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His family's wealth has increased by more than $3 billion, according to press estimates.
Former White House lawyers, diplomatic protocol officials and foreign affairs experts have told the Guardian that Donald Trump's receiving of foreign gifts and targeted investments is "unprecedented", as the White House is remaking US foreign policy under a "pay-for-access" code that surpasses past administrations with characteristic Trumpian excess.
The openness to foreign generosity was on full display this week as the US president was welcomed to Gulf states on his first major diplomatic trip abroad this term, signing deals he claimed were worth trillions of dollars and urging local leaders to invest, while saying he is reworking US foreign policy to prioritize America over concerns about human rights or international law for the profits of American businesses and taxpayers.
But quite often, the financial fallout has also benefited Trump himself. His family’s fortune has grown by more than $3 billion, according to press estimates, and the reported gains from cryptocurrency and other investment deals, such as plans for new Trump-branded family properties, could be much greater. Deals worth billions more have been signed by Trump’s close business associates, meaning their political support for the White House could translate into lucrative contracts abroad.
“ When we negotiate with other countries, the concern is that our negotiating position will change if someone does a favor or gives a gift to the president of the United States. Whether it’s trying to resolve the Russia-Ukraine war, the Middle East or anything else. You know, it creates the impression that the United States’ position can be changed and even bought ,” said Richard Painter, the chief White House ethics lawyer in the George W. Bush administration.
Others argue that the message the White House is sending is that American foreign policy is being sold to the highest bidder.
“Trump has put up a ‘for sale’ sign in front of the White House. “You’re definitely going to see Qatar and the UAE as a bidding war. Qatar says, ‘I’ll give you a $400 million airplane,’ and the UAE says, ‘Wait a minute, I’ll give your cryptocurrency company $2 billion ,’” said Norm Eisen, executive director of the legal advocacy group State Democracy Defenders Fund and a White House “ethics czar” and ambassador to the Czech Republic under Barack Obama.
In a particularly eye-catching incident this week, Qatar offered to give the US Department of Defense a Boeing 747-8 worth $400 million, which Trump had suggested he could use as Air Force One and then pass on to his presidential library after leaving office.
The plane has become a lightning rod among US Democrats, and critics have argued that it violates the constitution's emoluments clause that prohibits the president from accepting gifts from foreign entities.
Trump has called the plane a “great gesture” from Qatar and said it would be “foolish” for him not to accept the gift. One Democratic lawmaker has called the plane a “flying palace,” and even Maga’s ardent supporters, such as commentators Laura Loomer and Ben Shapiro, have publicly criticized it.
Painter suggested it would be similar to King George III giving George Washington a replica of the royal carriage to use on duty.
"Do you think the founders wouldn't have considered this a bribe? " he said.
But Gulf states have offered other incentives, including a $2 billion investment by UAE-controlled funds in a stablecoin tied to Trump, that could prompt the president to shape foreign policy in Abu Dhabi's favor.
An advisory sent to congressional Democrats this week and seen by the Guardian said: “President Trump and the Trump family have moved with dizzying speed to profit from a massive cryptocurrency fraud on the American people.”
The gifts, and in particular the possible gift of an airship, have led to a series of denunciations on Capitol Hill as they seek to build momentum for a legislative push.
“This is not America First. This is not what he promised the American people. This is Trump First. He is willing to jeopardize our nation’s security, to take unconstitutional bribes, just so he can fly himself and his Mar-a-Lago golf buddies around the world on gold-plated luxury jets that have been donated to him by foreign governments ,” said Chris Murphy, a Democratic senator from Connecticut.
Por a është e paligjshme? Meqenëse Katari do t’ia jepte avionin Departamentit të Mbrojtjes, disa ekspertë kanë thënë se kjo mund të mos e shkelë drejtpërdrejt klauzolën e pagave ose ligje të tjera, edhe nëse Trump do ta përdorte avionin sa ishte në detyrë.
“Nuk e kam parë kurrë më parë. A lejohet? Jam ende i pasigurt”, tha Scott Amey, këshilltari i përgjithshëm i Projektit mbi Mbikëqyrjen Qeveritare.
Administratat e kaluara do t’i ishin shmangur konflikteve të perceptuara të interesit, të cilat Trump i mirëpriste. Ish-këshilltarët e etikës në Shtëpinë e Bardhë përshkruan kriza të tilla si kur një shtet i Gjirit u përpoq t’i dhuronte një Rolex një këshilltari të sigurisë kombëtare, ose kur Boston Red Sox u përpoqën t’i dhuronin shefit të stafit të Shtëpisë së Bardhë një shkop bejsbolli të nënshkruar nga të gjithë lojtarët. Eisen tha se ai e ndaloi Obamën të rifinanconte edhe hipotekën e shtëpisë së tij në Çikago për shkak të aftësive të tij për të ndikuar në treg.
“Status quo-ja ka thënë jo, sepse është një konflikt interesi real dhe i dukshëm, dhe mund të rrezikojë politikat tona të brendshme dhe të jashtme. Sigurisht që nuk e kalon testin e nuhatjes për shumë amerikanë”, tha Amey.
Dhuratat dhe investimet e tjera bujare vijnë në një kohë kur Trump po riformëson politikën e Amerikës në Lindjen e Mesme, duke anashkaluar Izraelin dhe duke u kthyer drejt shteteve të Gjirit në një mori marrëveshjesh që mund t'u sjellin dobi të dyja palëve. Dhe familja e Trump dhe këshilltarë të tjerë, si Steve Witkoff, me interesa në shtetet e Gjirit, janë të përfshirë ngushtë.
“Kur erdhi administrata e parë Trump, pashë që njerëzit në Gjirin Persik thanë: ‘Më në fund, një administratë amerikane që e kuptojmë. Ai na dërgon dhëndrin e tij për të folur me ne. Është një ndryshim i habitshëm në normat amerikane… ideja që biznesi privat i familjes Trump dhe biznesi i qeverisë amerikane ecin krah për krah është e jashtëzakonshme”, tha Dr. F Gregory Gause III i Institutit të Lindjes së Mesme, një ish-profesor i çështjeve ndërkombëtare në Shkollën Bush.
Ndërsa dhuratat e mundshme si një avion nuk mund të fshihen, potenciali për të lëvizur fshehurazi miliarda dollarë në kriptomonedha i ka shqetësuar thellësisht mbikëqyrësit, opozitën politike dhe vëzhgues të tjerë të huaj.
"Po flasim për miliarda dollarë, para pothuajse të pafundme, që mund të paguhen nga kushdo", tha një diplomat i lartë evropian. Një firmë pak e njohur e lidhur me Kinën, pa të ardhura vitin e kaluar, bleu këtë javë një monedhë meme të Trump me vlerë 300 milionë dollarë, duke ngritur shqetësime të mëtejshme për hyrjen e parave të huaja të errëta në politikën amerikane.
Senate Democrats have called for a rewrite of the Genius Act, Trump-backed legislation that they say would provide for too-soft regulation of so-called stablecoins, with the aim of stopping them from profiting.
" If Congress is going to significantly increase the use of stablecoins and other cryptocurrencies, it should include safeguards that make it more difficult for criminals, terrorists, and foreign adversaries to exploit the financial system and jeopardize our national security ," the memo states.
The flood of foreign money has angered former officials who once carefully monitored the giving of gifts and other goods by foreign governments.
“The rules can be annoying and kind of idiotic, but they are what separate the good from the bad, in terms of corruption and good governance. And I think Trump just has no respect for those institutions that were created for a very specific purpose, which is to root out corruption. It is very, very disturbing that a president of the United States could be in a position to take advantage of the office that he holds. And this is, again, something that is never supposed to happen. And it is really quite extraordinary ,” said Rufus Gifford, a former head of protocol for the State Department, who also tracks gifts to US officials from foreign governments./ Adapted from TheGuardian Pamphlet
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