Six countries spent $750,000 at Trump’s hotel while he was president

• Six countries spent hundreds of thousands of dollars at Trump hotels.
• Why did this happen?
• Did Trump profit from foreign governments while in office?

The governments of China, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates spent more than $750,000 at the Trump International Hotel during former Republican President Donald Trump’s tenure as they tried to influence his administration, it was revealed today.

The House Oversight and Reform Committee pointed out in a statement that this amount is higher than previously known and that it was disbursed at a time when the relations between those countries with the United States were «delicate».

Foreign governments funneled money to Trump

Their respective delegations booked rooms at the Trump’s DC hotel while visiting the country at a rate of up to $10,000 per night.

“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,” said committee chair Carolyn Maloney.

Did they denounce Donald Trump?

In 2019, the Committee had requested financial statements from Mazars USA and the audits prepared by Trump and some of his companies, including the Trump International Hotel. After years of legal battles both parties reached an agreement in September to access those records.

The information comes from Mazars USA, an accounting firm used by the former president and his companies. These documents reflect, for example, that between September 7 and 15, 2017, then Malaysian Prime Minister, Najib Razak, and his entourage spent «at least» $259,725 at the Trump Hotel.

The Malaysian prime minister was investigated

At that time, it was recalled, Razak and his family were being investigated by the Department of Justice for money laundering through US financial institutions. Delegations from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates spent «at least» $164,929 from the end of 2017 to mid-2018.

In March of that last year, while representatives of both countries were staying at that hotel, Trump fired his Secretary of State Rex Tillerson. The committee stressed today that Trump had come under pressure to get rid of him because of his efforts to stop the Saudi invasion of Qatar the previous summer.

Leaked documents

The committee also made it known that in the three months before Trump received Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani at the White House and praised Qatar’s fight against terrorism, members and companies from that country spent more than $300,000 in his hotel.

What was revealed has led Maloney to ask the National Archives to deliver records on Trump’s conduct in office and on attempts by foreign governments to influence his administration, including all documents and communications related to the Trump Hotel or stays at his other properties, by November 28. With information from EFE.