On Jan 22, Democratic Representative Robert Garcia went through some of the evidence of the money-making schemes that Trump and Jared Kushner used while in power.
Dirty Money
According to a report published by the House Oversight Committee, four Trump-owned businesses received almost $8 million from foreign governments and government officials during Trump’s time in the White House. The money came from China, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar.
Direct Accusation
The report is titled “White House for Sale: How Princes, Prime Ministers, and Premiers Paid Off President Trump.” It concludes that Trump “repeatedly and wilfully” violated the foreign emoluments clause of the Constitution, which bans the president from accepting such money without the explicit permission of Congress.
Large Scale
“Donald Trump and his family, especially the Kushners, participated in the largest presidential grift in history,” Garcia said in a speech in Congress.
Extensive Evidence
“We have records of 24 governments funneling millions into Trump properties and into Donald Trump’s pockets while he was president,” Garcia said, “all in violation of the US Constitution.”
Just a Slice
“This is just the tip of the iceberg,” Garcia claimed. In early January, he told MSNBC that the House Oversight Committee’s report “was only able to get documents from four properties. Donald Trump has hundreds of properties and allied businesses all around the world. So we’re getting just a small slice of an enormous corruption grift that we’ve got to uncover.”
Family Connections
“Think about the amount of corruption in Saudi Arabia,” Garcia continued. “Jared Kushner [Trump’s son-in-law] gets appointed the lead person in the Middle East, against the desires of his own secretary of state, Trump’s Rex Tillerson. He’s the main envoy; he puts together a $110 billion arms deal, [and] he starts producing all sorts of deals with the Saudis.”
Dodgy Deal
Six months after Trump left office, Kushner’s private equity fund received a $2 billion loan from a fund controlled by Mohammed bin Salman, the crown prince of Saudi Arabia. A due diligence panel strongly advised against the loan, calling Kushner’s fund “unsatisfactory in all aspects,” but bin Salman overrode all objections.
Personal Gain
According to Vanity Fair, the deal included a $25 million payout to Kushner — regardless of how well he used the loan. The loan was, in Vanity Fair’s words, “a thank-you for being so good to a human rights-abusing autocrat.”
Center of controversy
Bin Salman was the center of controversy in 2018 when it was revealed that he ordered the assassination of dissident journalist — and US resident — Jamal Khashoggi. Khashoggi was strangled, and his body dismembered with a bone saw.
Brushing Off Accusations
Bin Salman denied ordering the killing, but the CIA later concluded that he had. According to the New York Times, Kushner urged Trump to continue supporting the Saudi prince, and he later dismissed the “outrage” over the killing as mere “criticism.”
Widespread Problems
According to Citizens for Ethics, Trump accrued no fewer than 3,737 conflicts of interest while in office. “There are likely hundreds, perhaps even thousands more conflicts that we have no way of knowing about,” the organization added. “There is absolutely no doubt that Trump tried at every turn to use the presidency to benefit his bottom line.”
Conflicts of Interest
“Despite the attempted cover-ups,” Garcia said, “we can still prove that Trump and Jared Kushner were making national security decisions while he and his family were getting bribed and paid by the same foreign powers.”
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