On Capitol Hill, a growing number of lawmakers from both parties support banning themselves from holding stock while in office. But as for the White House – the president’s initials are literally a stock ticker.
The fact that President Donald Trump has a family business, currently run by his son Eric, almost feels normal at this point, but the potential gift of a 747 by Qatar for him to use as Air Force One has renewed questions about the legality and propriety of a president getting things from foreign countries.
The plane would be for official use, but the questions come at a time when the Trump family businesses were already expanding their imprint overseas.
Republicans temper criticism of jet plan
One reason the idea of Qatar giving the Pentagon a jet for Trump to use as president is getting so much attention is that even many Republicans are unwilling to endorse the idea.
“I think we ought to have a big, beautiful jet, but I’d like it to be made in the United States of America,” said Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri, appearing Wednesday on CNN’s “Inside Politics.”
AG Pam Bondi, former lobbyist for Qatar, OKed the potential gift
GOP lawmakers who control Capitol Hill don’t really like the idea of Qatar’s gift, but for now they seem willing to accept it. The Trump administration insists the gift would be above board based on an as-yet-unseen-by-the-public memo from former lobbyist for Qatar and current US Attorney General Pam Bondi.
Hawley, while gently disagreeing with Trump, was more critical of Qatar, arguing there are more valuable things the country could do than give the US president a jet.
“Like, for example, quit harboring Islamic Jihadist terrorists who are trying to kill Americans everywhere they can get their hands on them,” he said, perhaps referring to Hamas. “That would probably be at the top of my list.”
Such criticisms could be extended to Saudi Arabia, whose Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman was found by a US intelligence assessment to have OKed the murder of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018.
Now, the Saudi leader has triumphantly welcomed Trump, whose US golf courses host tournaments for the Saudi-owned LIV tour.
Trump justified accepting the jet as “a gimme,” a golf term for a free putt.
Skyscrapers, golf courses and cryptocurrency
As CNN Investigates documented, Trump has a portfolio of real estate deals centered on the Middle East and the countries he visited during the first major foreign trip of his second term.
Trump’s son Eric now leads the family business, which is working on plans for developments and golf courses in Saudi Arabia, UAE and Qatar. The CNN report also notes that an Emirati-backed investment firm agreed to use a cryptocurrency launched by Trump’s crypto company for a $2 billion investment in crypto exchange Binance. The Trump-linked company, World Liberty Financial, was cofounded by Zach Witkoff, the son of Steve Witkoff, Trump’s special envoy to the Middle East.
The New York Times reported this week that an obscure Chinese company announced investment in a meme coin that benefits Trump. Trump has offered invitations to a special appearance at his Virginia golf club and a White House tour to people that invest the most, drawing the attention of foreign investors.
There are few checks on crypto
The Trump family’s involvement with crypto should be setting off alarm bells, according to Eswar Prasad, an economist at Cornell University.
“You have a government official, no less than the leader of the free world, essentially creating and promoting a rampant vehicle for financial speculation and then using his office to promote it and directly profit from it,” Prasad told CNN’s Jake Tapper on “The Lead” Wednesday.
With little oversight from a Congress controlled by Republicans and Trump in charge of the financial regulators, Prasad said there are few checks on what Trump can do.
“The question is who is going to restrain Trump and his family from doing this, and as president of the United States, it’s not obvious there is anybody who can stop him,” Prasad said.
Argument: Trump doesn’t need the money
Hawley pointed to Trump’s announcement of deals for the foreign countries to invest in the US as worth the trade.
“I think nobody believes that Donald Trump can be bought,” Hawley said. “I mean, what does Donald Trump need more money for?”
“It’s great that these other countries now want to get close to America again,” Hawley added, arguing Trump should be allowed to do what’s in the country’s interests, like pursue promises made by Gulf nations for hundreds of billions of dollars’ worth of investment in the US.
‘In order to collect tribute’
One person who does seem to think Trump can be bought is Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy.
“The president is in the Middle East, in order to collect tribute from these countries,” Murphy said on CNN Tuesday night. “He went to Qatar, and the Emiratis, and the Saudis, because they are willing to pay him money.”
Not true, according to White House
“It’s frankly ridiculous that anyone in this room would even suggest that President Trump is doing anything for his own benefit,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters last week in preparation for the trip.
One of Trump’s closest associates, Elon Musk, was able to pair personal business with government business when he tagged along for the trip.
Elon Musk announces Saudi Starlink deal
Appearing on a stage with Saudi Communications and Information Minister Abdullah Alswaha, Musk thanked the kingdom for approving Starlink, the Internet provider owned by his company SpaceX. Alswaha hinted that Tesla robotaxis could soon come to the kingdom after the car maker started selling vehicles there in April, according to CNN’s report.
Back in the US, Democratic lawmakers demanded a corruption investigation of Musk, citing a Washington Post report this month that Lesotho specifically approved Starlink as part of its strategy to negotiate tariffs with Trump.
Banning stocks for lawmakers
Hawley has been a leader on Capitol Hill in calling for new restrictions on how lawmakers can benefit from their positions. He wrote the PELOSI Act, which is short for Preventing Elected Leaders from Owning Securities and Investments and nods at stock trades made by former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband, Paul, a venture capitalist.
The legislation would bar lawmakers from holding or selling stock outside of a blind trust while in office. House Speaker Mike Johnson endorsed the idea this week.
But it would not affect Trump, whose family business appears to be booming.
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