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Profiting off the Presidency: The Threats of Trump's Emoluments

Writer's picture: Pandora Editorial StaffPandora Editorial Staff

The 47th President of the United States of America and a convicted felon, Donald Trump is now a repeat offender of the Constitution’s Foreign and Domestic Emoluments Clauses as he has once again, failed to divest from his businesses. 


The U.S. Constitution’s Emoluments Clauses aim to prevent financial conflicts of interest for sitting presidents and other government officials. The Foreign Emoluments Clause in particular prohibits the president and other persons holding government office from accepting profits, gains, or advantages from foreign governments without congressional approval. 


President Donald Trump speaks with Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Deputy Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, during their meeting Tuesday, March 14, 2017, in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, D.C. (Image: The White House / Shealah Craighead)
President Donald Trump speaks with Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Deputy Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, during their meeting Tuesday, March 14, 2017, in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, D.C. (Image: The White House / Shealah Craighead)

Similarly, the Domestic Emoluments Clause bars the president from receiving any profits, gains, or advantages from the federal government—beyond their official salary and benefits—or from individual states. These clauses were deliberately crafted in broad terms, in recognition of the various ways a president’s personal financial interests could undermine their loyalty.


Before assuming office, the Constitution mandates that Trump completely divest from any businesses that generate profits, gains, or advantages—beyond his official salary—through the federal government or individual states. Additionally, without congressional approval, he must also divest from any businesses benefiting financially from foreign governments. 


To date, Trump has not indicated any intention to divest from his businesses during his second term, nor has he suggested that he will seek congressional consent to retain the millions of dollars in payments and other benefits he is expected to receive from foreign governments.


Staff reports and other documents at Trump’s former accounting firm Mazars USA LLC, released by Rep. Jamie Raskin, Ranking Member of the Committee on Oversight and Accountability, revealed that Trump 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 during his first term in office.


This astonishing sum accounts for payments to only two years of his presidency and four of the over 500 entities Trump owned during his presidency: Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C., Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas, Trump Tower on Fifth Avenue in New York, and Trump World Tower at 845 United Nations Plaza in New York.


Upon assuming the role of Oversight Committee Chairman in January 2023, Republican Rep. James Comer permitted President Trump's attorneys to represent the Committee’s interests and halt the production of additional responsive records, effectively burying evidence. Consequently, the $7.8 million outlined in this report—derived from just two years of his presidency and linked to only four of his more than 500 businesses—likely represents only a fraction of the payments Trump received from foreign governments while in office, in violation of the Constitution’s Foreign Emoluments Clause.


Several key documents were seemingly never provided to or retained by Mazars. Records indicate that Azerbaijan, Georgia, Namibia, Romania, and Costa Rica had accounts at Trump-owned properties after his election, yet Mazars did not supply details on their expenditures. 


Additionally, Mazars indicated that it had no records of a $20 million loan from South Korean company Daewoo, which Trump failed to report in his financial disclosures, nor could it provide ledgers for properties frequented by foreign government visitors, including Trump Turnberry in Scotland, Trump International in Chicago, and Trump International in New York.


However, the limited records obtained by Committee Democrats indicate that the government of the People’s Republic of China and companies owned and/or substantially controlled by them have spent $5,572,548 at Trump-owned properties. The state-owned Hainan Airlines paid $195,662 in charges at the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas. At the time, its affiliate HNA Group faced increasing scrutiny from U.S. federal regulators as it sought to expand investments in the U.S.


After his first election, Trump admitted his foreign business ties posed “a little conflict of interest”—a massive understatement—yet took no real action to address them. His violations of anti-corruption laws are likely to escalate in his second term. When asked about divesting, he dismissed concerns, calling $8 million “a small amount” and justifying earnings from his hotels and clubs.


Despite selling the Trump International Hotel in D.C.—once a hotspot for foreign and state government payments—his businesses remain poised to receive millions in constitutionally prohibited funds. With his properties still offering opportunities for foreign influence and his majority stake in a publicly traded social media company, the risks have only grown.


Documentation by Committee Democrats reports similar covert lobbying by several nations—often with apparent end-goals. ICBC, one of China’s largest state-owned banks, signed a lease in Trump Tower in 2008 and remained a long-term tenant. According to an SEC debt prospectus, ICBC was set to pay $1.95 million annually through October 31, 2019. Committee Democrats estimate that between February 2017 and the lease’s expiration, ICBC paid Trump Tower at least $5.36 million. During this period, President Trump declined to sanction Chinese banks, including ICBC, despite evidence of their financial ties to North Korea.


Although the full record is unknown, over 150 foreign government officials from 77 countries visited Trump properties, believing it signaled a close bond with the U.S. For example, a visit by the Saudi Crown Prince helped the Trump International Hotel in New York profit in 2018. 


In June 2017, Saudi Arabia, the U.A.E., and other Gulf nations cut diplomatic ties with Qatar and imposed a blockade, triggering a regional crisis. While publicly lobbying for President Trump's support, Saudi Arabia and the U.A.E. privately spent hundreds of thousands of dollars at Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C., while Saudi Arabia and Qatar also made payments at Trump World Tower in New York. 


During a 2015 campaign rally, Trump openly acknowledged his financial ties to the Saudis, stating, "They buy apartments from me. They spend $40 million, $50 million... Am I supposed to dislike them?" President Trump’s loyalties are quite purchasable—and quite illegal in the eyes of the law.


Entrance sign for Trump International Hotel & Tower Waikiki, surrounded by green plants and flowers. Sunlight casts shadows on the building.
Trump International Hotel and Tower (Honolulu). (Image: Wikimedia Commons)

Beyond monetary payments, foreign governments granted Trump valuable benefits, including 70 trademarks from 11 countries, special economic status for a project in Indonesia, a Chinese company hired to build a Trump-branded golf course in Dubai, and approval for his Irish golf resort expansion despite environmental concerns.


During Trump’s first year in office, three separate lawsuits were filed against him for violating the Emoluments Clauses. One was brought by an ethics watchdog and hospitality industry workers (CREW v. Trump), another by hundreds of members of Congress (Blumenthal v. Trump), and the third by Maryland and the District of Columbia.


These cases raised unprecedented legal questions—no court had ever litigated either Emoluments Clause in over 200 years. In the congressional lawsuit, the Supreme Court declined to hear the case in October, letting stand a DC Circuit ruling that lawmakers lacked standing to sue. 


In 2021, the Justice Department urged the Supreme Court to dismiss the cases and wipe out lower court rulings that found a violation of the emoluments clauses. Allowing them to stand would leave "an erroneous decision on the books that this Court has not had a meaningful opportunity to review," government lawyers said, as NBC News reports.


In a brief order, the Supreme Court dismissed the cases as moot since Trump was no longer in office and ordered the lower courts to vacate their rulings, wiping the earlier decisions off the books.


Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) identify several potential sources of emolument in President Trump's second term. As the majority stakeholder in Trump Media & Technology Group (TMTG), which owns Truth Social, Trump is eligible to sell his shares of TMTG stock starting September 20, 2024. 


Any significant government purchase of NASDAQ: DJT stock (how TMTG is traded) could raise concerns, along with transactions that inflate its value, personal data use, and government use of the platform. Additionally, five foreign governments are expected to pay nearly $2 million in monthly fees for units in Trump World Tower during his second term.


Moreover, the Saudi-funded LIV Golf League, which has hosted events at Trump clubs since 2021, may continue paying Trump businesses for golf tournaments. The Trump Organization has also signed agreements for new developments in Oman, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE, projects that could receive significant government benefits during his second term. These entanglements raise continued concerns about the potential conflicts between Trump's financial interests and his official duties.


Trump's known conflicts of interest are likely only a fraction of the potential issues. Many of the emoluments he received during his first term were not anticipated before the 2016 election. As Trump serves his second term, foreign governments are likely to find new, unforeseen ways to do business with him.


Given the ongoing and escalating nature of Trump’s financial entanglements, it seems highly probable that another lawsuit challenging his violations of the Emoluments Clauses will emerge in the near future. As new evidence of foreign governments funneling money to Trump’s businesses during his second term surfaces, legal challenges may intensify, with ethics watchdogs, congressional members, and state governments once again looking to hold him accountable. 


With the current conservative majority in the Supreme Court, there is a real risk that these cases could face an uphill battle, potentially hindering efforts to enforce anti-corruption measures and protect the integrity of the office. 


This raises troubling questions about the extent to which Trump’s financial interests will continue to influence his policy decisions, particularly when it comes to foreign relations. The potential for conflicts of interest—whether through foreign government spending at Trump properties or his influence over policies benefiting his personal business ventures—remains a significant concern, further complicating the already fraught intersection of power, politics, and business in his second term. 


Without a legal framework strong enough to curtail such financial entanglements, the risk of emoluments violations will persist, undermining the very purpose of the Constitution’s anti-corruption provisions.



 

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Keywords:

Trump Emoluments Violations, Foreign Government Payments, Trump Business Conflicts, Constitutional Violations Trump, Trump Financial Entanglements, Trump Corruption Scandals, Trump Second Term Ethics, Trump Foreign Influence, Trump Hotel Payments, Trump Legal Challenges, Trump Supreme Court Cases, Trump Conflict of Interest, Trump Business Deals, Trump International Investments, Trump Ethics Violations.

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