The Trump International Hotel received at least $259,724 during a visit by Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak and other officials in September 2017 while the US Department of Justice was investigating its role in a money laundering scandal, according to a statement released by the Democratic-led House Oversight. Commission. Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates spent at least $164,929 in the same year and in 2018 on hotel stays, trying to win support after Qatar was blocked, according to the committee, citing documents from former Trump accountants Mazars USA. For its part, Qatar spent more than $300,000 on the hotel. Heavy foreign government spending on Donald Trump’s hotel, since it was sold to a Miami-based investment firm, has been reported before, but the details and timing of this payment snapshot are new. Two days after the Saudis stayed in March 2018, the committee noted, then-President Trump approved $1.3 billion in arms sales to the country. “These documents strongly call into question the extent to which President Trump has been guided by his personal financial interests during his time in office, rather than the interest of the American people,” said Oversight Committee Chairwoman Carolyn Maloney, D-New York. Get The Times of Israel Daily Edition by email and never miss our top stories By signing up, you agree to the terms The Trump Organization said the former president was not only affected by spending on his hotel and other properties, but made an effort to avoid even the appearance of being so affected. Eric Trump speaks at a campaign rally, Oct. 26, 2020, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Matt York) “We have walked away from new multi-billion dollar deals, stopped all international expansion, engaged an outside ethics counsel to review any significant transactions, and in addition, voluntarily donated all profits from foreign government support to our properties to the United States Treasury Department on an annual basis. base,” said Eric Trump, a son who helps run the business. “No president has made a greater financial sacrifice for the benefit of the country.” The Trump Hotel below the White House, now a Waldorf Astoria, has been criticized since the beginning of Trump’s presidency for taking money from Republican politicians, corporations and foreign governments willing to do him a favor. The hotel lost tens of millions of dollars every year while he was in office, though the Trump family did well in the end — selling it for $375 million earlier this year, allowing it to make up to $100 million in profits. Along with the Mazars documents, the Oversight Committee released a letter sent Monday to the National Archives and Records Administration about reports and communications related to spending at the hotel and policies or investigations involving foreign governments at the time. The committee previously revealed that the Trump hotel had collected more than $3.75 million from foreign governments while Trump was president. Among the details in Monday’s release was that Prime Minister Razak spent $1,500 on a personal trainer and more than $8,000 on in-room meals while he is being investigated for money laundering in the US. The Malaysian government later prosecuted Razak. Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Defense spent $85,961 on a stay in March 2018, booking several suites at the hotel for $10,500 each, the most expensive rooms available. The Qatari government also spent heavily. Between January and early March 2018, the ruling family of Sheikh Al Thani paid nearly $300,000 for an extended stay at the hotel. Mazars documents show that lobbyists for the Turkish government and a state-owned bank spent more than $80,000 during a Justice Department money-laundering investigation of that bank that Istanbul wanted stopped, according to the committee. Two months before a meeting between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping in 2017, the country’s embassy spent nearly $20,000 on the hotel. Israeli policy said directly I joined the Times of Israel after many years covering US and Israeli politics for Jewish news outlets. I believe that covering Israeli politicians responsibly means presenting a 360-degree view of their words and actions – not just conveying what is happening, but also what it means in the larger context of Israeli society and the region. This is difficult to do because you can rarely take politicians at face value – you have to go the extra mile to present the full context and try to overcome your own biases. I am proud of our work that tells the story of Israeli politics straightforwardly and comprehensively. I believe that Israel is stronger and more democratic when professional journalists do this difficult job well. Your support of our work by joining The Times of Israel Community helps us ensure that we can continue to do so. Thank you, Tal Schneider, Political Correspondent Join our community Join our community Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this You are a devoted reader We are really glad that you read X Times of Israel articles last month. That’s why we started the Times of Israel ten years ago – to provide discerning readers like you with must-read coverage of Israel and the Jewish world. So now we have a request. Unlike other media, we have not set up a paywall. But because the journalism we do is expensive, we invite readers to whom The Times of Israel has become important to help support our work by joining The Times of Israel Community. For just $6 a month you can support our quality journalism by enjoying Times of Israel ADS-FREE, as well as access to exclusive content available only to members of the Times of Israel Community. Thank you, David Horowitz, founding editor of the Times of Israel Join our community Join our community Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this
