Foreign officials spent "hundreds of thousands" at Trump's D.C. hotel
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The former Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C., in November 2021. Photo: Win McNamee/Getty Images
Foreign government officials spent hundreds of thousands of dollars at the former Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C., throughout former President Trump's term in office, according to findings released by the House Committee on Oversight and Reform on Monday.
Why it matters: The committee said officials for the governments of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Turkey, China and Malaysia collectively spent more than $750,000 at the property "at sensitive times for those countries’ relations with the United States."
- In light of the documents, Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.), chair of the Oversight Committee, sent a letter to the National Archives and Records Administration requesting all documents and communications related to stays at and foreign payments to the property or other Trump-owned locations.
Driving the news: Earlier this year, the committee had also released receipts showing that the Trump Organization charged Secret Service agents "excessive nightly rates" at its properties during dozens of Trump's trips.
What they're saying: "Today, I am releasing the first set of documents revealing that, during the same time periods they were seeking to influence American foreign policy, six nations spent more than $750,000 at President Trump’s hotel—renting lavish rooms for up to $10,000 per night," Maloney said in a statement.
- "These documents sharply call into question the extent to which President Trump was guided by his personal financial interest while in office rather than the best interests of the American people," she added.
- The chairwoman said the findings were based on new documents the committee obtained from Trump’s former accounting firm, Mazars USA.
The other side: "As a company, we went to tremendous lengths to avoid even the appearance of a conflict of interest, not due to any legal requirement, but because of the respect we have towards the office of the Presidency," Eric Trump, executive vice president of the Trump Organization, said in a statement Monday.
- "We walked away from billions of dollars in new deals, ceased all international expansion, engaged with an outside ethics advisor to review any material transactions and furthermore, have voluntarily donated all profits from foreign government patronage at our properties back to the United States Treasury on an annual basis," he added.
By the numbers: In one instance, the then-Prime Minister of Malaysia Najib Razak and his delegation spent more than $259,000 at the Trump Hotel from Sept. 7, 2017, to Sept. 15, 2017.
- Razak had met Trump at the White House on Sept. 12.
- At the time of the meeting and the stay, the Department of Justice was investigating Razak and his family for looting a Malaysian sovereign wealth fund and laundering the money through U.S. financial institutions, per the Oversight Committee.
The big picture: Throughout his presidency, Trump maintained ownership of the Trump Organization through a revocable trust, with his oldest sons, Eric and Donald Jr., at the helm.
- The Trump Organization sold the D.C. hotel to a Miami-based investor fund in May 2022.
Go deeper: John Kelly says Trump wanted to "get the IRS on" James Comey
Editor's note: This story has been updated with additional details throughout.
