Report details ‘only a fraction’ of foreign spending at Trump’s businesses while president, top Democrat says – as it happened – The Guardian US
This blog is now closed. You can read our full report below:
The $7.8m spent by foreign governments at Donald Trump’s businesses during his presidency revealed in a report by House Democrats is “only a fraction” of what the former president may have actually received, a top lawmaker says.
Jamie Raskin, the ranking Democratic member on the House oversight committee, said lawmakers might have learned more if the panel’s Republican chair James Comer had not told Trump’s former accounting firm Mazars that it would no longer have to comply with a subpoena that was sent when Democrats controlled the chamber.
“Despite Chairman Comer’s decision to bury further evidence, however, even this small slice of a picture of unknown proportions allows America to glimpse the rampant illegality and corruption of the Trump presidency. It is true that $7.8 million is almost certainly only a fraction of Trump’s harvest of unlawful foreign state money, but this figure in itself is a scandal and a decisive spur to action,” Raskin said.
The Maryland lawmaker said he would propose a set of ethics reforms intended to stop presidents from benefiting from foreign spending.
“We will develop a package of proposed legislative reforms to ensure that all occupants of the Oval Office abide by the Constitution’s unequivocal language commanding loyalty to the interests of the American people – not the interests of homicidal Saudi monarchs, totalitarian Chinese bureaucratic state capitalists, or other foreign actors looking to obtain policy favors and indulgences by paying off a president or his wholly owned businesses,” Raskin said.
House Democrats released a report that found Donald Trump’s businesses received $7.8m from foreign governments during his presidency. Jamie Raskin, the ranking member on the oversight committee that spearheaded the investigation, said the findings proved unconstitutional conduct by Trump, and also vowed to introduce legislation to stop future presidents from accepting such payments. Of particular note for Trump’s detractors is the fact that the biggest spender at his properties by far is China – the US’s communist rival that Trump and his fellow Republicans campaign on countering.
Here’s what else went on today:
Democratic congressmen criticized Trump after his businesses were found to have accepted payments from foreign governments during his presidency.
Joe Biden is set to accuse Trump of being an existential threat to American democracy in a speech on Friday in Pennsylvania. His campaign today released its first television ad of the year, which feature images of the January 6 attack and the 2017 white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia.
Trump released his own campaign ad that dings both Republican rival Nikki Haley and Biden, accusing them of jeopardizing national security.
Governor Mike DeWine of Ohio issued a rare veto by a Republican of a bill restricting youth transgender medical care and participation in sports, but the state legislature is now moving to override it.
Elise Stefanik, a top House Republican, withdrew her endorsement of a promising Republican candidate for Congress running in a swing district after he criticized Trump.
Speaking of flipping control of chambers, Jon Tester is out with a new campaign ad that criticizes the Biden administration, as the Democratic senator from deep-red Montana fights for a fourth term in office.
The ad tries to separate the senator from Joe Biden’s gun policies, and features a hunting educator talking about how Tester fought to continue federal funding for gun safety classes:
Tester’s contest is seen as crucial to deciding control of the Senate, which Democrats currently hold with a one-seat majority. The party is not expected to gain any seats this year, and in order to maintain control, will have to see Biden re-elected along with Tester, the Ohio senator Sherrod Brown, and Democratic lawmakers in the swing states Nevada and Pennsylvania.
The fourth highest-ranking Republican in the House, Elise Stefanik, today withdrew her endorsement of a candidate for Congress in Ohio after audio emerged of him criticizing Donald Trump.
The former state representative Craig Riedel is running for Congress in Ohio’s ninth district, a Republican-leaning area currently represented in the House by Marcy Kaptur, a Democrat. In 2022, Kaptur defeated the Republican nominee JR Majewski, a Trump ally and election denier who the Associated Press found misled voters about being deployed to Afghanistan and seeing combat. Majewski is again running for the party’s nomination in the district next year, but so is Riedel, who is seen as having a much better chance of beating Kaptur. But Politico reports Riedel called Trump “arrogant” and said he will not endorse him in a leaked audio tape and Stefanik, an up-and-comer in Republican circles, now says she has withdrawn her endorsement of his campaign:
Earlier this week, I informed Craig Riedel (OH-09) that I will be withdrawing my endorsement. I was very disappointed in his inappropriate comments regarding President Trump. As we begin 2024, my focus is on ensuring we nominate the strongest candidates on the ballot who are…
Trump’s influence on Republican primaries for House and Senate seats in 2022, which led to the elevation of candidates who Democrats were able to cast as too extreme for elected office, is seen as one reason why the GOP failed to retake the Senate that year, and gained only a slim majority in the House.
Elizabeth Warren’s comment criticizing continued US aid to Israel comes as evidence grows that Democrats and their allies are becoming concerned about supporting the invasion of Gaza.
Joe Biden has called for Congress to approve $14bn in military assistance to Israel, but the proposal is caught up in a broader fight over aid to Ukraine and changes to border security policies. Meanwhile, Bernie Sanders, an independent senator who caucuses with Democrats, earlier this week said he would oppose military assistance to Israel, which has been criticized for killing thousands of civilians in its campaign against Hamas in Gaza:
Let me be clear: NO MORE U.S. funding for Netanyahu’s illegal, immoral, brutal, and grossly disproportionate war against the Palestinian people. Congress must reject any effort to pass $10 billion of unconditional military aid for the right-wing Netanyahu government. pic.twitter.com/P3AoprlKli
The Massachusetts Democratic senator Elizabeth Warren has criticized the US’s military aid to Israel amid Israel’s ongoing war on Gaza which has killed over 22,400 Palestinians since 7 October.
In a post on X, Warren wrote:
When it comes to military aid to Israel, the US cannot write a blank check for a right-wing government that’s demonstrated an appalling disregard for Palestinian lives. The US should use all the tools at its disposal to condition aid & move the parties toward a lasting peace.
When it comes to military aid to Israel, the U.S. cannot write a blank check for a right-wing government that's demonstrated an appalling disregard for Palestinian lives. The U.S. should use all the tools at its disposal to condition aid & move the parties toward a lasting peace.
For updates on additional developments in Gaza and the Middle East, click here:
Robert Garcia, another Democratic representative from California, said: “Trump crime family needs to be held accountable.”
Garcia joined the Maryland Democratic representative Jamie Raskin and the Texas Democratic representative Jasmine Crockett in releasing today’s House report which found that Donald Trump “pocketed at least $7.8 million from 20 foreign states while in office”.
In several posts on X, Garcia wrote:
The millions in receipts and documents represent just a tip of the iceberg. The Trump Crime Family needs to held accountable.
I joined @RepRaskin & @RepJasmine today to release a staggering report of the illegal gifts and payments that the Trump family received from foreign governments while he was in office.
The millions in receipts and documents represent just a tip of the iceberg. The Trump Crime… https://t.co/5EqV1WP35S
Referring to Kentucky’s Republican representative and House oversight committee chair James Comer, Garcia added:
And an important reminder to the public: we only have access to limited records from four properties because James Comer is blocking the rest. Donald Trump has hundreds of business interests so the amount of gifts and illegal payments are likely eno[r]mous and unprecedented.
And an important reminder to the public: we only have access to limited records from four properties because James Comer is blocking the rest.
Donald Trump has hundreds of business interests so the amount of gifts and illegal payments are likely enoumous and unprecedented.
The House speaker, Mike Johnson, has accused the Joe Biden administration of “not enforcing America’s laws” when it comes to the US-Mexico border.
In response to a CBS interview with the homeland security secretary, Alejandro Mayorkas, who said: “What we are doing is enforcing our laws … criminal laws, our immigration laws and that includes our asylum laws,” Johnson said:
No, Mr Secretary, this administration is not enforcing America’s laws. If this White House wanted to take action to stem the flow of illegal immigration, it could. But you and the president are refusing to act.
No, Mr. Secretary, this administration is not enforcing America’s laws.
If this White House wanted to take action to stem the flow of illegal immigration, it could. But you and the President are refusing to act. pic.twitter.com/6PvGmTh0fv
The California Democratic representative Eric Swalwell has criticized Donald Trump following the new House Democratic report that investigated countries whose officials spent the most on Trump’s businesses.
In a tweet on Wednesday, Swalwell said:
No president EVER personally enriched himself more while in office than Donald Trump. And mostly, in his case, from foreign cash. I don’t want to hear another peep about bogus Biden allegations. Game, set, match. Move on.
No president EVER personally enriched himself more while in office than Donald Trump. And mostly, in his case, from foreign cash. I don’t want to hear another peep about bogus Biden allegations. Game, set, match. Move on. https://t.co/mHtNi7GOxw
House Democrats have released a report that finds Donald Trump’s businesses received $7.8m from foreign governments during his presidency. Jamie Raskin, the ranking member on the oversight committee that spearheaded the investigation, said the findings prove unconstitutional conduct by Trump, and also vowed to introduce legislation to stop future presidents from accepting such payments. Of particular note for Trump’s detractors is the fact that the biggest spender at his properties by far is China – America’s communist rival that Trump and his fellow Republicans tell voters is a threat.
Here’s what else is going on today:
Joe Biden is set to accuse Trump of being an existential threat to American democracy in a speech on Friday in Pennsylvania. His campaign today released its first television ad of the year, which feature images of the January 6 attack and the 2017 white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia.
Trump released his own campaign ad that dings both Republican rival Nikki Haley and Biden, accusing them of jeopardizing national security.
Governor Mike DeWine of Ohio issued a rare veto by a Republican of a bill restricting youth transgender medical care and participation in sports, but the state legislature is now moving to override it.
A man was arrested for allegedly threatening to kill California’s Democratic representative Eric Swalwell and his children.
The man has been identified by the US attorney’s office in the southern district of Florida as 72-year-old Michael Shapiro from Greenacres, Florida.
Swalwell was not identified by the office but confirmed the threats on X (formerly Twitter), writing:
“No threat is going to stop me from representing my constituents. MAGA Republicans have chosen violence over voting and this is what it looks like. But I’m not going away and neither should you.”
No threat is going to stop me from representing my constituents. MAGA Republicans have chosen violence over voting and this is what it looks like. But I’m not going away and neither should you. https://t.co/A4GcATb5GR
According to the US attorney’s office, Shapiro left five threatening voicemail messages for Swalwell’s congressional office in DC last month.
In one of the messages to Swalwell, Shapiro allegedly said that he was going to “come after you and kill you”. In another message, he allegedly said that he was going to “come and kill your children”.
Shapiro also allegedly left messages in which he accused Swalwell of being a “Chinese spy” and repeatedly said “Fang Fang”.
Last May, the House ethics committee ended a two-year investigation into Swalwell over allegations that he had ties to suspected Chinese spy Christine Fang. The committee told Swalwell that it will “not take any further action into the investigation”.
Republicans are seeking to override Ohio’s Republican governor Mike DeWine’s veto of a trans rights bill that would impose widespread restrictions on trans children.
The Guardian’s Ava Sasani reports:
The veto by DeWine, a Republican, marked a rare victory for LGBTQ+ advocates, who spent the past year battling a historic rise in anti-trans legislation and rhetoric across the United States.
Maria Bruno, policy director for Equality Ohio, said the governor’s veto was “a relief for Ohio’s transgender youth, parents, healthcare professionals and educators who can finally take a breath and get back to their lives”.
But that relief could be short-lived. Top Ohio Republicans, including the secretary of state, Frank LaRose, are now urging the state legislature to reverse the governor’s decision by overriding his veto.
“We have a duty to protect safety and fair competition for female athletes and to protect children from being subjected to permanent, life-altering medical procedures before the age of 18,” LaRose said.
The Republican speaker, Jason Stephens, announced this week that the Ohio house would reconvene on 10 January, weeks earlier than scheduled, in an attempt to revive the bill before the official start of the 2024 legislative session. Republicans hold a supermajority in both chambers of the Ohio legislature, meaning Stephens’ push to sidestep the governor is likely to succeed.
For the full story, click here:
Donald Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign has released a new ad on the border crisis titled “Enough is Enough”.
The 30-second ad attacks Trump’s Republican opponent Nikki Haley and President Joe Biden, with a dramatic voice-over saying:
Record numbers streaming across our border, costing taxpayers billions and almost as many Americans killed from fentanyl as killed in world war two. Yet Haley and Biden oppose Trump’s border wall … Yet Haley joined Biden in opposing Trump’s visitor ban from terrorist nations. Haley’s weakness puts us in grave danger. Trump’s strength protects us.”
🚨 MUST SEE — New Ad from Team Trump: “Enough is Enough" pic.twitter.com/Nl9x4lgQ0A
Trump’s latest ad follows an ad released by Biden’s campaign earlier today called “Cause”. In the 60-second ad, Biden talks about his defense of democracy without mentioning Trump. The ad also features shots of the 2021 January 6 insurrection, as well as the 2017 white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia.