 According to John Bolton—who served as Mr.
Trump’s National Security Advisor from April 2018 through September 2019—Mr. Trump
“commingled the personal and the national not just on trade questions but across the whole field
of national security.”127 Axios also observed that “Trump-era China policy often featured two separate tracks: policies Trump personally led, and policies spearheaded by officials with China
expertise.”128
From April through September 2017, then-President Trump engaged in meetings with the
P.R.C.’s President, Xi Jinping, regarding bilateral trade and threats from North Korea. Despite
the P.R.C.’s reluctance to pressure North Korea to halt its ballistic missile program and
denuclearize, then-President Trump repeatedly lauded his relationship with President Xi.
Shortly after taking office, then-President Trump hosted President Xi for two days of
talks in April 2017 at his Florida residence in Mar-a-Lago, where he cited “tremendous progress”
in the U.S.-China relationship and characterized his personal relationship with President Xi at the
time as “outstanding.”129 One commentator observed about this meeting that it seemed to be
“built upon the assumption that personal chemistry would compel Xi to override his national
interests.”130
In an October 2017 television interview, then-President Trump remarked about his
relationship with President Xi, stating, “we have a very good relationship and that’s a positive
thing.”131 President Trump’s remarks came shortly after President Xi’s opening speech at the
start of his fifth term as President in which he expressed support for China moving “closer to the
center stage” and expanding its economic dominance in contrast to Western values.132
From November 8 to November 10, 2017—after the Chinese Embassy had spent at least
$19,391 as an advance deposit for a stay beginning in late August 2017 at the Trump
International Hotel in Washington, D.C.—then-President Trump traveled to China where he
lavished praise on President Xi and, notably, defended Chinese trade practices in stark contrast to
his previous public pronouncements blaming China’s policies for the U.S.-China trade
imbalance.
133 Then-President Trump complimented President Xi, stating, “My feeling toward you is an incredibly warm one.”134 Trump also stated that he did not “blame China” for the trade
deficit between the two countries, declaring, “[a]fter all, who can blame a country for being able
to take advantage of another country for the benefit of its citizens? I give China great credit.”135
The next year, however, then-President Trump launched a trade war against China as part
of a broad protectionist economic policy and trade strategy. According to commentators at
Brookings, “Between July 2018 and August 2019, the United States announced plans to impose
tariffs on more than $550 billion of Chinese products, and China retaliated by imposing tariffs on
more than $185 billion worth of U.S. goods.”136 The two countries reached a “Phase One”
tentative deal to reduce trade tensions in January 2020.137 Ultimately, however, according to one
analyst, “China actually bought none of the additional $200 billion of exports that it promised in
the agreement.”138 According to a January 2021 report from the U.S.-China Business Council, a
nonpartisan association of more than 270 American companies that do business with China,
“Tariff rates remain[ed] at a multi-decade high despite both countries reaching a phase one trade
agreement in early 2020.”139 The report found that the trade war with China “reduced US
economic growth and employment, resulting in an estimated peak loss of 245,000 jobs” and
“failed to achieve major policy goals outlined by the Trump administration.”140 And yet, amid
what became a tense trade conflict, Mr. Trump inexplicably took positions favorable to specific
Chinese interests as discussed below.
According to documents Mazars produced to the Committee, Hainan Airlines began what
was apparently a 14-month stay at the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada, on
November 4, 2016—four days before the 2016 Presidential election.149 At the time, its affiliate
HNA Group, faced increasing scrutiny from U.S. federal regulators due to the Group’s opaque
ownership structure and ties to the Chinese state apparatus.150
As it sought to expand its portfolio in the United States, HNA Group launched a lobbying
campaign to improve its image in Washington, D.C., and secure U.S. government approval of its
targeted acquisitions. After Mr. Trump won the 2016 election and began his term as President,
and as HNA Group was patronizing the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas, senior
executives enjoyed access to high-level Trump Administration officials. In early June 2017,
HNA Group executives met with then-Vice President Mike Pence at a public dinner in
Washington, D.C. On June 19, 2017, HNA Group’s then-CEO and Vice Chairman met with
then-Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, the head of the Committee on Foreign Investment in
the United States (CFIUS), while several HNA Group acquisitions were undergoing review by
CFIUS.
151 HNA Group executives reportedly met with additional Treasury officials with authority over CFIUS later that month.152
These efforts, however, failed to address CFIUS’s concerns about HNA’s threat to
national security, and consequently, several prospective deals fell through. HNA Group’s
proposed acquisition of future Trump advisor Anthony Scaramucci’s investment firm, SkyBridge
Capital, failed a review by CFIUS because HNA Group reportedly did not make sufficiently
clear who owned the company during the regulatory review.153 Further, in August 2018, citing
national security concerns, CFIUS ordered HNA Group to sell its controlling stake in a New
York City building just blocks from Trump Tower, in part because the HNA building housed a
New York Police Department precinct with officers who protected Trump Tower and thenPresident Trump.154
On November 12, 2020—after the 2020 Presidential election but before President Trump
left office—then-President Trump issued Executive Order 13959, Addressing the Threat from
Securities Investments That Finance Communist Chinese Military Companies (CCMC), which
prohibited investments by U.S. citizens in companies that benefit the CCP.155 On January 14,
2021—just six days before President Trump left office—the State Department published a list of
identified CCMCs, including Grand China Air, a major shareholder of Hainan Airlines alongside
HNA Group.
156
By the end of then-President Trump’s term, HNA Group had been directly seized by the
Hainan provincial government, which initiated a restructuring plan following a debt-financed
$50 billion international spending spree.157 The Chinese government reportedly restructured
HNA Group’s “debt and aligned investments with state goals, established state trusteeship, and
transferred assets to state investors.”158
It is, it is! It is Ivanka Darlink and the Quid Pro Quos! It is, it is! And you can't make this shit up. Pages 57-59:
Apparent Quid Pro Quo: Trump Trademarks in China
Trademarks are a significant component of the business model employed by Mr. Trump’s
companies, which had registered hundreds of trademarks in more than 80 countries by the time
Donald Trump entered office.180 Given that trademarks are granted and can be revoked by
foreign governments, and because they have value, they are potential foreign emoluments
themselves.181 As of 2023, Mr. Trump had 114 trademarks registered in China—more “than in
any other country by far.”182 By comparison, Trump businesses reportedly have 57 trademarks
registered in the United States.183
While public reporting makes clear that the Trump family’s businesses continued to
expand their trademark portfolios in China during Trump’s time in office, any visibility into this
significant aspect of his finances is sharply limited, because “[u]ntil this year, the former US
president’s ethics forms didn’t disclose his trademarks in foreign countries.”184
For Mr. Trump’s businesses, trademarks serve multiple purposes and cover a range of
products. New York Times reported in February 2017 that “[h]is trademarks in recent years have
covered all manner of potential products” across the world, from alcohol to video games and
gambling.185 The Times added: “Sometimes Mr. Trump’s trademarks are markers for ventures
that never materialized or construction projects underway where he is licensing his name. Other
times they appear to be part of a defensive strategy to ward off trademark infringement.”186
Former President Trump first disclosed his ownership of trademarks on ethics forms he
filed as a presidential candidate in 2023, which covered his finances only from November 2021.
Although Mr. Trump was required to complete this same financial disclosure form each year he
was in office, he “neglected to include hundreds of trademarks he owns” on these forms during
his presidency. Business Insider noted: “The belated disclosures mean that Americans had little insight into the scope of Trump’s foreign asset holdings during his presidency, and are only
learning about them as he runs for a second term in the 2024 election.”187
The ability of Trump family businesses to secure trademarks in China clearly improved
markedly and rapidly when Trump entered office.188 For example, for a decade, Mr. Trump had
been in a bureaucratic battle trying “to wrest the rights to his name back from a man named
Dong Wei,” according to the Associated Press.
189 The Chinese government conspicuously
awarded then-President Trump a trademark shortly after he assumed office, which the Associated
Press described as a “surprise win for Trump” and reported, “may well be the first foreign
trademark to be handed to Trump during his presidency.”190 Moreover, it was granted mere days
after then-President Trump agreed to honor China’s One-China policy—an arrangement under
which the U.S. recognizes formal diplomatic relations with China but not Taiwan—during a call
then-President Trump had with President Xi.191
The expansion of Trump business interests in China also included former President
Trump’s daughter and White House Advisor, Ivanka Trump. The Chinese government granted
Ivanka Trump’s business “first trial” approval on one trademark on May 6, 2018, and registration
approval for five additional trademarks the following day.192 Within a week, on May 13, 2018,
President Trump announced on Twitter that he had personally instructed the Commerce
Department to reverse its decision to sanction ZTE, a Chinese telecommunications company.193
The following month, on June 7, 2018, Ivanka Trump Marks LLC received trademark
registration approval for three additional trademarks in China.194
In her official role, Ms. Trump met with world leaders as a representative of the United
States abroad and alongside then-President Trump. Although Ms. Trump reportedly curtailed
her day-to-day involvement in her company in January 2017, she did not divest from it, and the
company continued applying for trademarks abroad to license the Ivanka Trump name.195
Early in the Trump Administration, the Chinese government reportedly identified Ms.
Trump and her husband, Jared Kushner, as a promising channel through which to thaw relations
with the new president after his abrasive campaign rhetoric regarding China.196 On March 28,
2017, IT Operations LLC, one of Ivanka Trump’s holding companies, filed 14 applications for
trademarks in China.197 One day later, Ivanka Trump formally joined the Trump Administration
as an Advisor to the President. The next month, in April 2017, the Chinese government
preliminarily granted three trademarks for Ivanka Trump Marks LLC, another holding company
owned by Ivanka Trump, to expand her brand in China. Ms. Trump received the trademark
approvals the same day that then-President Trump hosted Chinese President Xi in Mar-a-Lago,
Florida, along with Ivanka Trump and Mr. Kushner, who was then a Senior Advisor to President
Trump.198
In mid-2018, Ivanka Trump announced she would dissolve her fashion brand.199 Despite
this announcement, Ivanka Trump Marks LLC continued to retain trademarks in China. The
Chinese government preliminarily granted “first-trial approval” for 16 trademarks for fashion
items and other goods—including, notably, voting machines—to Ivanka Trump in 2018.200
Ivanka Trump continued to receive trademarks from the Chinese government through 2019,
when Ivanka Trump Marks LLC received provisional approval for five trademarks that covered,
for example, “child care centers […] brokerage, charitable fundraising and art valuation
services.”201
Public reporting indicated that by April 2019, the Chinese government had granted a total
of 41 trademarks to companies associated with Ivanka Trump and that her companies had
received trademark approvals roughly 40% faster after Donald Trump won the 2016 U.S.
presidential election than had been the case prior to the election.202
Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
Domestic Emoluments, more to come in a subsequent report. But have you heard about Hunter's laptop? Page 156:
CONCLUSION
This report has documented the payment of many millions of dollars in unconstitutional
emoluments to Trump-owned businesses from at least 20 foreign governments as well as entities
and lobbyists acting on their behalf. As noted, given the incompleteness of the documents
received by the Committee and Chairman Comer’s decision to act in concert with former
President Trump’s attorneys to block the production of additional records, this total is likely but
a small fraction of the full universe of foreign emolument spending that took place during the
Trump presidency in violation of the U.S. Constitution.
President Trump’s pervasive use of the presidency for personal financial gain is
particularly alarming given not only the significant dollar amounts and multiplicity of countries
involved, but also former President Trump’s repeated indications of his willingness to allow his
personal financial interest to dictate policy decisions he made as President. The rich profits that
Trump businesses reaped from those countries, at best, leaves subject to question whether the
often favorable treatment they received from the Trump Administration resulted from the former
President’s bona fide judgment about advancing the vital interests of the United States, or his
desire to perpetuate the substantial personal enrichment he enjoyed from the lavish emolument
spending by those countries.
As he accepted these payments, Mr. Trump ignored the Foreign Emolument Clause’s
explicit requirement that he obtain congressional authorization before pocketing such gifts—
never even seeking, let alone securing, the consent of Congress to his receipt of these large-scale
emoluments. No president has ever come so close to brazenly ignoring the Foreign Emoluments
Clause.
These facts demonstrate the need for urgent congressional action to prevent future
presidents and senior officials from serving under similarly grave conflicts of interest and
unconstitutional arrangements. Accordingly, this report recommends that Congress
expeditiously consider adopting measures that would require presidents and senior executive
officials to disclose to Congress their receipt of any foreign emoluments, set forth an explicit
procedure for presidents and senior officials to seek the requisite congressional authorization for
the receipt and retention of emoluments, and require the disclosure of payments to entities in
which a sitting president has a financial interest “of any kind whatever” by officials and lobbyists
acting on behalf of kings, princes, and foreign governments.
Comments
"Well, you tell him that I don't talk to suckas."
Libtardaplorable©. And proud of it.
Brilliantati©
The Democrats on the House Oversight Committee today released a 156-page report showing that when he was in the presidency, Trump received at least $7.8 million from 20 different governments, including those of China, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait, and Malaysia, through businesses he owned.
The Democrats brought receipts.
According to the report—and the documents from Trump’s former accounting firm Mazars that are attached to it—the People’s Republic of China and companies substantially controlled by the PRC government paid at least $5,572,548 to Trump-owned properties while Trump was in office; Saudi Arabia paid at least $615,422; Qatar paid at least $465,744; Kuwait paid at least $300,000; India paid at least $282,764; Malaysia paid at least $248,962; Afghanistan paid at least $154,750; the Philippines paid at least $74,810; the United Arab Emirates paid at least $65,225. The list went on and on.
Libtardaplorable©. And proud of it.
Brilliantati©
2024-01-04.COA DEMS - Mazars Report.pdf (house.gov)
Libtardaplorable©. And proud of it.
Brilliantati©
Further, while this report focuses on former President Trump’s violations of the Constitution’s Foreign Emoluments Clause, the Mazars documents also reveal a pattern of payments from domestic individuals, entities, and government agencies that raise significant potential conflicts of interest and potential violations of the Constitution’s Domestic Emoluments Clause through expenditures at Trump-owned businesses. These will be the focus of a subsequent report.
2024-01-04.COA DEMS - Mazars Report.pdf (house.gov)
Libtardaplorable©. And proud of it.
Brilliantati©
The significant benefit to former President Trump from revenues generally—regardless of any profits—is demonstrated by the precarious financial condition of the Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C., during his presidency. As Committee Democrats have previously reported, a review of financial documents regarding the Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C., provided by the General Services Administration (GSA) revealed that while President Trump claimed on required financial disclosures that he made $156 million in employment income from the hotel between 2016 and 2020, the hotel in fact lost more than $73 million during this period.74 Reflecting the serious financial problems at the Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C., annual financial statements obtained by the Committee also reveal that one of President Trump’s holding companies, DJT Holdings LLC, injected tens of millions of dollars into the Trump International Hotel as loans, the vast majority of which were never repaid and were later converted to capital contributions. The hotel’s significant losses were due in part to the hotel’s fixed costs, including general and administrative expenses, sales and marketing expenses, and property operations and maintenance.75 Given that the hotel was operating at a significant loss, foreign government revenue would have helped to cover a portion of these fixed costs, even if alleged “profits” were donated.
Libtardaplorable©. And proud of it.
Brilliantati©
Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
1998: Noblesville; 2003: Noblesville; 2009: EV Nashville, Chicago, Chicago
2010: St Louis, Columbus, Noblesville; 2011: EV Chicago, East Troy, East Troy
2013: London ON, Wrigley; 2014: Cincy, St Louis, Moline (NO CODE)
2016: Lexington, Wrigley #1; 2018: Wrigley, Wrigley, Boston, Boston
2020: Oakland, Oakland: 2021: EV Ohana, Ohana, Ohana, Ohana
2022: Oakland, Oakland, Nashville, Louisville; 2023: Chicago, Chicago, Noblesville
2024: Noblesville, Wrigley, Wrigley, Ohana, Ohana
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With respect to Trump World Tower, Mazars produced records only for the year 2018. Accordingly, the report identifies the monthly common charges paid by foreign governments and entities for units in Trump World Tower for the year 2018 as noted in the Mazars records. In addition, where public records confirm that a foreign government owned a property at Trump World Tower throughout the Trump presidency—and therefore incurred monthly common charges throughout this period—this report also includes an estimated total for the entire Trump presidency using the 2018 figures provided by Mazars. For example, Saudi Arabia owned the 45th floor of Trump World Tower throughout the Trump presidency. Mazars records show that in 2018, it paid a monthly base charge of $11,189 for this property, totaling $134,270 for the whole of 2018. This report includes the $134,270 figure based on the Mazars records, as well as an estimated total emolument of $537,080—four times the 2018 total to account for the four years of the Trump presidency.111
2024-01-04.COA DEMS - Mazars Report.pdf (house.gov)
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The set of documents that Mazars produced before Chairman Comer shut down the production also contained highly troubling omissions. For example, the Committee’s Democratic staff specifically requested that Mazars provide records related to a $20 million loan from Daewoo, a South Korean entity, that was not reported on former President Trump’s 2015, 2016, or 2017 public financial disclosures. Spreadsheets prepared by Jeffrey McConney, The Trump Organization’s former controller, reflect that former President Trump’s “LOANS PAYABLE” included a loan for $19,760,000 owed to “L/P Daewoo” as of June 30, 2015.113 This loan remained outstanding until Daewoo was “bought out of its position on July 5, 2017.”114 Critically, as Forbes reported: “Although the debt appeared on The Trump Organization’s internal paperwork, it did not show up on Trump’s public financial disclosure reports, documents he was required to submit to federal officials while running for president and after taking office.”115 Yet Mazars informed the Committee’s Democratic staff it had no records to produce regarding the Daewoo loan. The Committee’s Democratic staff also requested hotel guest ledgers for the Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C. covering the 2017 presidential inauguration and documents regarding Chinese mega-bank ICBC’s nearly two-million dollar a year lease in Trump Tower. Once again, Mazars represented it had no documents responsive to either of these requests.
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This report also discusses former President Trump’s recent disclosures regarding a sprawling trademark portfolio that the government of the P.R.C. enlarged during President Trump’s term. Although Mr. Trump was required to complete a financial disclosure form each year that he was in office, he “neglected to include hundreds of trademarks he owns” on these forms during his presidency.119 As Business Insider noted: “The belated disclosures mean that Americans had little insight into the scope of Trump’s foreign asset holdings during his presidency, and are only learning about them as he runs for a second term in the 2024 election.”120 Notably, if not surprisingly, the ability of Trump family businesses to secure trademarks in China improved markedly and rapidly after Trump entered office.121
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As a candidate, Donald Trump accused China of stealing U.S. jobs, orchestrating “the greatest theft in the history of the world,” and “raping” the United States with its trade policy.125 In office, however, President Trump’s public rhetoric and engagement with the P.R.C. initially softened. While then-President Trump’s policies toward the P.R.C. were frequently inconsistent, they repeatedly deviated from the combative approach he articulated when he “made Chinabashing a pillar of his 2016 campaign.”126 According to John Bolton—who served as Mr. Trump’s National Security Advisor from April 2018 through September 2019—Mr. Trump “commingled the personal and the national not just on trade questions but across the whole field of national security.”127 Axios also observed that “Trump-era China policy often featured two separate tracks: policies Trump personally led, and policies spearheaded by officials with China expertise.”128
From April through September 2017, then-President Trump engaged in meetings with the P.R.C.’s President, Xi Jinping, regarding bilateral trade and threats from North Korea. Despite the P.R.C.’s reluctance to pressure North Korea to halt its ballistic missile program and denuclearize, then-President Trump repeatedly lauded his relationship with President Xi.
Shortly after taking office, then-President Trump hosted President Xi for two days of talks in April 2017 at his Florida residence in Mar-a-Lago, where he cited “tremendous progress” in the U.S.-China relationship and characterized his personal relationship with President Xi at the time as “outstanding.”129 One commentator observed about this meeting that it seemed to be “built upon the assumption that personal chemistry would compel Xi to override his national interests.”130
In an October 2017 television interview, then-President Trump remarked about his relationship with President Xi, stating, “we have a very good relationship and that’s a positive thing.”131 President Trump’s remarks came shortly after President Xi’s opening speech at the start of his fifth term as President in which he expressed support for China moving “closer to the center stage” and expanding its economic dominance in contrast to Western values.132
From November 8 to November 10, 2017—after the Chinese Embassy had spent at least $19,391 as an advance deposit for a stay beginning in late August 2017 at the Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C.—then-President Trump traveled to China where he lavished praise on President Xi and, notably, defended Chinese trade practices in stark contrast to his previous public pronouncements blaming China’s policies for the U.S.-China trade imbalance. 133 Then-President Trump complimented President Xi, stating, “My feeling toward you is an incredibly warm one.”134 Trump also stated that he did not “blame China” for the trade deficit between the two countries, declaring, “[a]fter all, who can blame a country for being able to take advantage of another country for the benefit of its citizens? I give China great credit.”135
The next year, however, then-President Trump launched a trade war against China as part of a broad protectionist economic policy and trade strategy. According to commentators at Brookings, “Between July 2018 and August 2019, the United States announced plans to impose tariffs on more than $550 billion of Chinese products, and China retaliated by imposing tariffs on more than $185 billion worth of U.S. goods.”136 The two countries reached a “Phase One” tentative deal to reduce trade tensions in January 2020.137 Ultimately, however, according to one analyst, “China actually bought none of the additional $200 billion of exports that it promised in the agreement.”138 According to a January 2021 report from the U.S.-China Business Council, a nonpartisan association of more than 270 American companies that do business with China, “Tariff rates remain[ed] at a multi-decade high despite both countries reaching a phase one trade agreement in early 2020.”139 The report found that the trade war with China “reduced US economic growth and employment, resulting in an estimated peak loss of 245,000 jobs” and “failed to achieve major policy goals outlined by the Trump administration.”140 And yet, amid what became a tense trade conflict, Mr. Trump inexplicably took positions favorable to specific Chinese interests as discussed below.
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According to documents Mazars produced to the Committee, Hainan Airlines began what was apparently a 14-month stay at the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada, on November 4, 2016—four days before the 2016 Presidential election.149 At the time, its affiliate HNA Group, faced increasing scrutiny from U.S. federal regulators due to the Group’s opaque ownership structure and ties to the Chinese state apparatus.150
As it sought to expand its portfolio in the United States, HNA Group launched a lobbying campaign to improve its image in Washington, D.C., and secure U.S. government approval of its targeted acquisitions. After Mr. Trump won the 2016 election and began his term as President, and as HNA Group was patronizing the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas, senior executives enjoyed access to high-level Trump Administration officials. In early June 2017, HNA Group executives met with then-Vice President Mike Pence at a public dinner in Washington, D.C. On June 19, 2017, HNA Group’s then-CEO and Vice Chairman met with then-Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, the head of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), while several HNA Group acquisitions were undergoing review by CFIUS. 151 HNA Group executives reportedly met with additional Treasury officials with authority over CFIUS later that month.152
These efforts, however, failed to address CFIUS’s concerns about HNA’s threat to national security, and consequently, several prospective deals fell through. HNA Group’s proposed acquisition of future Trump advisor Anthony Scaramucci’s investment firm, SkyBridge Capital, failed a review by CFIUS because HNA Group reportedly did not make sufficiently clear who owned the company during the regulatory review.153 Further, in August 2018, citing national security concerns, CFIUS ordered HNA Group to sell its controlling stake in a New York City building just blocks from Trump Tower, in part because the HNA building housed a New York Police Department precinct with officers who protected Trump Tower and thenPresident Trump.154
On November 12, 2020—after the 2020 Presidential election but before President Trump left office—then-President Trump issued Executive Order 13959, Addressing the Threat from Securities Investments That Finance Communist Chinese Military Companies (CCMC), which prohibited investments by U.S. citizens in companies that benefit the CCP.155 On January 14, 2021—just six days before President Trump left office—the State Department published a list of identified CCMCs, including Grand China Air, a major shareholder of Hainan Airlines alongside HNA Group. 156
By the end of then-President Trump’s term, HNA Group had been directly seized by the Hainan provincial government, which initiated a restructuring plan following a debt-financed $50 billion international spending spree.157 The Chinese government reportedly restructured HNA Group’s “debt and aligned investments with state goals, established state trusteeship, and transferred assets to state investors.”158
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Apparent Quid Pro Quo: Trump Trademarks in China
Trademarks are a significant component of the business model employed by Mr. Trump’s companies, which had registered hundreds of trademarks in more than 80 countries by the time Donald Trump entered office.180 Given that trademarks are granted and can be revoked by foreign governments, and because they have value, they are potential foreign emoluments themselves.181 As of 2023, Mr. Trump had 114 trademarks registered in China—more “than in any other country by far.”182 By comparison, Trump businesses reportedly have 57 trademarks registered in the United States.183
While public reporting makes clear that the Trump family’s businesses continued to expand their trademark portfolios in China during Trump’s time in office, any visibility into this significant aspect of his finances is sharply limited, because “[u]ntil this year, the former US president’s ethics forms didn’t disclose his trademarks in foreign countries.”184
For Mr. Trump’s businesses, trademarks serve multiple purposes and cover a range of products. New York Times reported in February 2017 that “[h]is trademarks in recent years have covered all manner of potential products” across the world, from alcohol to video games and gambling.185 The Times added: “Sometimes Mr. Trump’s trademarks are markers for ventures that never materialized or construction projects underway where he is licensing his name. Other times they appear to be part of a defensive strategy to ward off trademark infringement.”186
Former President Trump first disclosed his ownership of trademarks on ethics forms he filed as a presidential candidate in 2023, which covered his finances only from November 2021. Although Mr. Trump was required to complete this same financial disclosure form each year he was in office, he “neglected to include hundreds of trademarks he owns” on these forms during his presidency. Business Insider noted: “The belated disclosures mean that Americans had little insight into the scope of Trump’s foreign asset holdings during his presidency, and are only learning about them as he runs for a second term in the 2024 election.”187
The ability of Trump family businesses to secure trademarks in China clearly improved markedly and rapidly when Trump entered office.188 For example, for a decade, Mr. Trump had been in a bureaucratic battle trying “to wrest the rights to his name back from a man named Dong Wei,” according to the Associated Press. 189 The Chinese government conspicuously awarded then-President Trump a trademark shortly after he assumed office, which the Associated Press described as a “surprise win for Trump” and reported, “may well be the first foreign trademark to be handed to Trump during his presidency.”190 Moreover, it was granted mere days after then-President Trump agreed to honor China’s One-China policy—an arrangement under which the U.S. recognizes formal diplomatic relations with China but not Taiwan—during a call then-President Trump had with President Xi.191
The expansion of Trump business interests in China also included former President Trump’s daughter and White House Advisor, Ivanka Trump. The Chinese government granted Ivanka Trump’s business “first trial” approval on one trademark on May 6, 2018, and registration approval for five additional trademarks the following day.192 Within a week, on May 13, 2018, President Trump announced on Twitter that he had personally instructed the Commerce Department to reverse its decision to sanction ZTE, a Chinese telecommunications company.193
The following month, on June 7, 2018, Ivanka Trump Marks LLC received trademark registration approval for three additional trademarks in China.194
In her official role, Ms. Trump met with world leaders as a representative of the United States abroad and alongside then-President Trump. Although Ms. Trump reportedly curtailed her day-to-day involvement in her company in January 2017, she did not divest from it, and the company continued applying for trademarks abroad to license the Ivanka Trump name.195
Early in the Trump Administration, the Chinese government reportedly identified Ms. Trump and her husband, Jared Kushner, as a promising channel through which to thaw relations with the new president after his abrasive campaign rhetoric regarding China.196 On March 28, 2017, IT Operations LLC, one of Ivanka Trump’s holding companies, filed 14 applications for trademarks in China.197 One day later, Ivanka Trump formally joined the Trump Administration as an Advisor to the President. The next month, in April 2017, the Chinese government preliminarily granted three trademarks for Ivanka Trump Marks LLC, another holding company owned by Ivanka Trump, to expand her brand in China. Ms. Trump received the trademark approvals the same day that then-President Trump hosted Chinese President Xi in Mar-a-Lago, Florida, along with Ivanka Trump and Mr. Kushner, who was then a Senior Advisor to President Trump.198
In mid-2018, Ivanka Trump announced she would dissolve her fashion brand.199 Despite this announcement, Ivanka Trump Marks LLC continued to retain trademarks in China. The Chinese government preliminarily granted “first-trial approval” for 16 trademarks for fashion items and other goods—including, notably, voting machines—to Ivanka Trump in 2018.200 Ivanka Trump continued to receive trademarks from the Chinese government through 2019, when Ivanka Trump Marks LLC received provisional approval for five trademarks that covered, for example, “child care centers […] brokerage, charitable fundraising and art valuation services.”201
Public reporting indicated that by April 2019, the Chinese government had granted a total of 41 trademarks to companies associated with Ivanka Trump and that her companies had received trademark approvals roughly 40% faster after Donald Trump won the 2016 U.S. presidential election than had been the case prior to the election.202
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Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
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The mix of irony and stupidity
2024-01-04.COA DEMS - Mazars Report.pdf (house.gov)
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Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
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CONCLUSION
This report has documented the payment of many millions of dollars in unconstitutional emoluments to Trump-owned businesses from at least 20 foreign governments as well as entities and lobbyists acting on their behalf. As noted, given the incompleteness of the documents received by the Committee and Chairman Comer’s decision to act in concert with former President Trump’s attorneys to block the production of additional records, this total is likely but a small fraction of the full universe of foreign emolument spending that took place during the Trump presidency in violation of the U.S. Constitution.
President Trump’s pervasive use of the presidency for personal financial gain is particularly alarming given not only the significant dollar amounts and multiplicity of countries involved, but also former President Trump’s repeated indications of his willingness to allow his personal financial interest to dictate policy decisions he made as President. The rich profits that Trump businesses reaped from those countries, at best, leaves subject to question whether the often favorable treatment they received from the Trump Administration resulted from the former President’s bona fide judgment about advancing the vital interests of the United States, or his desire to perpetuate the substantial personal enrichment he enjoyed from the lavish emolument spending by those countries.
As he accepted these payments, Mr. Trump ignored the Foreign Emolument Clause’s explicit requirement that he obtain congressional authorization before pocketing such gifts— never even seeking, let alone securing, the consent of Congress to his receipt of these large-scale emoluments. No president has ever come so close to brazenly ignoring the Foreign Emoluments Clause.
These facts demonstrate the need for urgent congressional action to prevent future presidents and senior officials from serving under similarly grave conflicts of interest and unconstitutional arrangements. Accordingly, this report recommends that Congress expeditiously consider adopting measures that would require presidents and senior executive officials to disclose to Congress their receipt of any foreign emoluments, set forth an explicit procedure for presidents and senior officials to seek the requisite congressional authorization for the receipt and retention of emoluments, and require the disclosure of payments to entities in which a sitting president has a financial interest “of any kind whatever” by officials and lobbyists acting on behalf of kings, princes, and foreign governments.
2024-01-04.COA DEMS - Mazars Report.pdf (house.gov)
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