TRUMP’S FOREIGN CONFLICTS OF INTEREST
Former president Trump’s criminal and civil court cases have been getting a lot of attention lately. Lost in all of this activity – and to-date unprosecuted – are his substantial conflicts of interest while president based on his foreign businesses and his interactions with foreign government officials and business people. Given the strong evidence that his decisions and actions as President were influenced by these relationships, these conflicts of interest are likely violations of the Constitution, as well as ethics and bribery laws.
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The Foreign Emoluments Clause in Article 1 of the Constitution states that “[N]o Person holding any Office of … [the United States], shall … accept … any present, Emolument [i.e., benefit], … of any kind whatever, from any … foreign State.” President Trump probably violated this provision of the Constitution in three different ways. First, he failed to disclose gifts worth more than $250,000 that he received from foreign governments or officials. (U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Accountability, 3/17/23, “Oversight Democrats release evidence showing Trump first family failed to disclose and account for more than $250,000 worth of foreign government gifts”)
Second, four of his U.S. businesses received at least $7.8 million from foreign entities in 20 countries in his first two years in office. This total is from only four of Trump’s over 500 businesses and is in a report from a congressional investigation based on records from the Trump organization’s accounting firm. The investigation was ended by Republicans when they took control of the House in 2022 and they told the accounting firm it did not need to provide documents it had been ordered to provide by a court. The bulk of this money, $5.6 million, came from China and most of it from a Chinese bank that leased space in the Trump Tower in New York. The other countries topping the list are Saudi Arabia ($615,000), Qatar ($466,000), Kuwait, ($303,000), India ($283,000), and Malaysia ($249,000). (Konig, J., Semyon, C., & Diamante, R., 1/4/24, “Trump collected millions from China, other foreign governments as president, House Democratic report says,” Spectrum News; Beitsch, R., 1/4/24, “Trump businesses took in nearly $8 million from foreign governments: House Democrats,” The Hill)
These countries, and indeed all countries, have significant interests in U.S. foreign policy decisions. Therefore, this revenue to the Trump Organization created conflicts of interest for President Trump. For example, Trump was making decisions that significantly affected trade with China, including the imposition of tariffs. The Trump administration was also deciding on a $100 billion arms deal with Saudi Arabia, as well as deciding how to respond to the murder of American journalist Jamal Khashoggi by the Saudi government.
Third, data from the first two years of Trump’s presidency show that he was making substantial sums of money from his foreign properties and interests, while also continuing to pursue new ventures despite a promise not to do so. Trump had properties and licensing arrangements in at least 30 countries including China, Qatar, Russia, Saudia Arabia, Turkey, and the United Arab Emirates. His foreign assets were worth at least $130 million. In many cases, it appears foreign business and political leaders were making efforts to gain influence with Trump.(Massoglia, A., & Evers-Hillstrom, K., 6/4/19, “World of influence: A guide to Trump’s foreign business interests,” Open Secrets)
Based on an analysis of Trump’s tax returns, he made as much as $160 million from foreign business activities while president. Although it is probably impossible to know with certainty, there’s plenty of evidence to suggest that Trump’s actions as president were influenced by his financial interests. For example, his decision to abruptly end U.S. support for the Kurdish people on the Turkey-Syria border was highly appreciated by Turkey’s political leaders. Trump’s actions supporting the Chinese company ZTE after it had been sanctioned for allowing its products to be used to spy on Americans was shocking to many, including Republicans and the intelligence services. Meanwhile, Trump’s tax returns showed more than $7.5 million in income from China. In Argentina, Trump delayed enacting tariffs until after trademarks for his company had been approved. Trump pushed the British government to hold the British Open golf tournament at one of his Scottish golf courses. And the list of foreign conflicts of interest goes on and on. (Jacobs, R., & Maguire, R., 4/13/23, “Trump made up to $160 million from foreign countries as president,” Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington)
Trump will probably never be prosecuted for these conflicts of interest (although several groups have filed related lawsuits) but their effects on U.S. domestic and foreign policies, as well as actions taken and not taken by the federal government, were very significant and should not be forgotten. With this context, the hypocrisy of congressional Republicans’ “investigation” of Hunter Biden’s business activities is mind boggling. This hypocrisy is underscored by the lack of investigation of Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, and the $2 billion investment his new asset management firm received from the Saudis shortly after he left his White House role overseeing Mideast policy.