‘We’re looking at near raw bribery’: Did Trump take money from foreign governments for never-used rooms at his hotels?

  • 10/02/2019 11:19 am ET Sunny Hundal & Dara Brewton

Air Force says it sent crews to Trump’s Scottish resort up to 40 times

Ukraine isn’t the only thing on the minds of lawmakers investigating President Trump.

One point Democrats will repeatedly make is that Trump has undermined national security, not just in the manner he tried to bribe Ukraine to investigate his rival.

The House Oversight Committee is looking at whether groups, including foreign governments, have been booking rooms at Trump properties in an attempt to gain his favor, Politico reports. These rooms mostly sit empty, no one staying in them.

One member of the committee, Rep Gerry Connolly (D-VA), calls it “near raw bribery” saying, “that was the risk from Day One: foreign governments and others trying to seek favor because we know Trump pays attention to this.” Connolly goes on to say, “It’s an obvious attempt to curry favor with him.”

The Consitution forbids a president from making a profit from foreign governments which is why the majority of presidents divest themselves from their businesses. Something that Trump has not done.

While it is true that foreign leaders booking rooms in his hotels is not illegal, unless he asks them to do so, it’s still problematic as Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) explains:

“If true, at minimum, this suggests there is a culture of corruption that the administration has created. There’s a sense that to curry favor you have to engage in pay to play. That’s exactly what the American people hate about Washington.”

Trump claims people use his hotels because they are “the best” and not for any other reason.

These allegations do not come as a surprise to many people since there has already been investigations launched into the military’s use of the Trump property in Scotland and then there was the issue of Pence staying at a Trump property in Ireland hours away from his scheduled business. Plus, taxpayers are well aware of the millions being funneled into Trump’s business via his frequent golf trips.

 

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