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The Trump International Hotel is seen on March 22, 2019 in Washington, DC. Alex Wroblewski/Getty Images hide caption

The Trump International Hotel is seen on March 22, 2019 in Washington, DC.

A new report by Democrats on the House Oversight committee documents more than $7.8 million in payments from at least 20 foreign governments including China, Saudi Arabia and Qatar to businesses owned by then-President Trump during two years of his presidential term.

It is illegal for presidents to accept any money from foreign governments without congressional approval per Article I of the U.S. Constitution, which states that "no person holding any office ... shall, without the consent of the Congress, accept of any present, emolument, office, or title, of any kind whatever, from any king, prince, or foreign state."

Democrats say at least 20 foreign governments or state-controlled businesses paid Trump-owned businesses during his presidential term.

The Democrats' evidence consists primarily of thousands of Trump's business records obtained from his longtime accounting firm, Mazars USA, which were obtained after a years-long legal battle which was ultimately decided by the Supreme Court.

Despite warnings from government ethics officials, Trump broke with tradition and did not divest from his businesses before taking office. Instead, he announced that he would cede responsibility for day-to-day decision making to his two eldest sons. He also pledged that there would be no new foreign deals during his time in office.

But payments from foreign governments appear to have continued.

The largest documented payment was $5.4 million in rent from China's state-owned Industrial and Commercial Bank during his first two years in office.

The bank's lease payments for the space in New York's Trump Tower began in 2008, according Kimberly Benza, a spokesperson for the Trump Organization.

At the time, Trump was a frequent political commentator who floated running for president but the lease deal was initiated many years before his 2015 presidential campaign announcement.

Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, India, and Malaysia each spent more than $200 thousand at Trump hotels and properties, according to the report.

Benza said in an email to NPR that the profits from hotel stays "were donated in full to the United States Treasury for patronage at our properties while President Trump was in office" and cited a roughly $450,000 donation by the president.

The company's hospitality portfolio also voluntarily implemented a program in an effort to track all foreign government patronage, Benza said.

At least some properties, including the Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C., said that they would not pursue or market to foreign delegations and related groups though, as detailed in the report, did not deny foreign government bookings.

"We do not have the ability or viability to stop someone from booking through third parties Expedia etc hence the voluntary donation of profits on an annual basis which has been covered ad nauseam," Benza wrote.

In response to a question about Trump's donations to the Treasury, the Democrats behind the report said that do not believe paying back profits absolves the former president under the Constitution and noted that there is no way to verify the former president's accounting without access to more financial documents.

The report also emphasizes that the total amount of foreign government spending could be significantly higher. The report only covers two years of Trump's time in office because, Democrats say, Republicans ceased enforcing document requests after gaining control of Congress in 2023.

Democratic lawmakers released the report just weeks after Republicans formalized their impeachment inquiry into President Biden, alleging without direct evidence that he was involved in his son's foreign business dealings and that those purported entanglements could have influenced his behavior in while in office.

Benza, the Trump organization spokesperson, accused Democrats of releasing the information to deflect from that investigation.

Asked about the timing, Rep. Jamie Raskin, the report's lead author and the top Democrat on the House Oversight committee, said that the investigation dated back years to the beginning of Trump's term.

Read more from the original source:
Democrats say Trump profited from foreign governments while president - NPR

President Biden is unhappy.

He has berated his staff for not getting him the credit he believes is his due for what he calls Bidenomics.

While its true that unemployment and inflation are down nationally and business seems to be doing well, many people are unhappy with the economy and give Biden little credit for the positive developments. Their pay may be up, but so are their costs.

Biden looks at the national economy, but individuals look at their own personal economy. The two different views yield two different results.

The reason is possibly that increases in national wealth may not be distributed in a way that gives many people the sense of an improving economy. If a large share of the growth is going to the wealthiest 10%, the rest of the people may miss most of the virtues of Bidenomics.

Whatever the gains under Biden, the country still operates under a tax system created by Donald Trump and a Republican Congress. That system is designed to reward the wealthy and large corporations. Billionaire Warren Buffett, who favors higher taxes on the rich, can still point out that he pays a lower tax rate than his secretary.

Despite the tax deal favoring the rich, the GOP does well with average voters by effectively targeting its message at them. Using wedge issues like abortion and gun control to gain support, it may even succeed in inducing them to believe that taxes are too high, which benefits the wealthy far more than them.

Many of these people have become the Trump Republican core. They are fed a steady diet of Trumps version of political and economic reality by the skilled use of social media and cable television.

Surprisingly, the GOP learned about personally targeted politics from a hard-hitting Democrat, then a member of Congress from Illinois. Rahm Emanuel used this approach to flip the House of Representatives from Republican to Democratic in 2006. The GOP watched and learned and by 2010, they flipped it right back. GOP social media and Fox News were flying high.

The success of social media is its focus on responding to the sentiments of its followers rather than recruiting new supporters. Its likely that few liberal Democrats follow right-wing social media outlets or watch Fox and other conservative channels. But loyal Trump backers are continually fed stories that confirm their views, and they remain enthusiastic and become a cult.

Trumps own social media site, called Truth Social, is estimated to have more than 2 million followers. They could be many of the same people who follow conservative cable programs, and they belong to him.

The result is that they can come to believe, inaccurately, that Biden is a socialist and dangerous to the country. They can be left untouched about claims of a booming Gross Domestic Product, if thats even understood. With Trump at the head of the ticket, they are drawn to the ballot box. If they show up, they may give him wins in primaries and swing states.

Social media may succeed in gaining the attention of conservative voters who are not loyal Trump backers. They make their case in readily understandable terms that appeal to the conservative leanings of their recipients.

The Democrats have no answer, as Biden is learning. Bidenomics in 2024, like Obamacare in 2010, is an abstract idea that fires up few voters. Fact-checkers may prove that the GOP errs, but that, too, is an abstraction to many voters. Like the GOP, the Democrats want to appeal to their backers. But they act like theyre in a student debate, not a political war.

One key feature of Trump-inspired social media is always being on the attack. It labels its opponents as dangerous. Its policy proposals are almost all negatives, like quitting NATO or reducing environmental protection. Thats a sharp contrast with the almost academic arguments of the Democrats.

The professional media tends to give each side equal weight and coverage. While Bidens actions are duly reported, mistruths may get the same often unquestioned attention. Its coverage may lack critical news judgment. Objectivity should remain the goal, but its mindless pursuit can promote misinformation.

The Democrats should become more aggressive in the social media. They often sound more like professors than politicians. Their message should be simple and bold. They can direct their message to individual voters, and not only focus on broad national policies, however successful. And Biden should be more visible in the nightly news.

Aside from being too old to run and consequently out of touch with younger generations, Biden plays by dated political rules, no longer suited to the politics of the times. The Democrats will continue to lag in the polls if they dont toughen up.

Gordon L. Weil formerly wrote for the Washington Post and other newspapers, served on the U.S. Senate and EU staffs, headed Maine state agencies and was a Harpswell selectman.

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Gordon L. Weil: Democrats need to toughen up - Press Herald

By Christian Wade The Center Square

Embattled U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez is facing new federal charges alleging that he worked as an agent for Qatar in exchange for monetary bribes.

Menendez, a New Jersey Democrat, was charged with receiving gifts from Qatar in a new superseding indictment made public Tuesday by the U.S. Justice Department that alleges the bribery and extortion scheme continued into 2023, nearly a year longer than initially alleged by federal prosecutors.

The new charges add to the legal woes for Menendez, who is already facing federal charges alleging he acted as a foreign agent and accepted hundreds of thousands of dollars of bribes to benefit the Egyptian government.

In September, federal prosecutors in the Southern District of New York unsealed a 39-page indictment accusing Menendez and his wife, Nadine, of accepting "hundreds of thousands of dollars" in bribes in exchange for using his political influence to benefit the Egyptian government and business associates in New Jersey.

A month later, federal prosecutors filed a new indictment alleging that Menendez had acted as a "foreign agent" for Egypt by shepherding billions in military aid that previously had been denied to the country over its record of human rights abuses.

Among the new allegations, Menendez accepted payments from one of his co-conspirators, New Jersey real estate developer Fred Daibes, in exchange for using his political influence to help him obtain millions of dollars from an investment fund tied to the Qatari government.

"Those bribes included cash, gold, payments towards a home mortgage, compensation for a low or no-show job, luxury vehicles, and other things of value," prosecutors wrote in the 50-page court filing.

Prosecutors also allege after Menendezs home was raided by the FBI in 2022, he took steps to try to cover up the alleged bribes by paying back the mortgage payments to the businessmen and describing them as personal loans.

Menendez has vigorously denied any wrongdoing, and his attorney blasted the latest charges as "a string of baseless assumptions and bizarre conjectures based on routine, lawful contacts between a Senator and his constituents or foreign officials."

"Those interactions were always based on his professional judgment as to the best interests of the United States because he is, and always has been, a patriot," Adam Fee said in a statement. "This latest Indictment only exposes the lengths to which these hostile prosecutors will go to poison the public before a trial even begins.

"But these new allegations dont change a thing, and their theories wont survive the scrutiny of the court or a jury," Fee added.

Menendez and his wife have pleaded not guilty to the previous charges, and he has refused to step down despite calls from fellow New Jersey Democrats, including Gov. Phil Murphy and Sen. Cory Booker.

A recent poll found a majority of New Jersey voters want Menendez to step down and make the allegations.

See original here:
Democrat Sen. Menendez charged with aiding Qatar in new corruption charges - The Highland County Press

MADISON, Wis. (AP) A Republican-controlled committee on Monday recommended firing Wisconsin's top elections official rather than reappointing her, clearing the way for a vote by the full GOP-led state Senate as soon as Thursday.

The Senate elections committee voted 3-1 along party lines, with one Democrat abstaining, against confirming nonpartisan Wisconsin Elections Commission Administrator Meagan Wolfe for a second term. Democrats have accused GOP leaders of improperly pushing through Wolfe's confirmation after the elections commission's three Republicans and three Democrats deadlocked along party lines in a reappointment vote in June.

Monday's vote comes despite objections from the state's Democratic attorney general and the Legislature's own nonpartisan attorneys who have said that without a majority vote by the commission to reappoint Wolfe, the Senate doesn't have the authority to go forward with deciding whether to confirm or fire her.

In the absence of a majority vote by the commission, a recent Supreme Court ruling appears to allow Wolfe to stay in office indefinitely as a holdover. Conservatives have used that ruling to maintain control of key policy boards. If Wolfe's confirmation is rejected by the full Senate a result that would normally carry the effect of firing her the matter is likely to be resolved through a lawsuit.

Republican Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu did not immediately respond to an email sent Monday asking about his plans for scheduling a floor vote on Wolfes future. The Senate's next floor period is set for Thursday.

As I said when the Committee first met to discuss Administrator Wolfes continued service to the people of Wisconsin, this nomination is not before us and Senate Republicans are on a path that will waste taxpayer money and create unnecessary controversy around our elections while attacking qualified, hard-working election officials," Democratic Sen. Mark Spreitzer, who cast the sole vote to confirm Wolfe's appointment, said in a statement on Monday.

Spreitzer promised to submit a minority report saying the Senate was moving ahead illegitimately.

Democratic Gov. Tony Evers commented on Monday's vote in a post on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.

Republicans are hell-bent on doing everything they can to interfere with our elections, including trying to abuse their power by improperly firing the states elections commissioner, he said.

Wolfe did not attend a public hearing the Senate elections committee held last month on her reappointment. That hearing attracted dozens of election skeptics who repeated widely debunked claims about the 2020 election and called for Wolfe to be fired or even arrested.

She didn't bother to show up to her own public hearing, Republican Sen. Dan Feyen, who voted against reappointing Wolfe, said in a statement. What I heard instead were numerous concerns from Wisconsinites around the state who have lost faith in the job she was doing as administrator.

Conspiracy theorists falsely claim Wolfe was part of a plot to rig the 2020 election in favor of President Joe Biden, and some Senate Republicans have vowed to oust her before the 2024 presidential election. Biden defeated former President Donald Trump by nearly 21,000 votes in Wisconsin, an outcome that has withstood two partial recounts, a nonpartisan audit, a conservative law firms review and numerous state and federal lawsuits.

Elections observers have raised concerns that firing Wolfe or disputing her position through the 2024 election could encourage election skeptics who have already harassed and threatened election officials over the 2020 election.

___

Harm Venhuizen is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.

Excerpt from:
Senate committee recommends firing Wisconsin's top elections official in process Democrats dispute - Yahoo News

Rep. Omar has been elected by her constituents three times and has consistently stood up for them, including through her service on the House Budget Committee, Jeffries said in a statement. As House Democratic Leader, I vigorously endorse her re-election and stand with her as we battle Extreme MAGA Republicans for the future of our nation.

In addition to Jeffries, Omar is picking up support from House Minority Whip Katherine Clark (D-Mass.), Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar (D-Calif.) and the previous top trio of House Democratic leadership: Reps. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) and Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.). A spokesperson for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee also confirmed the plan to back incumbents.

In a statement, Omar said she was proud to have earned the respect and support of every single member of the Democratic House leadership for my re-election campaign.

Although party leaders generally endorse their incumbent members, the support will ease perennial primary jitters on the progressive left, especially amid recent reporting about potential AIPAC-backed challenges. Jeffries and other leaders are embracing their first chance to show support, despite the awkwardness inherent in defending progressive squad members who won their seats by toppling incumbents or who backed primary opponents to other sitting lawmakers.

Omar, whos served in the House since 2019, represents a reliably blue seat, but she faced a tougher-than-expected primary challenge last year who ran a more centrist campaign, including a focus on funding police. This cycle, other members of the caucus progressive flank are potentially facing AIPAC-backed challenges from Democratic candidates who might try to make Israel a wedge issue, Jewish Insider has reported.

Its not the first time AIPAC has provoked progressive resentment; the groups campaign arm spent heavily last cycle against now-Rep. Summer Lee (D-Pa.) and other liberals. Meanwhile, other Democrats have continued to support the advocacy group, and recent lawmaker trips to Israel sponsored by the groups sister organization, the American Israel Education Foundation, have raised eyebrows on the left.

We proudly support progressive candidates who will advance the US-Israel relationship and oppose anti-Israel candidates, AIPAC spokesperson Marshall Wittmann said in a statement. We have supported the House Democratic leadership, almost half of the Congressional Progressive Caucus and over half of the Congressional Black Caucus and Hispanic Caucus.

The show of support from Jeffries and other Democratic leaders is likely to resonate with the caucus, as members aim to stave off fractious primaries next year and focus on taking back a majority that feels within their reach. Although progressives criticism of the conservative Israeli government and AIPAC has presented pitfalls for Hill Democrats, leadership is clearly sending a message that it will back even Democrats leftmost members.

Theres nothing wrong with primaries, and everyone has the right to run against the incumbent. But when youre trying to build a family, its really hard to say: Im going to support Billy and Jim and Susan, but not Ilhan when you ask them to pay dues, said Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va.), the DCCCs recruitment chair. You cant be constantly out there pressing for unity, and then abandon those teammates because they have a primary.

I think itd be helpful for our leaders to say: Please stay out of these family fights, Beyer added, in a nod to AIPAC.

Jeffries, for his part, has been consistent in publicly supporting incumbents. He co-founded a PAC last cycle that backed members facing primary challengers, which some on the left saw as a response to progressive attempts to unseat Democratic lawmakers. Although the PACs spending was relatively modest in comparison to other groups, Democrats still valued the show of support from their partys rising star. (Jeffries is no longer listed as part of the groups board after his promotion to party leader.)

Jeffries spokesperson Christie Stephenson said in a statement that the New York Democrat intended to continue his practice of supporting the reelection of every single House Democratic incumbent, from the most progressive to the most centrist, and all points in between.

On the other side of Democrats ideological spectrum, leaders similarly threw their weight behind centrist Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-Texas) earlier this month. Hed faced left-leaning challengers over the last several cycles, many focused on his anti-abortion stances.

The rest is here:
Hakeem Jeffries backs progressive Ilhan Omar amid AIPAC primary threat - POLITICO - POLITICO