A new report claims that Donald Trump's businesses received over $7.8 million from foreign governments during his presidency.
A 156-page report released by House Democrats -- "White House for Sale: How Princes, Prime Ministers, and Premiers Paid Off President Trump" -- claims millions of dollars were paid to the Trump International Hotels in Washington, D.C. and Las Vegas, Trump Tower on Fifth Avenue in New York, and Trump World Tower in New York.
"While former President Trump was in office, he received at least $7.8 million from 20 governments, including the governments of China, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait, and Malaysia, through his businesses," the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability said in a statement. "This staggering figure reflects payments to just four of the more than 500 entities Trump owned while he was in office."
According to the committee, the $7.8 million detailed in the report is based on limited records produced by Trump's former accounting firm, Mazars USA LLC, for just two years of his presidency and is likely "just a small fraction" of the payments Trump received from foreign governments while in office. The report argues that the payments were in violation of the Constitution's foreign emoluments clause.
"Former President Donald Trump repeatedly and willfully violated the U.S. Constitution by failing to divest from his business empire and allowing his businesses to accept millions of dollars in payments from some of the most corrupt nations on earth," Rep. Jamie Raskin, Ranking Member of the Committee on Oversight and Accountability, said in a statement.
The majority of payments -- nearly $5.6 million -- came from the Chinese government and Chinese state-owned enterprises, according to the report. Another $615,000 came from Saudi Arabia, $465,744 from Qatar, $300,000 from Kuwait, $282,764 from India, $248,962 from Malaysia, and $154,750 came from Afghanistan, per the report. Embassies or officials from other countries also made payments ranging from $74,810 (Philippines) to $590 (Cyprus).
"These countries spent -- often lavishly -- on apartments and hotel stays at Donald Trump's properties -- personally enriching President Trump while he made foreign policy decisions connected to their policy agendas with far-reaching ramifications for the United States," the report states.
The Trump Organization previously said it had donated profits from its business with foreign governments to the U.S. Treasury. However, the amount reportedly donated "falls well short of estimated foreign payments that were made to its properties," CNN reported. According to The Washington Post, the donations were $151,470 for 2017 and $191,538 for 2018.
Democrats are releasing the report as a counter to the Republican-led investigation into the President Joe Biden's family's business dealings.
Eric Trump, the former president's son, called the report "insane."
"We do not have the ability or viability to stop someone from booking through third parties -- Expedia etc -- hence the voluntary donation of profits ... which has been covered ad nauseam," Eric Trump told ABC News. "That narrative is insane, especially given there is no President in United States history who was tougher on China than Donald Trump… a President who introduced billions and billions of dollars worth of tariffs on their goods and services."