Senior officials from six countries, including Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, spent more than $750,000 (726,000 euros) at former U.S. President Donald Trump’s hotel in Washington during his first two years in office in an alleged effort to influence the former president’s decisions.
Documents obtained by the House Oversight and Reform Committee through Mazars USA, Trump’s former accounting firm, show that the governments of China, Malaysia, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates spent tens of thousands of dollars as a way to influence the foreign policy of the former US administration, ‘The Washington Post’ has reported.
The hotel’s accounting records, which show up to stays of 10,000 euros per room per night, show revenues of more than 280,000 euros from Qatar; 242,000 euros from Malaysia; 87,000 euros from the Saudis or more than 71,000 euros from the United Arab Emirates.
More specifically, the Malaysian Prime Minister spent €1,500 on a personal trainer during his eight-day stay. The Saudi Ministry of Defense spent 83,000 euros on the hotel for members of a Saudi delegation, which included suites at 10,172 per night. Meanwhile, Qatari officials spent more than 290,000 euros during the three months leading up to a meeting between Trump and the emir of the Arab country, according to the aforementioned newspaper.
The documents also note that, two months before a meeting between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping in October 2017, a Chinese delegation spent 19,000 euros at the Trump Hotel.
«These documents sharply 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 Monday the chairwoman of the committee investigating the case in the US Congress, Democrat Carolyn Maloney.
The Oversight Committee’s findings, based on reports obtained by ‘The Washington Post’, detail how Trump’s hotel benefited from foreign governments during his time in office and emphasize whether lines were crossed between his business and his administration at the head of the White House.
This report has seen the light of day before the former US president makes «a special announcement» in which he will presumably present his candidacy for the 2024 presidential elections, although he could gather less support than expected within the Republican Party after the results of last week’s mid-term elections.
