MALAYSIA
In September 2017, then-President Trump hosted then-Prime Minister of Malaysia, Najib Razak, for an official visit at the White House.503 At the time, the DOJ was seeking to recover more than $1 billion in assets that had been stolen from a Malaysian government investment fund co-founded and managed by Mr. Razak in one of the largest global corruption scandals to date.504 The Prime Minister and numerous Malaysian officials stayed at the Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C., during the official visit. Officials would return to the hotel for an additional stay later that month. Their room charges and amenities totaled $248,962 for the month of September 2017.505 It was widely reported that, as part of a broader corruption investigation, Prime Minister Razak was under scrutiny by the DOJ at the time he was invited to the White House.506 Commentators noted that then-President Trump’s decision to welcome Prime Minister Razak anyway could have been seen as lending credibility to Mr. Razak, who was required to call a general election no later than mid-2018 and was expected to run for re-election.507
Malaysia’s Emolument Spending at Trump Properties
Date
Location
Expenditure
Amount
September 7–15, 2017
Trump International Hotel
(Washington, D.C.)
Stay by former Prime Minister Najib Razak and other senior government officials
$247,352508
September 27, 2017
Trump International Hotel
(Washington, D.C.)
“Embassy of Malaysia Delegation”
$1,610509
EMOLUMENTS PAID BY MALAYSIA
(2017–2020)
$248,962
503 Trump Welcomes Najib Razak, the Malaysian Leader, as President, and Owner of a Fine Hotel, New York Times (Sept. 12, 2017) (online at wwwnytimes.com/2017/09/12/world/asia/trump-najib-razak-malaysia-white-househtml).
504 Malaysian Leader, Under Corruption Cloud, Will Meet with Trump, New York Times (Sept. 9, 2017) (online at www.nytimes.com/2017/09/09/world/asia/m ... k-1mdbhtml).
505 MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00008052 to MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00008094.
506 Trump Welcomes Najib Razak, the Malaysian Leader, as President, and Owner of a Fine Hotel, New York Times (Sept. 12, 2017) (online at wwwnytimes.com/2017/09/12/world/asia/trump-najib-razak-malaysia-white-househtml); Trump To Meet Malaysia's Leader As Probe Against Him Deepens, NPR (Sept. 12, 2017) (online at www.npr.org/2017/09/12/550352981/trump- ... im-deepens).
507 Trump Meeting with Malaysian Prime Minister Comes Under Scrutiny, PBS News Hour (Sept. 12, 2017) (online at www.pbs.org/newshour/world/trump-meetin ... s-scrutiny); Trump Meets with Malaysia’s Prime Minister, NBC News (Sept. 12, 2017) (online at www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/trump-meet ... er-n800601).
508 MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00008052 to MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00008094; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00008012.
509 MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018425.
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1Malaysia Development Berhad Corruption Scandal
On September 12, 2017, then-Prime Minister Razak visited then-President Trump at the White House. At the time of the meeting, it was publicly known that Mr. Razak and members of his family were under investigation by the DOJ in connection with the now notorious corruption scandal involving the misappropriation of billions of dollars from a Malaysian sovereign wealth fund called 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB).510 Mr. Razak had been under “unrelenting pressure at home” ahead of his anticipated re-election campaign, according to the New York Times, which described the White House visit as a “major victory” for him.511 The Center for Strategic and International Studies similarly noted that no Malaysian Prime Minister had visited the White House since 2004 and explained that:
[T]he Malaysian prime minister will likely be happy if his visit demonstrates back in Malaysia—where he faces elections before August 2018—that the U.S. investigation is really a relatively minor issue and that he can still be welcomed into Trump’s Oval Office as an important Southeast Asian leader.512
By the time the two leaders met, the DOJ’s investigation into 1MDB—which would become its “largest ever kleptocracy” case—had been underway for more than a year.513 The DOJ alleged that Mr. Razak and others associated with the fund had illegally siphoned off more than $3.5 billion from 1MDB beginning not long after it was created in 2009—shortly after Mr. Razak, a co-founder of the fund, took office.514 It would later be found that more than $4.5 billion had been stolen from 1MDB, which the DOJ determined to have been laundered through shell companies and financial institutions worldwide, many of which were in the United States.515
510 Trump Meets Malaysia Leader Under Investigation by His Justice Department, CNN (Sept. 12, 2017) (online at www.cnn.com/2017/09/12/politics/trump-m ... /indexhtml).
511 Trump Welcomes Najib Razak, the Malaysian Leader, as President, and Owner of a Fine Hotel, New York Times (Sept. 12, 2017) (online at wwwnytimes.com/2017/09/12/world/asia/trump-najib-razak-malaysia-white-househtml); Malaysian Leader, Under Corruption Cloud, Will Meet with Trump, New York Times (Sept. 9, 2017) (online at www.nytimes.com/2017/09/09/world/asia/m ... -1mdb.html).
512 Center for Strategic and International Studies, Trump-Najib Meeting Gives Malaysia-U.S. Relations Shot of Adrenaline (Sept. 14, 2017) (online at www.csis.org/analysis/trump-najib-meeti ... adrenaline).
513 Explainer: Malaysia’s Ex-PM Najib And the Multi-Billion Dollar 1MDB Scandal, Reuters (Aug. 23, 2022) (online at www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/mala ... 022-08-23/); Malaysian Leader, Under Corruption Cloud, Will Meet with Trump, New York Times (Sept. 9, 2017) (online at www.nytimes.com/2017/09/09/world/asia/m ... -1mdb.html).
514 Complaint, United States of America v. “The Wolf of Wall Street” Motion Picture etc., No. CV 16-16-5362 (C.D. Cal. July 20, 2016) (online at www.justice.gov/archives/opa/page/file/877166/download); Former Malaysian Leader to Serve Prison Term After Final Appeal Is Thrown Out, CNN (Aug. 23, 2022) (online at www.cnn.com/2022/08/23/asia/malaysia-na ... /indexhtml).
515 Department of Justice, Press Release: Over $1 Billion in Misappropriated 1MDB Funds Now Repatriated to Malaysia (Aug. 5, 2021) (online at www.justice.gov/opa/pr/over-1-billion-m ... d-malaysia); 1MDB Scandal Explained: A Tale of Malaysia’s Missing Billions, The Guardian (July 28, 2020) (online at www.theguardian.com/world/2018/oct/25/1 ... g-billions).
119
Beginning in 2016, the DOJ filed 41 civil forfeiture actions in an effort to recover the more than $1 billion in stolen 1MDB assets that were known to have been laundered in violation of U.S. law.516 Of the assets the DOJ identified as having been laundered at the time, more than $730 million had allegedly been deposited into accounts that belonged to Mr. Razak, who was not named in the DOJ’s case but was referenced as “Malaysian Official 1” in its complaints. The billions in stolen funds were allegedly used to purchase fine art, a yacht, and luxury American properties, and even to invest in the film “The Wolf of Wall Street.” This was quite plainly far from the intended purpose of the sovereign wealth fund, which the DOJ pointed out was “ostensibly created … for the economic benefit of the Malaysian people.”517 The DOJ also brought several highly-publicized criminal actions against individuals and a financial institution based on their participation in the scheme.518
Against the backdrop of the 1MDB scandal, then-Prime Minister Razak used his September 2017 meeting with President Trump to paint a positive picture of the country’s investments in the United States, which garnered praise from Mr. Trump. Mr. Razak bragged that a Malaysian pension fund and a sovereign wealth fund—separate from the one he was accused of looting—were investing billions of dollars in the U.S. economy. Then-President Trump, in turn, said it was a “great honor” to host Mr. Razak and “his very distinguished delegation” as “Malaysia is a massive investor in the United States in the form of stocks and bonds.” The pair avoided any mention of the then-pending DOJ investigation.519
Malaysian Human Rights Violations
At the time of the September 2017 meeting with then-President Trump, then-Prime Minister Razak’s human rights record was also under scrutiny. By 2017, Mr. Razak had become an increasingly autocratic ruler, with Human Rights Watch decrying the “increased arrests of
516 Department of Justice, Press Release: Over $1 Billion in Misappropriated 1MDB Funds Now Repatriated to Malaysia (Aug. 5, 2021) (online at www.justice.gov/opa/pr/over-1-billion-m ... d-malaysia ).
517 Complaint, United States of America v. “The Wolf of Wall Street” Motion Picture etc., No. CV 16-16-5362 (C.D. Cal. July 20, 2016) (online at www.justice.gov/archives/opa/page/file/877166/download); Malaysian Leader, Under Corruption Cloud, Will Meet with Trump, New York Times (Sept. 9, 2017) (online at wwwnytimes.com/2017/09/09/world/asia/malaysia-najib-razak-1mdb.html); Explainer: Malaysia’s Ex-PM Najib and the Multi-Billion Dollar 1MDB Scandal, Reuters (Aug. 23, 2022) (online at www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/mala ... 022-08-23/).
518 Department of Justice, Press Release: Former Goldman Sachs Investment Banker Convicted in Massive Bribery and Money Laundering Scheme (Apr. 8, 2022) (online at www.justice.gov/usao-edny/pr/former-gol ... laundering); Department of Justice, Press Release: Goldman Sachs Charged in Foreign Bribery Case and Agrees to Pay Over $2.9 Billion (Oct. 22, 2020) (online at www.justice.gov/opa/pr/goldman-sachs-ch ... 29-billion).
519 Trump Welcomes Najib Razak, the Malaysian Leader, as President, and Owner of a Fine Hotel, New York Times (Sept. 12, 2017) (online at wwwnytimes.com/2017/09/12/world/asia/trump-najib-razak-malaysia-white-househtml); From Trump Hotel Lobby to White House, Malaysian Prime Minister Gets VIP Treatment, Washington Post (Sept. 12, 2017) (online at www.washingtonpost.com/politics/from-tr ... story.html).
120
government critics, expanded restrictions on peaceful assembly, and continued impunity for police abuses” in Malaysia.
520 In particular, then-Prime Minister Razak was jailing individuals who commented on the 1MDB scandal. Human Rights Watch found:
Throughout 2016, Malaysian authorities used the Communications and Multimedia Act (CMA) and the Sedition Act to arrest those criticizing the administration of Prime Minister Najib Razak, commenting on the government’s handling of the 1 Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) corruption scandal, or making comments on social media deemed ‘insulting’ to Najib or to Malaysia’s royalty.521
Experts and human rights groups warned that then-Prime Minister Razak’s visit to the White House was a public relations coup for him, with one commentator noting that Mr. Razak “can tell Malaysians that the 1MDB is a non-issue and that the opposition’s message that he is unwelcome by world leaders is not true,” while another predicted that “Najib will use this White House visit to burnish his credentials going into next year’s election in Malaysia, and redouble his repression of critics using the stamp of approval from this visit.”522
Emoluments Paid by Malaysia to Trump-Owned Businesses
In the days before and after the White House meeting, from September 7, 2017, to September 15, 2017, a Malaysian delegation including then-Prime Minister Razak stayed at the Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C., and were charged a “direct bill” of $247,352. Mr. Razak stayed in the hotel’s presidential suite, which was billed at $10,000 per night. Costs accrued by then-Prime Minister Razak alone totaled $44,562 over three nights and four days.523 Part of the bill for Mr. Razak’s stay is excerpted below:524
520 Human Rights Watch, Malaysia: Rights Decline Under Najib (Jan. 12, 2017) (online at wwwhrw.org/news/2017/01/12/malaysia-rights-decline-under-najib).
521 Id.
522 Trump Meeting with Malaysian Prime Minister Comes Under Scrutiny, PBS News Hour (Sept. 12, 2017) (online at www.pbs.org/newshour/world/trump-meetin ... s-scrutiny); Trump Meets with Malaysia’s Prime Minister, NBC News (Sept. 12, 2017) (online at www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/trump-meet ... er-n800601).
523 MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00008052 to MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00008094.
524 MAZARS-OVERSIGHT-COMMITTEE-00008081.
121
Among the numerous charges for amenities Mr. Razak accrued during his stay at the Trump International Hotel were a $750 charge for “Furniture Movement (Dressing Room)” and a charge of $1,500 for a “Personal Trainer.” Mr. Razak also spent thousands of dollars to have a butler assist in serving multiple meals.525 The Malaysian delegation’s lavish spending in mid-September 2017 at the Trump International Hotel caused a 70% jump in the hotel’s average nightly room revenue—increasing to $97,193 for the nights of September 7 through September 14 compared to $56,635 for other nights in September 2017.526
Later that same month, on September 27, 2017, the “Embassy of Malaysia Delegation” would return to the hotel and rent an additional four rooms at a cost of $1,610.527
Adding to the hotel’s revenue during the Malaysian delegation’s mid-September stay was $9,272 that was spent by the U.S. Secret Service on rooms for the detail assigned to protect the delegation. The Secret Service’s room block included multiple rooms that were booked at $650 per night—more than double the government’s $231 per diem lodging rate for Washington, D.C.528
Lobbyist Spending
In addition to Malaysian government officials, Elliott Broidy, a former top fundraiser for Mr. Trump who was lobbying the Trump Administration on behalf of Malaysian interests as an unregistered foreign agent, also stayed at the Trump International Hotel four times during September 2017, including four nights during a Malaysian delegation’s visit in mid-September, and again on the night of September 27, when a Malaysian delegation again stayed at the property. In total, Mr. Broidy was charged $5,345 for rooms at the Trump International Hotel during September 2017.529 His associate, Nickie Lum Davis, who was working with him on behalf of Malaysia, also stayed at the hotel during part of the Malaysian delegation’s mid-September stay and was charged $1,155 for her stay.530
525 Id.
526 MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018254 to MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018452.
527 MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018425.
528 MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018309; MAZAR-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018318; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018337; General Services Administration, FY 17 Per Diem Rates (online at www.gsa.gov/travel/plan-book/per-diem-r ... diem-files). Expenditures by the U.S. Secret Service have been redacted from the documents made public with this report out of an abundance of caution given the sensitivity of such information.
529 Elliott Broidy Pleads Guilty in Foreign Lobbying Case, New York Times, Oct. 20, 2020 (online at wwwnytimes.com/2020/10/20/us/politics/elliott-broidy-foreign-lobbying.html); Department of Justice, Press Release: Elliott Broidy Pleads Guilty for Back-Channel Lobbying Campaign to Drop 1MDB Investigation and Remove a Chinese Foreign National (Oct. 20, 2020) (online at www.justice.gov/opa/pr/elliott-broidy-p ... gation-and); MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018254 to MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018452.
530MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018303; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018311; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018320; Department of Justice, Press Release: Hawaii Businesswoman Pleads Guilty to Facilitating Back-Channel Lobbying Campaign to Drop 1MDB Investigation and Remove a Foreign National to China (Aug. 31, 2020) (online at www.justice.gov/opa/pr/hawaii-businesswoman-
122
Mr. Broidy was also being paid millions by Malaysian financier Low Taek Jho, a fugitive whom the DOJ has charged with orchestrating the 1MDB scheme, to lobby the Trump Administration to close the investigation into 1MDB—an arrangement Mr. Broidy concealed from authorities.531 In October 2020, Mr. Broidy pled guilty to conspiring to violate FARA in connection with his undisclosed lobbying work for Malaysia.532 As of the date of this report, Mr. Low remains a fugitive after being charged in Malaysia and the United States for his alleged role in the 1MDB scheme.533
The DOJ press release announcing Mr. Broidy’s guilty plea detailed his efforts to persuade the Trump Administration to end its 1MDB investigation, noting that Mr. Broidy had, among other actions, “provided talking points to the Secretary of State referencing the 1MDB investigation in advance of a meeting between the Secretary of State and the Malaysian Prime Minister in August 2017,” the month before Mr. Razak’s visit with President Trump. The press release further explained that Mr. Broidy had “pushed the White House Chief of Staff for a golf game between the President and the Malaysian Prime Minister to allow the Malaysian Prime Minister to raise [a] resolution of the 1MDB investigation.”534
In August 2020, Ms. Lum Davis also pled guilty for her role in facilitating the unregistered lobbying campaign to end the 1MDB investigation, for which she too was paid millions of dollars.535
The effort by Mr. Broidy and his Malaysian co-conspirators to end the DOJ’s pursuit of the 1MDB funds ultimately failed. As of August 2021, the DOJ had successfully repatriated more than $1.2 billion to the Malaysian people.536 The Malaysian government prosecuted Mr.
pleads-guilty-facilitating-back-channel-lobbying-campaign-drop-1mdb).
531 Elliott Broidy Pleads Guilty in Foreign Lobbying Case, New York Times (Oct. 20, 2020) (online at wwwnytimes.com/2020/10/20/us/politics/elliott-broidy-foreign-lobbying.html); Malaysia in Talks to Bring Back 1MDB-Linked Fugitive Jho Low, Reuters (May 5, 2023) (online at wwwreuters.com/world/asia-pacific/malaysia-talks-bring-back-1mdb-linked-fugitive-jho-low-pm-2023-05-05/).
532 Department of Justice, Press Release: Elliott Broidy Pleads Guilty for Back-Channel Lobbying Campaign to Drop 1MDB Investigation and Remove a Chinese Foreign National (Oct. 20, 2020) (online at www.justice.gov/opa/pr/elliott-broidy-p ... gation-and).
533 Malaysia in Talks to Bring Back 1MDB-Linked Fugitive Jho Low, Reuters (May 5, 2023) (online at wwwreuters.com/world/asia-pacific/malaysia-talks-bring-back-1mdb-linked-fugitive-jho-low-pm-2023-05-05/); Elliott Broidy Pleads Guilty in Foreign Lobbying Case, New York Times (Oct. 20, 2020) (online at wwwnytimes.com/2020/10/20/us/politics/elliott-broidy-foreign-lobbying.html).
534 Department of Justice, Press Release: Elliott Broidy Pleads Guilty for Back-Channel Lobbying Campaign to Drop 1MDB Investigation and Remove a Chinese Foreign National (Oct. 20, 2020) (online at www.justice.gov/opa/pr/elliott-broidy-p ... gation-and).
535 Department of Justice, Press Release: Hawaii Businesswoman Pleads Guilty to Facilitating Back-Channel Lobbying Campaign to Drop 1MDB Investigation and Remove a Foreign National to China (Aug. 31, 2020) (online at www.justice.gov/opa/pr/hawaii-businessw ... -drop-1mdb).
536 Department of Justice, Press Release: Over $1 Billion in Misappropriated 1MDB Funds Now Repatriated to Malaysia (Aug. 5, 2021) (online at www.justice.gov/opa/pr/over-1-billion-m ... ated-1mdb-
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Razak for his role in the 1MDB scandal, and in August 2022, he was ordered to begin serving a 12-year prison sentence for his conviction on criminal charges related to 1MDB. According to Reuters, officials in Malaysia found that Razak ultimately “received more than $1 billion traceable to 1MDB.”
537
President Trump pardoned Mr. Broidy shortly before leaving office.538 He did not pardon Ms. Lum Davis, who was sentenced to two years in prison in January 2023.539
funds-now-repatriated-malaysia).
537 Explainer: Malaysia’s Ex-PM Najib and the Multi-Billion Dollar 1MDB Scandal, Reuters (Aug. 23, 2022) (online at www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/mala ... 022-08-23/).
538 With Hours Left in Office, Trump Grants Clemency to Bannon and Other Allies, New York Times (May 5, 2021) (online at www.nytimes.com/2021/01/20/us/politics/ ... ardonshtml).
539 Department of Justice, Press Release: Businesswoman Sentenced for Facilitating Unregistered Lobbying Campaign in Exchange for Approximately $3 Million (Jan. 19, 2023) (online at www.justice.gov/opa/pr/businesswoman-se ... ximately-3).
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White House for Sale: ... [For] Donald Trump
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Re: White House for Sale: ... [For] Donald Trump
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Re: White House for Sale: ... [For] Donald Trump
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TURKEY
Donald Trump entered the presidency with significant and lucrative existing business interests in Turkey. Moreover, the records produced to the Committee by Mazars indicate that after the Trump presidency began, the Turkish government repeatedly patronized Trump-owned properties in the United States. For two expenditures made by Turkey—both in May 2017—the records provided by Mazars fail to show the specific dates, purposes, or amounts of the expenditures. Notably, these expenditures coincided with a visit by the Turkish President, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, to the White House to meet with President Trump. Separately, the Mazars records show that the Governor of the Central Bank of Turkey stayed at the Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C. in October 2017, spending $1,894.
As President, Donald Trump—and senior officials in his Administration—took several official actions and positions favorable to the Turkish government. For example, in 2018, then-President Trump reportedly assured President Erdoğan that the DOJ would terminate an investigation into the Turkish state-owned financial institution Türkiye Halk Bankasi, also known as Halkbank, over allegations of money laundering and evasion of U.S. sanctions on Iran. Trump Administration officials pressured the U.S. Attorney leading the investigation and prosecution to drop the charges.540 In addition, President Trump remained silent when President Erdoğan’s bodyguards assaulted U.S. citizens who were protesting the policies of the Turkish government during President Erdoğan’s May 2017 visit to the United States.541
Turkey’s Emolument Spending at Trump Properties
Date
Location
Event
Amount
October 11–14, 2017
Trump International Hotel
(Washington, D.C.)
Stay by Murat Cetinkaya, Governor, Central Bank of Turkey
$1,894542
In December 2015, Donald Trump stated the following about his relationship with Turkey during an appearance on Steve Bannon’s radio program: “I have a little conflict of interest because I have a major, major building in Istanbul.” He explained, “It’s called Trump Towers—two towers, instead of one. … And I’ve gotten to know Turkey very well. They’re amazing people. They’re incredible people. They have a strong leader.”543 In 2012, Mr.
540 Turkish Bank Case Showed Erdogan’s Influence with Trump, New York Times (Oct. 29, 2020) (online at www.nytimes.com/2020/10/29/us/politics/ ... lkbankhtml).
541 Presidential Silence After an Attack on American Soil, The Atlantic (Jan. 13, 2019) (online at www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/20 ... rs/580093/); Erdogan Security Forces Launch ‘Brutal Attack’ on Washington Protesters, Officials Say, New York Times (May 17, 2017) (online at www.nytimes.com/2017/05/17/us/turkish-e ... est-dchtml).
542 MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018548; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018559; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018568; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018576.
543 Donald Trump—December 1, 2015, Breitbart News Daily (Dec. 1, 2015) (online at https://soundcloud.com/breitbart/breitb ... ber-1-2015); The Daily 202: Trump’s ‘Little Conflict of Interest’ in Turkey Draws Scrutiny as He Offers Erdogan a Generous Deal, Washington Post
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Erdoğan, then Turkey’s Prime Minister, cut the ribbon opening Trump Towers Istanbul. Donald Trump attended this ribbon cutting, as did his daughter, Ivanka Trump, and her husband, Jared Kushner.
544 On April 20, 2012, Ivanka Trump thanked Mr. Erdoğan for his support, posting on social media: “Thank you Prime Minister Erdogan for joining us yesterday to celebrate the launch of #TrumpTowers Istanbul!”545
Years later, as Donald Trump prepared to take office, it was Mr. Erdoğan who sought access to Mr. Trump and his confidantes, with Turkey investing heavily in lobbying the Trump Administration from its outset. Reportedly, the day before Donald Trump’s inauguration, Turkey’s foreign minister, Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, met with Trump fundraiser and D.C. lobbyist, Brian Ballard, in Washington, D.C. According to NBC, this meeting “marked the start of Turkey’s ambitious lobbying of the Trump administration.”546 Mr. Ballard entered into a profitable lobbying agreement with the Turkish Government that took effect on May 15, 2017—the day before President Erdoğan visited President Trump at the White House (as discussed in more detail below).547
Mr. Ballard, a Republican National Committee finance vice chair and Trump super-donor, had built his firm around his personal connections to President Trump.548 He was reportedly “closer to the president than perhaps any other lobbyist in town” and “parlayed that relationship into a booming business helping clients get their way with the Trump administration.”549 Mr. Ballard was a frequent patron of Mr. Trump’s Mar-a-Lago Club, reportedly having joined Mar-a-Lago midway through Mr. Trump’s term after Mr. Trump noticed he was not a member.550
(Nov. 13, 2019) (online at www.washingtonpost.com/news/powerpost/p ... 0ffd20dcb/).
544 Id.
545 Ivanka Trump (@IvankaTrump), X (formerly Twitter) (Apr. 20, 2012) (online at https://twitter.com/IvankaTrump/status/ ... 2066540545).
546 Behind Trump’s Turkish “Bromance”: Lev Parnas, Oligarchs and a Lucrative Lobbying Deal, NBC News (Sept. 19, 2020) (online at www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/b ... g-n1240374).
547 Id.; Department of Justice, Supplemental Statement Pursuant to the Foreign Agents Registration Act of 1938, as Amended (May 19, 2017) (online at https://efile.fara.gov/docs/6415-Exhibi ... 0519-3.pdf). Behind Trump's Turkish “Bromance”: Lev Parnas, Oligarchs And A Lucrative Lobbying Deal, NBC News (Sept. 19, 2020) (online at wwwnbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/behind-trump-s-turkish-bromance-lev-parnas-oligarchs-lucrative-lobbying-n1240374); Turkish Bank Case Showed Erdogan’s Influence With Trump, New York Times (Oct. 29, 2020) (online at www.nytimes.com/2020/10/29/us/politics/ ... lkbankhtml); The White House, Press Release: Remarks by President Trump and President Erdogan of Turkey in Joint Statement (May 16, 2017) (online at https://tr.usembassy.gov/remarks-presid ... statement/).
548 Ballard Partners, Brian D. Ballard (online at https://ballardpartners.com/the-team/brian-d-ballard/); The Center for Public Integrity, Florida Lobbyist Turning Trump Ties into Mega-Millions (July 5, 2017) (online at https://publicintegrity.org/politics/fl ... -millions/).
549 The Most Powerful Lobbyist in Trump’s Washington, Politico, (Apr. 2, 2018) (online at www.politico.com/magazine/story/2018/04 ... ton-217759).
550 The Swamp That Trump Built, New York Times (Oct. 10, 2020) (online at www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/10/10/ ... -swamphtml).
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Moreover, the activities of Mr. Ballard’s clients financially benefited the President, as officials from client governments such as Turkey and Kosovo made payments to then-President Trump’s businesses as detailed in this report, in violation of the Constitution’s Foreign Emoluments Clause.
551
As noted, on May 16, 2017, then-President Trump hosted President Erdoğan at the White House for “their first face-to-face encounter since Trump took office.” President Erdoğan expressed optimism about Mr. Trump’s presidency.552 In public remarks with President Trump, President Erdoğan stated, as translated: “Of course, President Trump’s recent election victory has led to the awakening of a new set of aspirations and expectations and hopes in our region. And we know that, by the help of the new U.S. administration, these hopes will not be lost in vain.”553
After meeting with President Trump, President Erdoğan went to the Turkish Ambassador’s residence in Washington, D.C., where his security detail violently charged a group of human rights protesters outside the residence. The Turkish security detail injured 11 protesters and assaulted two Secret Service agents in what police described as “a brutal attack.”554 Republican lawmakers called the security forces’ actions an “affront to the United States,” and the House of Representatives voted 397–0 in favor of a resolution calling for any Turkish security official who directed or participated in efforts by Turkish security forces to suppress peaceful protests outside of the Turkish Ambassador’s residence to be charged and prosecuted under U.S. law.555 The State Department, moreover, called in the Ambassador of Turkey to discuss the incident.556 Then-President Trump, however, made no public statements condemning the attack.557
551 Id.; The Most Powerful Lobbyist in Trump’s Washington, Politico (Apr. 2, 2018) (online at www.politico.com/magazine/story/2018/04 ... ton-217759).
552 ‘A New Era’ in U.S.-Turkish Relations, The Atlantic (May 16, 2017) (online at www.theatlantic.com/news/archive/2017/0 ... an/526851/).
553 The White House, Press Release: Remarks by President Trump and President Erdogan of Turkey in Joint Statement (May 16, 2017) (online at https://tr.usembassy.gov/remarks-presid ... statement/).
554 Erdogan Security Forces Launch “Brutal Attack” on Washington Protesters, Officials Say, New York Times (May 17, 2017) (online at wwwnytimes.com/2017/05/17/us/turkish-embassy-protest-dc.html).
555 Id; H.Res 354 (115th Cong.) (2017); See also Presidential Silence After an Attack on American Soil, The Atlantic (Jan. 13, 2019) (online at www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/20 ... rs/580093/); See also Trump Says Turkish President Gets “Very High Marks”, Politico (Sept. 21, 2017) (online at www.politico.com/story/2017/09/21/trump ... ise-242986).
556 State Department Summons Turkish Ambassador After Bloody Brawl in D.C., NBC News (May 18, 2017) (online at www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/state-depa ... -c-n761911).
557 Trump Says Turkish President Gets “Very High Marks,” Politico (Sept. 21, 2017) (online at www.politico.com/story/2017/09/21/trump ... ise-242986); Presidential Silence After an Attack on American Soil, The Atlantic (Jan. 13, 2019) (online at www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/20 ... rs/580093/).
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Interference in Halkbank Prosecution
During former President Trump’s Administration, Turkey found a receptive audience on an issue that had for years been one of that country’s key priorities—ending the federal criminal investigation of a Turkish state-run financial institution. Reportedly, before Donald Trump was elected President, President Erdoğan had attempted to pressure the Obama Administration to intervene in an ongoing DOJ investigation of Turkey’s state-owned Halkbank for allegedly violating U.S. sanctions laws and sending billions of dollars’ worth of gold and cash to Iran. President Erdoğan reportedly asked then-Vice President Biden to remove both then-U.S. Attorney, Preet Bharara, who was leading the investigation in the Southern District of New York (SDNY), as well as the judge overseeing the prosecution of Turkish-Iranian gold trader Reza Zarrab. The Obama Administration did not take any action to interfere with, or in any way alter, the course of the investigation and prosecution.558
Following Donald Trump’s election, the Turkish government and Halkbank initiated expensive lobbying efforts to try to persuade the Trump Administration to intervene. In August 2017, while the investigation into Halkbank by the SDNY was still underway, Halkbank hired Ballard Partners to represent it.559 Public reporting on lobbying records indicates that together, the Government of Turkey—which, as noted above had a separate contract with Ballard Partners—and Halkbank paid Mr. Ballard’s lobbying firm $4.6 million over two years. Mr. Ballard’s firm lobbied officials at the Trump White House and the State Department, Members of Congress, and then-President Trump’s personal lawyer, Jay Sekulow.560
In contrast to the Obama Administration, the Trump Administration signaled an openness to intervening in the Halkbank prosecution, consistent with President Erdoğan’s wishes. In 2018, Trump Administration officials reportedly began questioning then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions and President Trump’s then-United States Attorney for the SDNY, and Mr. Bharara’s successor, Geoffrey Berman, about aspects of the case. One such official was then-Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, who, after having been approached himself by Turkish officials, including President Erdoğan’s son-in-law, Berat Albayrak, reportedly raised questions with Mr. Sessions about the size of any potential fine that the prosecutors might seek.561 As Mr. Berman
558 Turkish Bank Case Showed Erdogan’s Influence with Trump, New York Times (Oct. 29, 2020) (online at www.nytimes.com/2020/10/29/us/politics/ ... kbank.html).
559 Department of Justice, Supplemental Statement Pursuant to the Foreign Agents Registration Act of 1938, as Amended (Aug. 28, 2017) (online at https://efilefara.gov/docs/6415-Exhibit ... 0828-5.pdf); Turkish Bank Hires Lobby Firm with Trump Ties, The Hill (Sept. 1, 2017) (online at https://thehill.com/business-a-lobbying ... rump-ties/).
560 Id. Ballard Partners represented Turkey through November 2018, and Halkbank until its indictment in SDNY in October 2019. Behind Trump's Turkish “Bromance”: Lev Parnas, Oligarchs and a Lucrative Lobbying Deal, NBC News (Sept. 19, 2020) (online at www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/b ... g-n1240374); Turkish Bank Case Showed Erdogan’s Influence with Trump, New York Times (Oct. 29, 2020) (online at www.nytimes.com/2020/10/29/us/politics/ ... lkbankhtml).
561 Turkish Bank Case Showed Erdogan’s Influence with Trump, New York Times (Oct. 29, 2020) (online at www.nytimes.com/2020/10/29/us/politics/ ... kbank.html).
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described it, Halkbank “acted as if it had an ace in the hole, or two aces: a friend in the White House and a back channel to Main Justice [i.e. the DOJ’s leadership].”
562
On December 14, 2018, then-President Trump reportedly promised President Erdoğan that a resolution in the Halkbank investigation was forthcoming—a statement that suggested President Trump was interfering in an ongoing investigation and violating the independence of the DOJ. According to the account of former National Security Advisor John Bolton, President Erdoğan presented President Trump with a memo from the law firm representing Halkbank. President Trump quickly flipped through the pages and then said that he believed Halkbank was innocent.563 According to Mr. Bolton, “Trump […] told Erdogan he would take care of things, explaining that the Southern District prosecutors were not his people, but were Obama people, a problem that would be fixed when they were replaced by his people.”564 On the same day, the DOJ reportedly notified SDNY that Secretary Mnuchin, Secretary of State Pompeo, and the U.S. Attorney General’s office would become more involved in the Halkbank case.565
According to the New York Times, in December 2018, then-Acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker told then-Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein that he did not want the Halkbank case to proceed, despite Mr. Rosenstein’s support for the prosecution. Justice Department officials ultimately disregarded Mr. Whitaker’s instruction.566
Attorney General Barr, who succeeded Acting Attorney General Whitaker in February 2019, reportedly continued the effort to pressure SDNY to drop the charges.567 In his memoir, Mr. Geoffrey Berman—who had been appointed by the Trump Administration in January 2018—noted his belief that in pushing to drop the Halkbank case, former Attorney General Barr, “appeared to be doing Trump’s bidding.”568 As Mr. Berman put it:
Donald Trump was close with the Turkish President, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Trump had a property in Turkey—Trump Towers Istanbul. Erdoğan attended the official opening in 2012.
562 Geoffrey Berman, Holding the Line (2022) at 261.
563 Trump’s Inexplicable Crusade to Help Iran Evade Sanctions, Foreign Policy (Jan. 9, 2021) (online at https://foreignpolicy.com/2021/01/09/tr ... -halkbank/).
564 Clash Over U.S. Attorney Who Investigated Trump Associates Sets Off Crisis, New York Times (June 19, 2020 (online at www.nytimes.com/2020/06/19/nyregion/us- ... -trumphtml); Turkish Bank Case Showed Erdogan’s Influence with Trump, New York Times (Oct. 29, 2020) (online at www.nytimes.com/2020/10/29/us/politics/ ... kbank.html).
565 Id.
566 Turkish Bank Case Showed Erdogan’s Influence with Trump, New York Times (Oct. 29, 2020) (online at www.nytimes.com/2020/10/29/us/politics/ ... lkbankhtml).
567 Id.
568 Geoffrey Berman’s Big Claims About Trump’s Justice Department, Washington Post (Sept. 8, 2022) (online at www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/09 ... organized/); United States Attorney’s Office, Southern District of New York, Press Release: Attorney General Jeff Sessions Appoints Geoffrey S. Berman As Interim United States Attorney (Jan. 3, 2018) (online at www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/pr/attorney-g ... ted-states).
129
The Turkish President adamantly objected to all aspects of our probe and did not want the bank charged.
He made the case directly to Trump.
Barr, always eager to please his boss, appeared to be doing Trump’s bidding.569
In reporting on this matter, the New York Times observed: “Mr. Trump’s sympathetic response to Mr. Erdogan was especially jarring because it involved accusations that the bank had undercut Mr. Trump’s policy of economically isolating Iran, a centerpiece of his Middle East plan.”570
Former National Security Advisor Bolton provided additional context regarding Mr. Trump’s relationship with Erdoğan and Halkbank: “It was so idiosyncratic, so personal to Trump in the pursuit of personal relationships, that it was very dangerous. And it does look like obstruction of justice.”571 Mr. Bolton further noted that former President Trump “would interfere in the regular government process to do something for a foreign leader,” adding, “In anticipation of what? In anticipation of another favor from that person down the road.”572
Despite the Trump Administration’s apparent campaign to get the Justice Department to end the investigation into Halkbank, SDNY filed an indictment against Halkbank in October 2019.573 As Mr. Berman described it:
Then something unexpected, and, in light of all that occurred previously, bizarre, occurred on October 15. Barr called me and said the team should put the Halkbank case in the grand jury that day so we could be in a position to indict.
Apparently, Trump had fallen out with Erdoğan.574
In June 2020, President Trump fired Mr. Berman. Trump DOJ officials reportedly “cited his handling of the Halkbank matter, including his blocking of the proposed global settlement, as a key reason for his removal.”575
569 Berman, Holding the Line at 258.
570 Turkish Bank Case Showed Erdogan’s Influence with Trump, New York Times (Oct. 29, 2020) (online at www.nytimes.com/2020/10/29/us/politics/ ... lkbankhtml).
571 Id.
572 Id.
573 Department of Justice, Press Release: Turkish Bank Charged in Manhattan Federal Court for its Participation in a Multibillion-Dollar Iranian Sanctions Evasion Scheme (Oct. 15, 2019) (online at www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/pr/turkish-ba ... ion-dollar).
574 Berman, Holding the Line at 276.
575 Turkish Bank Case Showed Erdogan’s Influence with Trump, New York Times (Oct. 29, 2020) (online at www.nytimes.com/2020/10/29/us/politics/ ... kbank.html).
130
After charges were brought in October 2019, Halkbank unsuccessfully sought to have the case dismissed, arguing that the bank could not be subject to prosecution under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act (FSIA), which limits the United States’ ability to bring civil cases against foreign nations. The bank’s appeal was ultimately reviewed by the U.S. Supreme Court, which ruled in April 2023 that Halkbank was not immune from criminal prosecution under FSIA because the law applied only to civil cases.576 The Supreme Court also remanded the case to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit for further consideration of whether Halkbank is entitled to immunity under common law.577
Separately, SDNY charged nine individuals, including several employees of Halkbank, with crimes related to Halkbank’s scheme. Reza Zarrab ultimately pled guilty to seven counts. The former Deputy General Manager of Halkbank was convicted on five counts in January 2018. Other defendants became fugitives.578
Spending at Trump Properties by the Turkish Government
A document provided to the Committee by Mazars indicates that the Embassy of Turkey made two expenditures at Trump-owned properties in May 2017—the same month President Erdoğan made his first visit to then-President Trump at the White House—and the same month that President Erdoğan’s security detail attacked U.S. protesters and Secret Service agents outside the Turkish Embassy. The document shows an account for the “Embassy of Turkey Delegation” with a “Start Date” of May 9, 2017, and an account for the “Embassy of Turkey” with a “Start Date” of May 23, 2017. Both accounts were identified as “Closed.”579 The Mazars records produced to the Committee do not specify the purposes or amounts of the Turkish Embassy’s expenditures, and Chairman Comer’s release of Mazars from its obligation to produce responsive documents has prevented the Committee from obtaining further information.
Records produced to the Committee by Mazars show that Murat Cetinkaya, the Governor of the Central Bank of Turkey, stayed at the Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C., from October 11 through October 14, 2017, spending $1,894.580 Mr. Cetinkaya’s name appears among the “Accredited Members of the Delegations at the 2017 Annual Meetings” included in
576 In Prosecution of Turkish Bank, the Supreme Court Issues a Mixed Ruling, New York Times (Apr. 19, 2023) (online at www.nytimes.com/2023/04/19/us/supreme-c ... kbank.html); Supreme Court says Halkbank Not Immune From U.S. Prosecution for Iran Sanctions Violations Under FSIA, CNBC (Apr. 19, 2023) (online at www.cnbc.com/2023/04/19/supreme-court-s ... ationshtml).
577 Turkiye Halk Bankasi A.S. v. United States, 143 S.Ct. 940 (2023).
578 Department of Justice, Press Release: Turkish Bank Charged in Manhattan Federal Court for its Participation in a Multibillion-Dollar Iranian Sanctions Evasion Scheme (Oct. 15, 2019) (online at www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/pr/turkish-ba ... ion-dollar).
579 MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00008041.
580 MAZARS-OVERSIGHTCOMMITTEE-00018548; MAZARS-OVERSIGHTCOMMITTEE-00018559; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018568; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018576; Turkey’s President Removes Head of Central Bank, New York Times (July 6, 2019) (online at wwwnytimes.com/2019/07/06/business/erdogan-removes-turkey-governor-central-bank.html).
131
the “Summary Proceedings” of the “2017 Annual Meetings of the Boards of Governors” issued by the World Bank.
581
Trump’s Business Interests in Turkey
Significantly, the payments made to the Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C., by Turkish officials were in addition to the approximately $2.6 million in net income the former President reportedly received from 2015 through 2018 from his business operations in Turkey.582 In his personal financial disclosures during his time in office, Mr. Trump reported receiving royalties worth between $100,001 and $1 million annually on his Trump Marks Istanbul II LLC venture.583 As discussed above, Mr. Trump himself stated that he had “a little conflict of interest” with respect to Turkish affairs because of his “major, major building in Istanbul.”584
581 The World Bank, 2017 Annual Meetings of the Board of Governors Summary Proceedings (Oct. 13–15, 2017) (online at https://documents1.worldbank.org/curate ... 232018.pdf).
582 Turkish Bank Case Showed Erdogan’s Influence with Trump, New York Times (Oct. 29, 2020) (online at www.nytimes.com/2020/10/29/us/politics/ ... kbank.html).
583 Office of Government Ethics, Executive Branch Personnel Public Financial Disclosures (OGE Form 278e) (Donald J. Trump) (Filed May 15, 2018) (online at https://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/ ... e-2018.pdf); Office of Government Ethics, Executive Branch Personnel Public Financial Disclosures (OGE Form 278e) (Donald J. Trump) (Filed May 15, 2019) (online at https://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/ ... e-2019.pdf); Office of Government Ethics, Executive Branch Personnel Public Financial Disclosures (OGE Form 278e) (Donald J. Trump) (Filed July 31, 2020) (online https://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/ ... losure.pdf); Office of Government Ethics, Executive Branch Personnel Public Financial Disclosures (OGE Form 278e) (Donald J. Trump) (Filed Jan. 15, 2021) (online at https://extapps2.oge.gov/201/Presidenns ... %20278.pdf); What We Know About Trump's Business Empire Trump Towers Istanbul, CNN (2018) (online at www.cnn.com/interactive/2018/politics/t ... /?asset=59).
584 President Trump Said in 2015 That He Has a ‘Little Conflict of Interest’ in Turkey, TIME (Apr. 19, 2017) (online at https://time.com/4746348/donald-trump-t ... -interest/).
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Donald Trump entered the presidency with significant and lucrative existing business interests in Turkey. Moreover, the records produced to the Committee by Mazars indicate that after the Trump presidency began, the Turkish government repeatedly patronized Trump-owned properties in the United States. For two expenditures made by Turkey—both in May 2017—the records provided by Mazars fail to show the specific dates, purposes, or amounts of the expenditures. Notably, these expenditures coincided with a visit by the Turkish President, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, to the White House to meet with President Trump. Separately, the Mazars records show that the Governor of the Central Bank of Turkey stayed at the Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C. in October 2017, spending $1,894.
As President, Donald Trump—and senior officials in his Administration—took several official actions and positions favorable to the Turkish government. For example, in 2018, then-President Trump reportedly assured President Erdoğan that the DOJ would terminate an investigation into the Turkish state-owned financial institution Türkiye Halk Bankasi, also known as Halkbank, over allegations of money laundering and evasion of U.S. sanctions on Iran. Trump Administration officials pressured the U.S. Attorney leading the investigation and prosecution to drop the charges.540 In addition, President Trump remained silent when President Erdoğan’s bodyguards assaulted U.S. citizens who were protesting the policies of the Turkish government during President Erdoğan’s May 2017 visit to the United States.541
Turkey’s Emolument Spending at Trump Properties
Date
Location
Event
Amount
October 11–14, 2017
Trump International Hotel
(Washington, D.C.)
Stay by Murat Cetinkaya, Governor, Central Bank of Turkey
$1,894542
In December 2015, Donald Trump stated the following about his relationship with Turkey during an appearance on Steve Bannon’s radio program: “I have a little conflict of interest because I have a major, major building in Istanbul.” He explained, “It’s called Trump Towers—two towers, instead of one. … And I’ve gotten to know Turkey very well. They’re amazing people. They’re incredible people. They have a strong leader.”543 In 2012, Mr.
540 Turkish Bank Case Showed Erdogan’s Influence with Trump, New York Times (Oct. 29, 2020) (online at www.nytimes.com/2020/10/29/us/politics/ ... lkbankhtml).
541 Presidential Silence After an Attack on American Soil, The Atlantic (Jan. 13, 2019) (online at www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/20 ... rs/580093/); Erdogan Security Forces Launch ‘Brutal Attack’ on Washington Protesters, Officials Say, New York Times (May 17, 2017) (online at www.nytimes.com/2017/05/17/us/turkish-e ... est-dchtml).
542 MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018548; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018559; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018568; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018576.
543 Donald Trump—December 1, 2015, Breitbart News Daily (Dec. 1, 2015) (online at https://soundcloud.com/breitbart/breitb ... ber-1-2015); The Daily 202: Trump’s ‘Little Conflict of Interest’ in Turkey Draws Scrutiny as He Offers Erdogan a Generous Deal, Washington Post
125
Erdoğan, then Turkey’s Prime Minister, cut the ribbon opening Trump Towers Istanbul. Donald Trump attended this ribbon cutting, as did his daughter, Ivanka Trump, and her husband, Jared Kushner.
544 On April 20, 2012, Ivanka Trump thanked Mr. Erdoğan for his support, posting on social media: “Thank you Prime Minister Erdogan for joining us yesterday to celebrate the launch of #TrumpTowers Istanbul!”545
Years later, as Donald Trump prepared to take office, it was Mr. Erdoğan who sought access to Mr. Trump and his confidantes, with Turkey investing heavily in lobbying the Trump Administration from its outset. Reportedly, the day before Donald Trump’s inauguration, Turkey’s foreign minister, Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, met with Trump fundraiser and D.C. lobbyist, Brian Ballard, in Washington, D.C. According to NBC, this meeting “marked the start of Turkey’s ambitious lobbying of the Trump administration.”546 Mr. Ballard entered into a profitable lobbying agreement with the Turkish Government that took effect on May 15, 2017—the day before President Erdoğan visited President Trump at the White House (as discussed in more detail below).547
Mr. Ballard, a Republican National Committee finance vice chair and Trump super-donor, had built his firm around his personal connections to President Trump.548 He was reportedly “closer to the president than perhaps any other lobbyist in town” and “parlayed that relationship into a booming business helping clients get their way with the Trump administration.”549 Mr. Ballard was a frequent patron of Mr. Trump’s Mar-a-Lago Club, reportedly having joined Mar-a-Lago midway through Mr. Trump’s term after Mr. Trump noticed he was not a member.550
(Nov. 13, 2019) (online at www.washingtonpost.com/news/powerpost/p ... 0ffd20dcb/).
544 Id.
545 Ivanka Trump (@IvankaTrump), X (formerly Twitter) (Apr. 20, 2012) (online at https://twitter.com/IvankaTrump/status/ ... 2066540545).
546 Behind Trump’s Turkish “Bromance”: Lev Parnas, Oligarchs and a Lucrative Lobbying Deal, NBC News (Sept. 19, 2020) (online at www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/b ... g-n1240374).
547 Id.; Department of Justice, Supplemental Statement Pursuant to the Foreign Agents Registration Act of 1938, as Amended (May 19, 2017) (online at https://efile.fara.gov/docs/6415-Exhibi ... 0519-3.pdf). Behind Trump's Turkish “Bromance”: Lev Parnas, Oligarchs And A Lucrative Lobbying Deal, NBC News (Sept. 19, 2020) (online at wwwnbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/behind-trump-s-turkish-bromance-lev-parnas-oligarchs-lucrative-lobbying-n1240374); Turkish Bank Case Showed Erdogan’s Influence With Trump, New York Times (Oct. 29, 2020) (online at www.nytimes.com/2020/10/29/us/politics/ ... lkbankhtml); The White House, Press Release: Remarks by President Trump and President Erdogan of Turkey in Joint Statement (May 16, 2017) (online at https://tr.usembassy.gov/remarks-presid ... statement/).
548 Ballard Partners, Brian D. Ballard (online at https://ballardpartners.com/the-team/brian-d-ballard/); The Center for Public Integrity, Florida Lobbyist Turning Trump Ties into Mega-Millions (July 5, 2017) (online at https://publicintegrity.org/politics/fl ... -millions/).
549 The Most Powerful Lobbyist in Trump’s Washington, Politico, (Apr. 2, 2018) (online at www.politico.com/magazine/story/2018/04 ... ton-217759).
550 The Swamp That Trump Built, New York Times (Oct. 10, 2020) (online at www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/10/10/ ... -swamphtml).
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Moreover, the activities of Mr. Ballard’s clients financially benefited the President, as officials from client governments such as Turkey and Kosovo made payments to then-President Trump’s businesses as detailed in this report, in violation of the Constitution’s Foreign Emoluments Clause.
551
As noted, on May 16, 2017, then-President Trump hosted President Erdoğan at the White House for “their first face-to-face encounter since Trump took office.” President Erdoğan expressed optimism about Mr. Trump’s presidency.552 In public remarks with President Trump, President Erdoğan stated, as translated: “Of course, President Trump’s recent election victory has led to the awakening of a new set of aspirations and expectations and hopes in our region. And we know that, by the help of the new U.S. administration, these hopes will not be lost in vain.”553
After meeting with President Trump, President Erdoğan went to the Turkish Ambassador’s residence in Washington, D.C., where his security detail violently charged a group of human rights protesters outside the residence. The Turkish security detail injured 11 protesters and assaulted two Secret Service agents in what police described as “a brutal attack.”554 Republican lawmakers called the security forces’ actions an “affront to the United States,” and the House of Representatives voted 397–0 in favor of a resolution calling for any Turkish security official who directed or participated in efforts by Turkish security forces to suppress peaceful protests outside of the Turkish Ambassador’s residence to be charged and prosecuted under U.S. law.555 The State Department, moreover, called in the Ambassador of Turkey to discuss the incident.556 Then-President Trump, however, made no public statements condemning the attack.557
551 Id.; The Most Powerful Lobbyist in Trump’s Washington, Politico (Apr. 2, 2018) (online at www.politico.com/magazine/story/2018/04 ... ton-217759).
552 ‘A New Era’ in U.S.-Turkish Relations, The Atlantic (May 16, 2017) (online at www.theatlantic.com/news/archive/2017/0 ... an/526851/).
553 The White House, Press Release: Remarks by President Trump and President Erdogan of Turkey in Joint Statement (May 16, 2017) (online at https://tr.usembassy.gov/remarks-presid ... statement/).
554 Erdogan Security Forces Launch “Brutal Attack” on Washington Protesters, Officials Say, New York Times (May 17, 2017) (online at wwwnytimes.com/2017/05/17/us/turkish-embassy-protest-dc.html).
555 Id; H.Res 354 (115th Cong.) (2017); See also Presidential Silence After an Attack on American Soil, The Atlantic (Jan. 13, 2019) (online at www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/20 ... rs/580093/); See also Trump Says Turkish President Gets “Very High Marks”, Politico (Sept. 21, 2017) (online at www.politico.com/story/2017/09/21/trump ... ise-242986).
556 State Department Summons Turkish Ambassador After Bloody Brawl in D.C., NBC News (May 18, 2017) (online at www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/state-depa ... -c-n761911).
557 Trump Says Turkish President Gets “Very High Marks,” Politico (Sept. 21, 2017) (online at www.politico.com/story/2017/09/21/trump ... ise-242986); Presidential Silence After an Attack on American Soil, The Atlantic (Jan. 13, 2019) (online at www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/20 ... rs/580093/).
127
Interference in Halkbank Prosecution
During former President Trump’s Administration, Turkey found a receptive audience on an issue that had for years been one of that country’s key priorities—ending the federal criminal investigation of a Turkish state-run financial institution. Reportedly, before Donald Trump was elected President, President Erdoğan had attempted to pressure the Obama Administration to intervene in an ongoing DOJ investigation of Turkey’s state-owned Halkbank for allegedly violating U.S. sanctions laws and sending billions of dollars’ worth of gold and cash to Iran. President Erdoğan reportedly asked then-Vice President Biden to remove both then-U.S. Attorney, Preet Bharara, who was leading the investigation in the Southern District of New York (SDNY), as well as the judge overseeing the prosecution of Turkish-Iranian gold trader Reza Zarrab. The Obama Administration did not take any action to interfere with, or in any way alter, the course of the investigation and prosecution.558
Following Donald Trump’s election, the Turkish government and Halkbank initiated expensive lobbying efforts to try to persuade the Trump Administration to intervene. In August 2017, while the investigation into Halkbank by the SDNY was still underway, Halkbank hired Ballard Partners to represent it.559 Public reporting on lobbying records indicates that together, the Government of Turkey—which, as noted above had a separate contract with Ballard Partners—and Halkbank paid Mr. Ballard’s lobbying firm $4.6 million over two years. Mr. Ballard’s firm lobbied officials at the Trump White House and the State Department, Members of Congress, and then-President Trump’s personal lawyer, Jay Sekulow.560
In contrast to the Obama Administration, the Trump Administration signaled an openness to intervening in the Halkbank prosecution, consistent with President Erdoğan’s wishes. In 2018, Trump Administration officials reportedly began questioning then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions and President Trump’s then-United States Attorney for the SDNY, and Mr. Bharara’s successor, Geoffrey Berman, about aspects of the case. One such official was then-Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, who, after having been approached himself by Turkish officials, including President Erdoğan’s son-in-law, Berat Albayrak, reportedly raised questions with Mr. Sessions about the size of any potential fine that the prosecutors might seek.561 As Mr. Berman
558 Turkish Bank Case Showed Erdogan’s Influence with Trump, New York Times (Oct. 29, 2020) (online at www.nytimes.com/2020/10/29/us/politics/ ... kbank.html).
559 Department of Justice, Supplemental Statement Pursuant to the Foreign Agents Registration Act of 1938, as Amended (Aug. 28, 2017) (online at https://efilefara.gov/docs/6415-Exhibit ... 0828-5.pdf); Turkish Bank Hires Lobby Firm with Trump Ties, The Hill (Sept. 1, 2017) (online at https://thehill.com/business-a-lobbying ... rump-ties/).
560 Id. Ballard Partners represented Turkey through November 2018, and Halkbank until its indictment in SDNY in October 2019. Behind Trump's Turkish “Bromance”: Lev Parnas, Oligarchs and a Lucrative Lobbying Deal, NBC News (Sept. 19, 2020) (online at www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/b ... g-n1240374); Turkish Bank Case Showed Erdogan’s Influence with Trump, New York Times (Oct. 29, 2020) (online at www.nytimes.com/2020/10/29/us/politics/ ... lkbankhtml).
561 Turkish Bank Case Showed Erdogan’s Influence with Trump, New York Times (Oct. 29, 2020) (online at www.nytimes.com/2020/10/29/us/politics/ ... kbank.html).
128
described it, Halkbank “acted as if it had an ace in the hole, or two aces: a friend in the White House and a back channel to Main Justice [i.e. the DOJ’s leadership].”
562
On December 14, 2018, then-President Trump reportedly promised President Erdoğan that a resolution in the Halkbank investigation was forthcoming—a statement that suggested President Trump was interfering in an ongoing investigation and violating the independence of the DOJ. According to the account of former National Security Advisor John Bolton, President Erdoğan presented President Trump with a memo from the law firm representing Halkbank. President Trump quickly flipped through the pages and then said that he believed Halkbank was innocent.563 According to Mr. Bolton, “Trump […] told Erdogan he would take care of things, explaining that the Southern District prosecutors were not his people, but were Obama people, a problem that would be fixed when they were replaced by his people.”564 On the same day, the DOJ reportedly notified SDNY that Secretary Mnuchin, Secretary of State Pompeo, and the U.S. Attorney General’s office would become more involved in the Halkbank case.565
According to the New York Times, in December 2018, then-Acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker told then-Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein that he did not want the Halkbank case to proceed, despite Mr. Rosenstein’s support for the prosecution. Justice Department officials ultimately disregarded Mr. Whitaker’s instruction.566
Attorney General Barr, who succeeded Acting Attorney General Whitaker in February 2019, reportedly continued the effort to pressure SDNY to drop the charges.567 In his memoir, Mr. Geoffrey Berman—who had been appointed by the Trump Administration in January 2018—noted his belief that in pushing to drop the Halkbank case, former Attorney General Barr, “appeared to be doing Trump’s bidding.”568 As Mr. Berman put it:
Donald Trump was close with the Turkish President, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Trump had a property in Turkey—Trump Towers Istanbul. Erdoğan attended the official opening in 2012.
562 Geoffrey Berman, Holding the Line (2022) at 261.
563 Trump’s Inexplicable Crusade to Help Iran Evade Sanctions, Foreign Policy (Jan. 9, 2021) (online at https://foreignpolicy.com/2021/01/09/tr ... -halkbank/).
564 Clash Over U.S. Attorney Who Investigated Trump Associates Sets Off Crisis, New York Times (June 19, 2020 (online at www.nytimes.com/2020/06/19/nyregion/us- ... -trumphtml); Turkish Bank Case Showed Erdogan’s Influence with Trump, New York Times (Oct. 29, 2020) (online at www.nytimes.com/2020/10/29/us/politics/ ... kbank.html).
565 Id.
566 Turkish Bank Case Showed Erdogan’s Influence with Trump, New York Times (Oct. 29, 2020) (online at www.nytimes.com/2020/10/29/us/politics/ ... lkbankhtml).
567 Id.
568 Geoffrey Berman’s Big Claims About Trump’s Justice Department, Washington Post (Sept. 8, 2022) (online at www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/09 ... organized/); United States Attorney’s Office, Southern District of New York, Press Release: Attorney General Jeff Sessions Appoints Geoffrey S. Berman As Interim United States Attorney (Jan. 3, 2018) (online at www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/pr/attorney-g ... ted-states).
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The Turkish President adamantly objected to all aspects of our probe and did not want the bank charged.
He made the case directly to Trump.
Barr, always eager to please his boss, appeared to be doing Trump’s bidding.569
In reporting on this matter, the New York Times observed: “Mr. Trump’s sympathetic response to Mr. Erdogan was especially jarring because it involved accusations that the bank had undercut Mr. Trump’s policy of economically isolating Iran, a centerpiece of his Middle East plan.”570
Former National Security Advisor Bolton provided additional context regarding Mr. Trump’s relationship with Erdoğan and Halkbank: “It was so idiosyncratic, so personal to Trump in the pursuit of personal relationships, that it was very dangerous. And it does look like obstruction of justice.”571 Mr. Bolton further noted that former President Trump “would interfere in the regular government process to do something for a foreign leader,” adding, “In anticipation of what? In anticipation of another favor from that person down the road.”572
Despite the Trump Administration’s apparent campaign to get the Justice Department to end the investigation into Halkbank, SDNY filed an indictment against Halkbank in October 2019.573 As Mr. Berman described it:
Then something unexpected, and, in light of all that occurred previously, bizarre, occurred on October 15. Barr called me and said the team should put the Halkbank case in the grand jury that day so we could be in a position to indict.
Apparently, Trump had fallen out with Erdoğan.574
In June 2020, President Trump fired Mr. Berman. Trump DOJ officials reportedly “cited his handling of the Halkbank matter, including his blocking of the proposed global settlement, as a key reason for his removal.”575
569 Berman, Holding the Line at 258.
570 Turkish Bank Case Showed Erdogan’s Influence with Trump, New York Times (Oct. 29, 2020) (online at www.nytimes.com/2020/10/29/us/politics/ ... lkbankhtml).
571 Id.
572 Id.
573 Department of Justice, Press Release: Turkish Bank Charged in Manhattan Federal Court for its Participation in a Multibillion-Dollar Iranian Sanctions Evasion Scheme (Oct. 15, 2019) (online at www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/pr/turkish-ba ... ion-dollar).
574 Berman, Holding the Line at 276.
575 Turkish Bank Case Showed Erdogan’s Influence with Trump, New York Times (Oct. 29, 2020) (online at www.nytimes.com/2020/10/29/us/politics/ ... kbank.html).
130
After charges were brought in October 2019, Halkbank unsuccessfully sought to have the case dismissed, arguing that the bank could not be subject to prosecution under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act (FSIA), which limits the United States’ ability to bring civil cases against foreign nations. The bank’s appeal was ultimately reviewed by the U.S. Supreme Court, which ruled in April 2023 that Halkbank was not immune from criminal prosecution under FSIA because the law applied only to civil cases.576 The Supreme Court also remanded the case to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit for further consideration of whether Halkbank is entitled to immunity under common law.577
Separately, SDNY charged nine individuals, including several employees of Halkbank, with crimes related to Halkbank’s scheme. Reza Zarrab ultimately pled guilty to seven counts. The former Deputy General Manager of Halkbank was convicted on five counts in January 2018. Other defendants became fugitives.578
Spending at Trump Properties by the Turkish Government
A document provided to the Committee by Mazars indicates that the Embassy of Turkey made two expenditures at Trump-owned properties in May 2017—the same month President Erdoğan made his first visit to then-President Trump at the White House—and the same month that President Erdoğan’s security detail attacked U.S. protesters and Secret Service agents outside the Turkish Embassy. The document shows an account for the “Embassy of Turkey Delegation” with a “Start Date” of May 9, 2017, and an account for the “Embassy of Turkey” with a “Start Date” of May 23, 2017. Both accounts were identified as “Closed.”579 The Mazars records produced to the Committee do not specify the purposes or amounts of the Turkish Embassy’s expenditures, and Chairman Comer’s release of Mazars from its obligation to produce responsive documents has prevented the Committee from obtaining further information.
Records produced to the Committee by Mazars show that Murat Cetinkaya, the Governor of the Central Bank of Turkey, stayed at the Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C., from October 11 through October 14, 2017, spending $1,894.580 Mr. Cetinkaya’s name appears among the “Accredited Members of the Delegations at the 2017 Annual Meetings” included in
576 In Prosecution of Turkish Bank, the Supreme Court Issues a Mixed Ruling, New York Times (Apr. 19, 2023) (online at www.nytimes.com/2023/04/19/us/supreme-c ... kbank.html); Supreme Court says Halkbank Not Immune From U.S. Prosecution for Iran Sanctions Violations Under FSIA, CNBC (Apr. 19, 2023) (online at www.cnbc.com/2023/04/19/supreme-court-s ... ationshtml).
577 Turkiye Halk Bankasi A.S. v. United States, 143 S.Ct. 940 (2023).
578 Department of Justice, Press Release: Turkish Bank Charged in Manhattan Federal Court for its Participation in a Multibillion-Dollar Iranian Sanctions Evasion Scheme (Oct. 15, 2019) (online at www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/pr/turkish-ba ... ion-dollar).
579 MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00008041.
580 MAZARS-OVERSIGHTCOMMITTEE-00018548; MAZARS-OVERSIGHTCOMMITTEE-00018559; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018568; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018576; Turkey’s President Removes Head of Central Bank, New York Times (July 6, 2019) (online at wwwnytimes.com/2019/07/06/business/erdogan-removes-turkey-governor-central-bank.html).
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the “Summary Proceedings” of the “2017 Annual Meetings of the Boards of Governors” issued by the World Bank.
581
Trump’s Business Interests in Turkey
Significantly, the payments made to the Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C., by Turkish officials were in addition to the approximately $2.6 million in net income the former President reportedly received from 2015 through 2018 from his business operations in Turkey.582 In his personal financial disclosures during his time in office, Mr. Trump reported receiving royalties worth between $100,001 and $1 million annually on his Trump Marks Istanbul II LLC venture.583 As discussed above, Mr. Trump himself stated that he had “a little conflict of interest” with respect to Turkish affairs because of his “major, major building in Istanbul.”584
581 The World Bank, 2017 Annual Meetings of the Board of Governors Summary Proceedings (Oct. 13–15, 2017) (online at https://documents1.worldbank.org/curate ... 232018.pdf).
582 Turkish Bank Case Showed Erdogan’s Influence with Trump, New York Times (Oct. 29, 2020) (online at www.nytimes.com/2020/10/29/us/politics/ ... kbank.html).
583 Office of Government Ethics, Executive Branch Personnel Public Financial Disclosures (OGE Form 278e) (Donald J. Trump) (Filed May 15, 2018) (online at https://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/ ... e-2018.pdf); Office of Government Ethics, Executive Branch Personnel Public Financial Disclosures (OGE Form 278e) (Donald J. Trump) (Filed May 15, 2019) (online at https://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/ ... e-2019.pdf); Office of Government Ethics, Executive Branch Personnel Public Financial Disclosures (OGE Form 278e) (Donald J. Trump) (Filed July 31, 2020) (online https://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/ ... losure.pdf); Office of Government Ethics, Executive Branch Personnel Public Financial Disclosures (OGE Form 278e) (Donald J. Trump) (Filed Jan. 15, 2021) (online at https://extapps2.oge.gov/201/Presidenns ... %20278.pdf); What We Know About Trump's Business Empire Trump Towers Istanbul, CNN (2018) (online at www.cnn.com/interactive/2018/politics/t ... /?asset=59).
584 President Trump Said in 2015 That He Has a ‘Little Conflict of Interest’ in Turkey, TIME (Apr. 19, 2017) (online at https://time.com/4746348/donald-trump-t ... -interest/).
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Re: White House for Sale: ... [For] Donald Trump
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DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO
The records produced to the Committee by Mazars show that during the six-month period between September 2017 and March 2018, representatives of the government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (D.R.C.) and a chairman of a D.R.C. state agency spent $25,171 at the Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C., over six separate stays. During the same period, D.R.C. government officials were engaged in an extensive influence campaign in the U.S. while then-D.R.C. President Joseph Kabila—whose term was supposed to have ended in late 2016—refused to cede power.585 As experts and policymakers within the international community condemned Mr. Kabila for his refusal to hold free and fair elections and for his administration’s violent repression of political dissent, the Kabila government spent tens of thousands of dollars on hotel stays presumably aimed at securing then-President Donald Trump’s support.
D.R.C.’s Emolument Spending at Trump Properties
Date
Location
Expenditure
Amount
September 10–16, 2017
Trump International Hotel
(Washington, D.C.)
Raymond Tshibanda, Special Envoy of the D.R.C. to the United States
$6,439586
September 25, 2017
Trump International Hotel
(Washington, D.C.)
Raymond Tshibanda, Special Envoy of the D.R.C. to the United States
$1,356587
October 12, 2017
Trump International Hotel
(Washington, D.C.)
Francois Balumuene, Congolese Ambassador to the United States
$1,600588
November 26, 2017–December 4, 2017
Trump International Hotel
(Washington, D.C.)
Raymond Tshibanda, Special Envoy of the D.R.C. to the United States
$8,638589
585 The Postponed DRC Elections: Behind the Tumultuous Politics, Brookings Institution (Nov. 18, 2016) (online at www.brookings.edu/blog/africa-in-focus/ ... -politics/); No DRC Leader Gives Up Power Peacefully, So Why Would Joseph Kabila?, The Guardian (Sept. 23, 2016) (online at www.theguardian.com/world/2016/sep/23/j ... sfer-power).
586 MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018306; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018315; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018324; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018334; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018343; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018349; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018353; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018451.
587 MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018400.
588 MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018553; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018555.
589 MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018914; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018916; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018919; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018924; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018929; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018937; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018942; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018947; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018956.
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December 20–21, 2017
Trump International Hotel
(Washington, D.C.)
Raymond Tshibanda, Special Envoy of the D.R.C. to the United States
$1,496590
March 13–16, 2018
Trump International Hotel
(Washington, D.C.)
Albert Yuma, Chairman, Gécamines
$5,642591
EMOLUMENTS PAID BY D.R.C.
(2017–2018)
$25,171
In October 2016, as then-President Joseph Kabila was nearing the constitutionally mandated end of his final term, he announced that 2016 presidential elections originally expected to be held that fall “would be postponed until April 2018.”592 This announcement appeared to ensure that President Kabila would remain in power for at least another 15 months—and raised concerns that he might seek to change the D.R.C.’s constitution so that he could retain the presidency indefinitely.593 Then-President Kabila was accused of using force against those who opposed his regime and of looting millions in public funds.594
The D.R.C.’s shift away from democracy and its repression of dissent provoked alarm in the international community.595 In June 2016, the Obama Administration had already imposed
590 MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00019049; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00019052.
591 MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00016648; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00016659; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00016671; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00016678.
592 The Postponed DRC Elections: Behind the Tumultuous Politics, Brookings Institution (Nov. 18, 2016) (online at www.brookings.edu/blog/africa-in-focus/ ... -politics/); No DRC Leader Gives Up Power Peacefully, So Why Would Joseph Kabila?, The Guardian (Sept. 23, 2016) (online at www.theguardian.com/world/2016/sep/23/j ... sfer-power).
593 The Postponed D.R.C. Elections: Behind The Tumultuous Politics, Brookings Institution (Nov. 18, 2016) (online at www.brookings.edu/articles/the-postpone ... litics/acf); The Postponed DRC Elections: What Does The DRC’s Situation Look Like Now?, Brookings Institution (Nov. 22, 2016) (online at www.brookings.edu/articles/the-postpone ... -like-now/).
594 U.N. Condemns Congo’s Use of Force Against Protesters and Monitors, New York Times (Jan. 23, 2018) (online at www.nytimes.com/2018/01/23/world/africa ... kabilahtml); As President Joseph Kabila Digs In, Tensions Rise in Congo, New York Times (Dec. 17, 2016) (online at www.nytimes.com/2016/12/17/world/africa ... ption.html). See also Document Leak Shows Kabila Family, Associates Looted DRC Funds, Al Jazeera (Nov. 21, 2021) (online at www.aljazeera.com/economy/2021/11/19/do ... -drc-funds). (Describing a 2021 financial document data leak that demonstrated how a “private bank in the Democratic Republic of Congo was used to channel at least $138 million of public funds to former President Joseph Kabila’s family and associates.” The documents show “that Congo’s central bank sent $94.5 million to entities connected to the Kabilas, while tens of millions of dollars arrived from other public institutions, including $20 million from the nation’s state-owned mining company Gecamines.”).
595 Editorial: Obama Should Act on Congo Before It’s Too Late, Washington Post (Nov. 22, 2016) (online at www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/global- ... _storyhtml); U.S. Disappointed Congo Did Not Announce Election Calendar, Reuters (Sept. 19, 2016) (online at wwwreuters.com/article/us-congo-politics-usa/u-s-disappointed-congo-did-not-announce-election-calendar-idUSKCN11P22M).
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sanctions on the police chief in D.R.C.’s capital, Kinshasha.
596 Shortly before leaving office, the Obama Administration imposed sanctions on several senior government officials in the D.R.C., including the Deputy Prime Minister.597
As it was trying to suppress opposition at home, the Kabila government initiated a multi-million dollar lobbying and public relations campaign to court U.S. government officials and win over the new Trump Administration.598 In late 2016—as President Kabila extended his rule—the Kabila government reportedly contracted MER Securities and Communications Systems Ltd. (MER), an Israeli security firm, to launch a multi-million dollar D.C. lobbying campaign designed to influence the Trump Administration. MER had already been aiding the D.R.C.’s surveillance and intelligence efforts at home.599 The D.R.C. government further expanded its influence campaign once Trump took office, engaging lobbying firms like the Republican-led Livingston Group to help shore up U.S. support amid growing controversy surrounding President Kabila.600
In July 2017, the U.S. Deputy Ambassador to the United Nations announced that the U.S. was “ready to take additional action to sanction those who stand in the way of D.R.C.’s first democratic transition of power.”601 As Voice of America reported, on July 11, 2017, the U.S. “threatened to impose further targeted unilateral sanctions on anyone who hinders Democratic Republic of Congo’s already delayed preparations for an election to replace President Joseph Kabila” after the D.R.C.’s “election commission president said […] that the vote, originally due in November 2016, was unlikely to take place in 2017.”602
596 US Imposes Sanctions on Kinshasa Police Chief in DRC, VOA News (June 23, 2016) (online at www.voanews.com/a/us-imposes-sanctions- ... 89741.html).
597 US, EU Sanction DRC Officials for Undermining Democracy, VOA News (Dec. 12, 2016) (online at www.voanews.com/a/us-eu-drc-sanctions/3633014html).
598 Congo’s Lobbyists Seek Allies in Washington Amid Election Turmoil, The Hill (June 28, 2017) (online at https://thehill.com/business-a-lobbying ... gton-amid/); Congo Inks $5.6 Million Lobbying Deal Amid Election Strife, The Hill (May 1, 2017) (online at https://thehill.com/business-a-lobbying ... on-strife/).
599 How One Company Made It Easier for an Autocrat to Crack Down, Then Lobbied Trump—And Won, Buzzfeed (Dec. 30, 2020) (online at www.buzzfeednews.com/article/albertsama ... n-rule-mer); Congo Inks $5.6 million Lobbying Deal Amid Election Strife, The Hill (May 1, 2017) (online at https://thehill.com/business-a-lobbying ... on-strife/).
600 Congo’s Lobbyists Seek Allies in Washington Amid Election Turmoil, The Hill (June 28, 2017) (online at https://thehill.com/business-a-lobbying ... gton-amid/); Congo Inks $5.6 Million Lobbying Deal Amid Election Strife, The Hill (May 1, 2017) (online at https://thehill.com/business-a-lobbying ... on-strife/); See also Targets of U.S. Sanctions Hire Lobbyists With Trump Ties to Seek Relief, New York Times (Dec. 10, 2018) (online at www.nytimes.com/2018/12/10/us/politics/ ... ts-usahtml); Congo’s Lobbyists Seek Allies in Washington Amid Election Turmoil, The Hill (June 28, 2017) (online at https://thehill.com/business-a-lobbying ... gton-amid/).
601 US Threatens Sanctions on Anyone Delaying DR Congo Vote (July 11, 2017) (online at www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/7/11/us-thr ... congo-vote).
602 US Threatens More Sanctions for Hindering Democracy in Congo, VOA News (July 11, 2017) (online
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According to filings with the DOJ pursuant to FARA, the Livingston Group, on behalf of MER, arranged a meeting on September 14, 2017, for Mr. Raymond Tshibanda, the Kabila government’s Special Envoy to the United States and former Minister for Foreign Affairs, International Cooperation, and Francophonie of the D.R.C., and other D.R.C. representatives with the Senior Advisor to the Under Secretary of State for Civilian Security, Democracy, and Human Rights and a D.R.C. desk officer at the U.S. Department of State.603 The documents Mazars produced to the Committee indicate that on the day he met with the State Department officials, Mr. Tshibanda stayed at the Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C. His stay that day was the first of four stays by him recorded in the limited documents produced by Mazars.604
Subsequently, between November 28, 2017, and December 1, 2017, the Livingston Group arranged meetings for a D.R.C. delegation—including Mr. Tshibanda and D.R.C.’s Ambassador to the United States, Francois Balumuene—with U.S. public officials, former U.S. ambassadors and State Department officials, and several Members of Congress.605
In late 2017, Nikki Haley, then-President Trump’s Ambassador to the United Nations, visited President Kabila in the Congolese capital, Kinshasa. During her visit, Ambassador Haley pushed Kabila to cede power and threatened economic sanctions if he did not do so.606 Then-Ambassador Haley had been sharply critical of the conditions in the D.R.C. In an op-ed published by CNN, she noted that the country had “never witnessed a democratic, peaceful transfer of power.”607 Earlier in 2017, she had reportedly described the Kabila regime as “corrupt and prey[ing] on its citizens.”608 In late 2017, after Ambassador Haley’s trip to Kinshasha, the U.S. imposed sanctions on business interests in the D.R.C.609
at www.voanews.com/a/us-threatens-more-san ... 37904.html).
603 Department of Justice, Supplemental Statement Pursuant to the Foreign Agents Registration Act of 1938, as Amended (Nov. 30, 2017) (online at https://efilefara.gov/docs/6428-Supplem ... 1221-1.pdf); Raymond Tshibanda, Congo Envoy, Sees Election Hurdles, Washington Times (July 9, 2017) (online at www.washingtontimes.com/news/2017/jul/9 ... on-hurdle/); United Nations, Secretary-General Meets Foreign Minister of Democratic Republic of Congo (Sept. 24, 2016) (online at https://dammedia.un.org/archive/The-Sec ... SRG8Z.html).
604 MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018306.
605 Department of Justice, Supplemental Statement Pursuant to the Foreign Agents Registration Act of 1938, as Amended (Mar. 31, 2018) (online at https://efile.fara.gov/docs/6344-Supple ... 0511-4.pdf). According to public filings by the Livingston Group, these meetings were arranged “to discuss recent political developments in the DRC […], economic cooperation and business opportunities between [the United States and the DRC], development and humanitarian issues in the DRC, and strategic developments affecting the D.R.C. and Central Africa.”
606 How One Company Made It Easier for an Autocrat to Crack Down, Then Lobbied Trump—And Won, Buzzfeed (Dec. 30, 2020) (online at www.buzzfeednews.com/article/albertsama ... n-rule-mer).
607 Nikki Haley: This Is Why the President Is Sending Me to Africa, CNN (Oct. 22, 2017) (online at www.cnn.com/2017/10/21/opinions/un-drc- ... /indexhtml).
608 Nikki Haley Calls for Cuts in U.N. Peacekeeping Funding, NPR (Mar. 30, 2017) (online at www.npr.org/2017/03/30/522015640/nikki- ... ng-funding).
609 U.S. Department of the Treasury, Press Release: United States Sanctions Human Rights Abusers and
136
In March 2018, after hearing from individuals displaced from the D.R.C. and aid workers who had traveled there, the United Nations issued a press release warning, “Humanitarian Crisis in Democratic Republic of Congo Will Worsen Without Political Transition, End to Violence, Speakers Warn Security Council.”610 In April 2018, the New York Times reported that, “[t]he United Nations says challenges to Mr. Kabila’s rule have caused a collapse of political authority, leading to fighting that has displaced 4.5 million people.”611
In mid-2018, as MER was reportedly stepping up its efforts to target individuals who held sway with the Trump Administration, including Rudy Giuliani.612 In July 2018, Mr. Giuliani attended a cocktail party in Washington, D.C., featuring a speech by Special Envoy Tshibanda.613 After that party, Ambassador Balumuene suggested in a September 2018 interview that the D.R.C. was working with Mr. Giuliani to “figure out the [Trump] administration’s position on an upcoming presidential election called by Mr. Kabila to avoid threatened sanctions.”614 Ambassador Balumuene stated, “What I know is that it is possible that Giuliani will let us know how to go ahead,” possibly suggesting that Mr. Kabila’s government expected to receive inside information from Mr. Giuliani.615 Ambassador Balumuene later walked that statement back, however, claiming he had “never met or spoken to Giuliani.”616
In August 2018, Mr. Kabila announced that he would not run for President in the upcoming election, which had finally been scheduled for December of that year.617 Publicly, Mr. Kabila endorsed Emmanuel Ramazani Shadary, who had been serving as one of three deputy prime ministers and interior minister, as his successor.618 Behind the scenes, however, Mr.
Corrupt Actors Across the Globe (Dec. 21, 2017) (online at https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/sm0243).
610 United Nations, Meetings Coverage, Security Council, 8207th Meeting, AM, Press Release: Humanitarian Crisis in Democratic Republic of Congo Will Worsen Without Political Transition, End to Violence, Speakers Warn Security Council (Mar. 19, 2018) (online at https://press.un.org/en/2018/sc13253.dochtm).
611 Despite Millions of Displaced People, Congo Rejects U.N. Aid Effort, New York Times (Apr. 7, 2018) (online at www.nytimes.com/2018/04/07/world/africa ... la-aidhtml).
612 How One Company Made It Easier for An Autocrat To Crack Down, Then Lobbied Trump—And Won, Buzzfeed (Dec. 30, 2020) (online at www.buzzfeednews.com/article/albertsama ... n-rule-mer).
613 Id; Targets of U.S. Sanctions Hire Lobbyists with Trump Ties to Seek Relief, New York Times (Dec. 10, 2018) (online at www.nytimes.com/2018/12/10/us/politics/ ... ts-usahtml).
614 Id.
615 Id.
616 How One Company Made It Easier for An Autocrat To Crack Down, Then Lobbied Trump—And Won, Buzzfeed (Dec. 30, 2020) (online at www.buzzfeednews.com/article/albertsama ... n-rule-mer).
617 Waiting for Democracy in Congo, Foreign Affairs (Aug. 17, 2018) (online at www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/democra ... racy-congo); Joseph Kabila, Congo Strongman, Will Step Down After 17 Years in Power, New York Times (Aug. 8, 2018) (online at wwwnytimes.com/2018/08/08/world/africa/joseph-kabila-congo.html).
618 Emmanuel Ramazani Shadary: Kabila’s Choice for DR Congo President, BBC News (Dec. 18. 2018) (online at www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-46447089); Joseph Kabila, Congo Strongman, Will Step Down After 17 Years in Power, New York Times (Aug. 8, 2018) (online at wwwnytimes.com/2018/08/08/world/africa/joseph-
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Kabila reportedly “negotiated a secret power-sharing arrangement” with a different candidate: Félix Tshisekedi.
619 After the elections were finally held on December 30, 2018, Félix Tshisekedi was declared the winner through a process that regional election observers and the international community widely viewed as fraudulent.620
On January 22, 2019, a group of U.S. government agencies, including the Department of the Treasury, reportedly drafted a statement calling the election “deeply flawed and troubling” and concluding that the D.R.C.’s election commission had “failed to live up to the responsibility” to conduct a fair election reflecting the will of the Congolese people.621 This statement, however, was never released.622 For reasons that are not clear, the Trump Administration instead released a statement that welcomed “the Congolese Constitutional Court’s certification of Félix Tshisekedi as the next President” and praised Kabila’s “commitment to becoming the first President in DRC history to cede power peacefully through an electoral process.”623
In the spring of 2019, the parties of Tshisekedi and Kabila announced “loose plans to form a coalition government.”624 According to sources in the parties, Kabila would “choose the prime minister and negotiate over cabinet appointments under a power-sharing deal with his successor Felix Tshisekedi.”625
kabila-congo.html).
619 How One Company Made It Easier for An Autocrat To Crack Down, Then Lobbied Trump—And Won, Buzzfeed (Dec. 30, 2020) (online at www.buzzfeednews.com/article/albertsama ... n-rule-mer).
620 Mounting Evidence of Fraud in Congo Vote Prompts Rare Rebuke from the African Union, Washington Post (Jan. 18, 2019) (online at www.washingtonpost.com/world/mounting-e ... _storyhtml).
621 How Washington Got on Board with Congo’s Rigged Election, Foreign Policy (Feb. 1, 2019) (online at https://foreignpolicy.com/2019/02/01/ho ... eat-lakes/).
622 Id.
623 Department of State, Press Release: U.S. Response to Constitutional Court Decision in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (Jan. 23, 2019) (online at https://2017-2021-translations.state.go ... the-congo/); See also How One Company Made It Easier for An Autocrat To Crack Down, Then Lobbied Trump—And Won, Buzzfeed (Dec. 30, 2020) (online at www.buzzfeednews.com/article/albertsama ... n-rule-mer); How Washington Got on Board with Congo’s Rigged Election, Foreign Policy (Feb. 1, 2019) (online at https://foreignpolicy.com/2019/02/01/ho ... eat-lakes/).
624 Congo’s Ex-Leader Kabila’s Party to Pick Prime Minister: Sources, Reuters (Mar. 8, 2019) (online at www.reuters.com/article/us-congo-politi ... SKCN1QP1V9).
625 Id.
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Head of State Mining Agency Albert Yuma
The D.R.C.’s economy is driven by its mining sector, and specifically by mining of the country’s substantial reserves of two metals—copper and cobalt.626 Mr. Albert Yuma, former Congolese mining magnate and then-head of state mining agency Gécamines, was at the center of corruption allegations against the agency, which controls the nation’s copper and cobalt reserves.627 Mr. Yuma took control of Gécamines in 2010, reportedly acquiring the post through his “political connections.”628 As then-Chairman, he was accused of nepotism, self-dealing, and government corruption during his tenure.629 The State Department warned for years that he “abused his position to enrich friends, family members and political allies.”630
In March 2018, Mr. Yuma appeared to be engaged in a lobbying tour of the United States to improve his image and stayed for several nights at the Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C. Mr. Yuma also attended meetings arranged by several lobbying firms with officials from the World Bank and several U.S. Departments, including the Department of Energy. At several of these meetings, he was reportedly accompanied by Gentry Beach, a Texas-based hedge fund manager, fundraiser for then-President Trump, and close friend of Donald Trump Jr. Mr. Beach reportedly had “been trying to secure a mining deal in Congo, and previously invested with Mr. Trump [Jr.] in a mining project there.” In 2018, Mr. Yuma also visited and met with Mr. Trump Jr. for a “quick meet-and-greet” at Trump Tower in New York. Weeks later, however, the State Department revoked Mr. Yuma’s visa after finding involvement by “several senior DRC officials” in “significant corruption related to the DRC’s electoral process” and “human rights violations.”631
In December 2021, President Tshisekedi fired Mr. Yuma from Gécamines as part of a restructuring of the board following the long-standing corruption allegations against him, including accusations that he diverted $8.8 billion in mining revenues over the years.632
626 Global Witness, Regime Cash Machine: How the Democratic Republic of Congo’s Booming Mining Exports Are Failing to Benefit Its People, New Your Times (July 2017) (online at https://int.nyt.com/data/documenttools/ ... b/full.pdf).
627 Id.
628 Id. See also DRC: Gécamines and the Missing Millions, The Africa Report (June 6, 2022) (online at www.theafricareport.com/210908/drc-geca ... -millions/).
629 Global Witness, Regime Cash Machine: How the Democratic Republic of Congo’s Booming Mining Exports Are Failing to Benefit Its People, New Your Times (July 2017) (online at https://int.nyt.com/data/documenttools/ ... b/full.pdf); DRC: Gécamines and the Missing Millions, The Africa Report (June 6, 2022) (online at www.theafricareport.com/210908/drc-geca ... -millions/).
630 Hunt for the “Blood Diamond of Batteries” Impedes Green Energy Push, New York Times (Nov. 19, 2021) (online at www.nytimes.com/2021/11/29/world/congo- ... limbi.html).
631 Id.
632 Former Congo President's Ally Loses Chairmanship of State Mining Company, Reuters (Dec. 2, 2021) (online at wwwreuters.com/markets/commodities/former-congo-presidents-ally-loses-chairmanship-state-mining-company-2021-12-03/); Congo Ousts Mining Leader in A Cloud of Corruption Claims, New York Times (Dec. 3, 2021) (online at www.nytimes.com/2021/12/03/world/congo- ... limbi.html).
139
Emoluments Paid by the D.R.C. to Trump-Owned Businesses
The Mazars records produced to the Committee show that between September 2017 and March 2018, Congolese government officials and the then-chairman of the D.R.C. state-owned mining entity Gécamines spent $25,171 at the Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C.
The vast majority of these expenditures were incurred by Raymond Tshibanda, then-D.R.C President Joseph Kabila’s Special Envoy to the United States. Mr. Tshibanda stayed at the hotel twice in September 2017, from November 26 through December 4, 2017, and again at the end of December 2017. For these four stays, he spent a combined total of nearly $18,000.633 As discussed, Mr. Tshibanda first appears in the documents produced to the Committee by Mazars in the Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C.’s guest ledger for September 2017. Media reports indicate that he also traveled to Washington, D.C., as part of the D.R.C.’s lobbying effort earlier in 2017, but because Chairman Comer curtailed Mazars’s document productions to the Committee, it is unclear if Mr. Tshibanda stayed at a Trump property during that trip.634
In addition, D.R.C.’s Ambassador to the United States, Francois Balumuene, spent $1,600 at the Trump International Hotel on October 12, 2017.635
The Mazars records produced to the Committee also show that Albert Yuma spent $5,642 for two adjacent rooms at the Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C., between March 13 and March 16, 2018.636
633 MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018306; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018315; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018324; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018334; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018343; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018349; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018353; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018400; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018451; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018914; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018916; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018919; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018924; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018929; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018937; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018942; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018947; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018956; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00019049; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00019052.
634 Congo’s Lobbyists Seek Allies in Washington Amid Election Turmoil, The Hill (June 28, 2017) (online at https://thehill.com/business-a-lobbying ... gton-amid/); Congo Inks $5.6 Million Lobbying Deal Amid Election Strife, The Hill (May 1, 2017) (online at https://thehill.com/business-a-lobbying ... on-strife/); Department of Justice, Supplemental Statement (Oct. 31, 2017) (online at https://efile.fara.gov/docs/6415-Supple ... 1128-1.pdf).
635 MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018553; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018555.
636 MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00016648; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00016659; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00016671; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00016678.
140
The records produced to the Committee by Mazars show that during the six-month period between September 2017 and March 2018, representatives of the government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (D.R.C.) and a chairman of a D.R.C. state agency spent $25,171 at the Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C., over six separate stays. During the same period, D.R.C. government officials were engaged in an extensive influence campaign in the U.S. while then-D.R.C. President Joseph Kabila—whose term was supposed to have ended in late 2016—refused to cede power.585 As experts and policymakers within the international community condemned Mr. Kabila for his refusal to hold free and fair elections and for his administration’s violent repression of political dissent, the Kabila government spent tens of thousands of dollars on hotel stays presumably aimed at securing then-President Donald Trump’s support.
D.R.C.’s Emolument Spending at Trump Properties
Date
Location
Expenditure
Amount
September 10–16, 2017
Trump International Hotel
(Washington, D.C.)
Raymond Tshibanda, Special Envoy of the D.R.C. to the United States
$6,439586
September 25, 2017
Trump International Hotel
(Washington, D.C.)
Raymond Tshibanda, Special Envoy of the D.R.C. to the United States
$1,356587
October 12, 2017
Trump International Hotel
(Washington, D.C.)
Francois Balumuene, Congolese Ambassador to the United States
$1,600588
November 26, 2017–December 4, 2017
Trump International Hotel
(Washington, D.C.)
Raymond Tshibanda, Special Envoy of the D.R.C. to the United States
$8,638589
585 The Postponed DRC Elections: Behind the Tumultuous Politics, Brookings Institution (Nov. 18, 2016) (online at www.brookings.edu/blog/africa-in-focus/ ... -politics/); No DRC Leader Gives Up Power Peacefully, So Why Would Joseph Kabila?, The Guardian (Sept. 23, 2016) (online at www.theguardian.com/world/2016/sep/23/j ... sfer-power).
586 MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018306; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018315; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018324; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018334; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018343; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018349; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018353; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018451.
587 MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018400.
588 MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018553; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018555.
589 MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018914; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018916; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018919; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018924; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018929; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018937; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018942; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018947; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018956.
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December 20–21, 2017
Trump International Hotel
(Washington, D.C.)
Raymond Tshibanda, Special Envoy of the D.R.C. to the United States
$1,496590
March 13–16, 2018
Trump International Hotel
(Washington, D.C.)
Albert Yuma, Chairman, Gécamines
$5,642591
EMOLUMENTS PAID BY D.R.C.
(2017–2018)
$25,171
In October 2016, as then-President Joseph Kabila was nearing the constitutionally mandated end of his final term, he announced that 2016 presidential elections originally expected to be held that fall “would be postponed until April 2018.”592 This announcement appeared to ensure that President Kabila would remain in power for at least another 15 months—and raised concerns that he might seek to change the D.R.C.’s constitution so that he could retain the presidency indefinitely.593 Then-President Kabila was accused of using force against those who opposed his regime and of looting millions in public funds.594
The D.R.C.’s shift away from democracy and its repression of dissent provoked alarm in the international community.595 In June 2016, the Obama Administration had already imposed
590 MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00019049; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00019052.
591 MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00016648; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00016659; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00016671; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00016678.
592 The Postponed DRC Elections: Behind the Tumultuous Politics, Brookings Institution (Nov. 18, 2016) (online at www.brookings.edu/blog/africa-in-focus/ ... -politics/); No DRC Leader Gives Up Power Peacefully, So Why Would Joseph Kabila?, The Guardian (Sept. 23, 2016) (online at www.theguardian.com/world/2016/sep/23/j ... sfer-power).
593 The Postponed D.R.C. Elections: Behind The Tumultuous Politics, Brookings Institution (Nov. 18, 2016) (online at www.brookings.edu/articles/the-postpone ... litics/acf); The Postponed DRC Elections: What Does The DRC’s Situation Look Like Now?, Brookings Institution (Nov. 22, 2016) (online at www.brookings.edu/articles/the-postpone ... -like-now/).
594 U.N. Condemns Congo’s Use of Force Against Protesters and Monitors, New York Times (Jan. 23, 2018) (online at www.nytimes.com/2018/01/23/world/africa ... kabilahtml); As President Joseph Kabila Digs In, Tensions Rise in Congo, New York Times (Dec. 17, 2016) (online at www.nytimes.com/2016/12/17/world/africa ... ption.html). See also Document Leak Shows Kabila Family, Associates Looted DRC Funds, Al Jazeera (Nov. 21, 2021) (online at www.aljazeera.com/economy/2021/11/19/do ... -drc-funds). (Describing a 2021 financial document data leak that demonstrated how a “private bank in the Democratic Republic of Congo was used to channel at least $138 million of public funds to former President Joseph Kabila’s family and associates.” The documents show “that Congo’s central bank sent $94.5 million to entities connected to the Kabilas, while tens of millions of dollars arrived from other public institutions, including $20 million from the nation’s state-owned mining company Gecamines.”).
595 Editorial: Obama Should Act on Congo Before It’s Too Late, Washington Post (Nov. 22, 2016) (online at www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/global- ... _storyhtml); U.S. Disappointed Congo Did Not Announce Election Calendar, Reuters (Sept. 19, 2016) (online at wwwreuters.com/article/us-congo-politics-usa/u-s-disappointed-congo-did-not-announce-election-calendar-idUSKCN11P22M).
134
sanctions on the police chief in D.R.C.’s capital, Kinshasha.
596 Shortly before leaving office, the Obama Administration imposed sanctions on several senior government officials in the D.R.C., including the Deputy Prime Minister.597
As it was trying to suppress opposition at home, the Kabila government initiated a multi-million dollar lobbying and public relations campaign to court U.S. government officials and win over the new Trump Administration.598 In late 2016—as President Kabila extended his rule—the Kabila government reportedly contracted MER Securities and Communications Systems Ltd. (MER), an Israeli security firm, to launch a multi-million dollar D.C. lobbying campaign designed to influence the Trump Administration. MER had already been aiding the D.R.C.’s surveillance and intelligence efforts at home.599 The D.R.C. government further expanded its influence campaign once Trump took office, engaging lobbying firms like the Republican-led Livingston Group to help shore up U.S. support amid growing controversy surrounding President Kabila.600
In July 2017, the U.S. Deputy Ambassador to the United Nations announced that the U.S. was “ready to take additional action to sanction those who stand in the way of D.R.C.’s first democratic transition of power.”601 As Voice of America reported, on July 11, 2017, the U.S. “threatened to impose further targeted unilateral sanctions on anyone who hinders Democratic Republic of Congo’s already delayed preparations for an election to replace President Joseph Kabila” after the D.R.C.’s “election commission president said […] that the vote, originally due in November 2016, was unlikely to take place in 2017.”602
596 US Imposes Sanctions on Kinshasa Police Chief in DRC, VOA News (June 23, 2016) (online at www.voanews.com/a/us-imposes-sanctions- ... 89741.html).
597 US, EU Sanction DRC Officials for Undermining Democracy, VOA News (Dec. 12, 2016) (online at www.voanews.com/a/us-eu-drc-sanctions/3633014html).
598 Congo’s Lobbyists Seek Allies in Washington Amid Election Turmoil, The Hill (June 28, 2017) (online at https://thehill.com/business-a-lobbying ... gton-amid/); Congo Inks $5.6 Million Lobbying Deal Amid Election Strife, The Hill (May 1, 2017) (online at https://thehill.com/business-a-lobbying ... on-strife/).
599 How One Company Made It Easier for an Autocrat to Crack Down, Then Lobbied Trump—And Won, Buzzfeed (Dec. 30, 2020) (online at www.buzzfeednews.com/article/albertsama ... n-rule-mer); Congo Inks $5.6 million Lobbying Deal Amid Election Strife, The Hill (May 1, 2017) (online at https://thehill.com/business-a-lobbying ... on-strife/).
600 Congo’s Lobbyists Seek Allies in Washington Amid Election Turmoil, The Hill (June 28, 2017) (online at https://thehill.com/business-a-lobbying ... gton-amid/); Congo Inks $5.6 Million Lobbying Deal Amid Election Strife, The Hill (May 1, 2017) (online at https://thehill.com/business-a-lobbying ... on-strife/); See also Targets of U.S. Sanctions Hire Lobbyists With Trump Ties to Seek Relief, New York Times (Dec. 10, 2018) (online at www.nytimes.com/2018/12/10/us/politics/ ... ts-usahtml); Congo’s Lobbyists Seek Allies in Washington Amid Election Turmoil, The Hill (June 28, 2017) (online at https://thehill.com/business-a-lobbying ... gton-amid/).
601 US Threatens Sanctions on Anyone Delaying DR Congo Vote (July 11, 2017) (online at www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/7/11/us-thr ... congo-vote).
602 US Threatens More Sanctions for Hindering Democracy in Congo, VOA News (July 11, 2017) (online
135
According to filings with the DOJ pursuant to FARA, the Livingston Group, on behalf of MER, arranged a meeting on September 14, 2017, for Mr. Raymond Tshibanda, the Kabila government’s Special Envoy to the United States and former Minister for Foreign Affairs, International Cooperation, and Francophonie of the D.R.C., and other D.R.C. representatives with the Senior Advisor to the Under Secretary of State for Civilian Security, Democracy, and Human Rights and a D.R.C. desk officer at the U.S. Department of State.603 The documents Mazars produced to the Committee indicate that on the day he met with the State Department officials, Mr. Tshibanda stayed at the Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C. His stay that day was the first of four stays by him recorded in the limited documents produced by Mazars.604
Subsequently, between November 28, 2017, and December 1, 2017, the Livingston Group arranged meetings for a D.R.C. delegation—including Mr. Tshibanda and D.R.C.’s Ambassador to the United States, Francois Balumuene—with U.S. public officials, former U.S. ambassadors and State Department officials, and several Members of Congress.605
In late 2017, Nikki Haley, then-President Trump’s Ambassador to the United Nations, visited President Kabila in the Congolese capital, Kinshasa. During her visit, Ambassador Haley pushed Kabila to cede power and threatened economic sanctions if he did not do so.606 Then-Ambassador Haley had been sharply critical of the conditions in the D.R.C. In an op-ed published by CNN, she noted that the country had “never witnessed a democratic, peaceful transfer of power.”607 Earlier in 2017, she had reportedly described the Kabila regime as “corrupt and prey[ing] on its citizens.”608 In late 2017, after Ambassador Haley’s trip to Kinshasha, the U.S. imposed sanctions on business interests in the D.R.C.609
at www.voanews.com/a/us-threatens-more-san ... 37904.html).
603 Department of Justice, Supplemental Statement Pursuant to the Foreign Agents Registration Act of 1938, as Amended (Nov. 30, 2017) (online at https://efilefara.gov/docs/6428-Supplem ... 1221-1.pdf); Raymond Tshibanda, Congo Envoy, Sees Election Hurdles, Washington Times (July 9, 2017) (online at www.washingtontimes.com/news/2017/jul/9 ... on-hurdle/); United Nations, Secretary-General Meets Foreign Minister of Democratic Republic of Congo (Sept. 24, 2016) (online at https://dammedia.un.org/archive/The-Sec ... SRG8Z.html).
604 MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018306.
605 Department of Justice, Supplemental Statement Pursuant to the Foreign Agents Registration Act of 1938, as Amended (Mar. 31, 2018) (online at https://efile.fara.gov/docs/6344-Supple ... 0511-4.pdf). According to public filings by the Livingston Group, these meetings were arranged “to discuss recent political developments in the DRC […], economic cooperation and business opportunities between [the United States and the DRC], development and humanitarian issues in the DRC, and strategic developments affecting the D.R.C. and Central Africa.”
606 How One Company Made It Easier for an Autocrat to Crack Down, Then Lobbied Trump—And Won, Buzzfeed (Dec. 30, 2020) (online at www.buzzfeednews.com/article/albertsama ... n-rule-mer).
607 Nikki Haley: This Is Why the President Is Sending Me to Africa, CNN (Oct. 22, 2017) (online at www.cnn.com/2017/10/21/opinions/un-drc- ... /indexhtml).
608 Nikki Haley Calls for Cuts in U.N. Peacekeeping Funding, NPR (Mar. 30, 2017) (online at www.npr.org/2017/03/30/522015640/nikki- ... ng-funding).
609 U.S. Department of the Treasury, Press Release: United States Sanctions Human Rights Abusers and
136
In March 2018, after hearing from individuals displaced from the D.R.C. and aid workers who had traveled there, the United Nations issued a press release warning, “Humanitarian Crisis in Democratic Republic of Congo Will Worsen Without Political Transition, End to Violence, Speakers Warn Security Council.”610 In April 2018, the New York Times reported that, “[t]he United Nations says challenges to Mr. Kabila’s rule have caused a collapse of political authority, leading to fighting that has displaced 4.5 million people.”611
In mid-2018, as MER was reportedly stepping up its efforts to target individuals who held sway with the Trump Administration, including Rudy Giuliani.612 In July 2018, Mr. Giuliani attended a cocktail party in Washington, D.C., featuring a speech by Special Envoy Tshibanda.613 After that party, Ambassador Balumuene suggested in a September 2018 interview that the D.R.C. was working with Mr. Giuliani to “figure out the [Trump] administration’s position on an upcoming presidential election called by Mr. Kabila to avoid threatened sanctions.”614 Ambassador Balumuene stated, “What I know is that it is possible that Giuliani will let us know how to go ahead,” possibly suggesting that Mr. Kabila’s government expected to receive inside information from Mr. Giuliani.615 Ambassador Balumuene later walked that statement back, however, claiming he had “never met or spoken to Giuliani.”616
In August 2018, Mr. Kabila announced that he would not run for President in the upcoming election, which had finally been scheduled for December of that year.617 Publicly, Mr. Kabila endorsed Emmanuel Ramazani Shadary, who had been serving as one of three deputy prime ministers and interior minister, as his successor.618 Behind the scenes, however, Mr.
Corrupt Actors Across the Globe (Dec. 21, 2017) (online at https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/sm0243).
610 United Nations, Meetings Coverage, Security Council, 8207th Meeting, AM, Press Release: Humanitarian Crisis in Democratic Republic of Congo Will Worsen Without Political Transition, End to Violence, Speakers Warn Security Council (Mar. 19, 2018) (online at https://press.un.org/en/2018/sc13253.dochtm).
611 Despite Millions of Displaced People, Congo Rejects U.N. Aid Effort, New York Times (Apr. 7, 2018) (online at www.nytimes.com/2018/04/07/world/africa ... la-aidhtml).
612 How One Company Made It Easier for An Autocrat To Crack Down, Then Lobbied Trump—And Won, Buzzfeed (Dec. 30, 2020) (online at www.buzzfeednews.com/article/albertsama ... n-rule-mer).
613 Id; Targets of U.S. Sanctions Hire Lobbyists with Trump Ties to Seek Relief, New York Times (Dec. 10, 2018) (online at www.nytimes.com/2018/12/10/us/politics/ ... ts-usahtml).
614 Id.
615 Id.
616 How One Company Made It Easier for An Autocrat To Crack Down, Then Lobbied Trump—And Won, Buzzfeed (Dec. 30, 2020) (online at www.buzzfeednews.com/article/albertsama ... n-rule-mer).
617 Waiting for Democracy in Congo, Foreign Affairs (Aug. 17, 2018) (online at www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/democra ... racy-congo); Joseph Kabila, Congo Strongman, Will Step Down After 17 Years in Power, New York Times (Aug. 8, 2018) (online at wwwnytimes.com/2018/08/08/world/africa/joseph-kabila-congo.html).
618 Emmanuel Ramazani Shadary: Kabila’s Choice for DR Congo President, BBC News (Dec. 18. 2018) (online at www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-46447089); Joseph Kabila, Congo Strongman, Will Step Down After 17 Years in Power, New York Times (Aug. 8, 2018) (online at wwwnytimes.com/2018/08/08/world/africa/joseph-
137
Kabila reportedly “negotiated a secret power-sharing arrangement” with a different candidate: Félix Tshisekedi.
619 After the elections were finally held on December 30, 2018, Félix Tshisekedi was declared the winner through a process that regional election observers and the international community widely viewed as fraudulent.620
On January 22, 2019, a group of U.S. government agencies, including the Department of the Treasury, reportedly drafted a statement calling the election “deeply flawed and troubling” and concluding that the D.R.C.’s election commission had “failed to live up to the responsibility” to conduct a fair election reflecting the will of the Congolese people.621 This statement, however, was never released.622 For reasons that are not clear, the Trump Administration instead released a statement that welcomed “the Congolese Constitutional Court’s certification of Félix Tshisekedi as the next President” and praised Kabila’s “commitment to becoming the first President in DRC history to cede power peacefully through an electoral process.”623
In the spring of 2019, the parties of Tshisekedi and Kabila announced “loose plans to form a coalition government.”624 According to sources in the parties, Kabila would “choose the prime minister and negotiate over cabinet appointments under a power-sharing deal with his successor Felix Tshisekedi.”625
kabila-congo.html).
619 How One Company Made It Easier for An Autocrat To Crack Down, Then Lobbied Trump—And Won, Buzzfeed (Dec. 30, 2020) (online at www.buzzfeednews.com/article/albertsama ... n-rule-mer).
620 Mounting Evidence of Fraud in Congo Vote Prompts Rare Rebuke from the African Union, Washington Post (Jan. 18, 2019) (online at www.washingtonpost.com/world/mounting-e ... _storyhtml).
621 How Washington Got on Board with Congo’s Rigged Election, Foreign Policy (Feb. 1, 2019) (online at https://foreignpolicy.com/2019/02/01/ho ... eat-lakes/).
622 Id.
623 Department of State, Press Release: U.S. Response to Constitutional Court Decision in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (Jan. 23, 2019) (online at https://2017-2021-translations.state.go ... the-congo/); See also How One Company Made It Easier for An Autocrat To Crack Down, Then Lobbied Trump—And Won, Buzzfeed (Dec. 30, 2020) (online at www.buzzfeednews.com/article/albertsama ... n-rule-mer); How Washington Got on Board with Congo’s Rigged Election, Foreign Policy (Feb. 1, 2019) (online at https://foreignpolicy.com/2019/02/01/ho ... eat-lakes/).
624 Congo’s Ex-Leader Kabila’s Party to Pick Prime Minister: Sources, Reuters (Mar. 8, 2019) (online at www.reuters.com/article/us-congo-politi ... SKCN1QP1V9).
625 Id.
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Head of State Mining Agency Albert Yuma
The D.R.C.’s economy is driven by its mining sector, and specifically by mining of the country’s substantial reserves of two metals—copper and cobalt.626 Mr. Albert Yuma, former Congolese mining magnate and then-head of state mining agency Gécamines, was at the center of corruption allegations against the agency, which controls the nation’s copper and cobalt reserves.627 Mr. Yuma took control of Gécamines in 2010, reportedly acquiring the post through his “political connections.”628 As then-Chairman, he was accused of nepotism, self-dealing, and government corruption during his tenure.629 The State Department warned for years that he “abused his position to enrich friends, family members and political allies.”630
In March 2018, Mr. Yuma appeared to be engaged in a lobbying tour of the United States to improve his image and stayed for several nights at the Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C. Mr. Yuma also attended meetings arranged by several lobbying firms with officials from the World Bank and several U.S. Departments, including the Department of Energy. At several of these meetings, he was reportedly accompanied by Gentry Beach, a Texas-based hedge fund manager, fundraiser for then-President Trump, and close friend of Donald Trump Jr. Mr. Beach reportedly had “been trying to secure a mining deal in Congo, and previously invested with Mr. Trump [Jr.] in a mining project there.” In 2018, Mr. Yuma also visited and met with Mr. Trump Jr. for a “quick meet-and-greet” at Trump Tower in New York. Weeks later, however, the State Department revoked Mr. Yuma’s visa after finding involvement by “several senior DRC officials” in “significant corruption related to the DRC’s electoral process” and “human rights violations.”631
In December 2021, President Tshisekedi fired Mr. Yuma from Gécamines as part of a restructuring of the board following the long-standing corruption allegations against him, including accusations that he diverted $8.8 billion in mining revenues over the years.632
626 Global Witness, Regime Cash Machine: How the Democratic Republic of Congo’s Booming Mining Exports Are Failing to Benefit Its People, New Your Times (July 2017) (online at https://int.nyt.com/data/documenttools/ ... b/full.pdf).
627 Id.
628 Id. See also DRC: Gécamines and the Missing Millions, The Africa Report (June 6, 2022) (online at www.theafricareport.com/210908/drc-geca ... -millions/).
629 Global Witness, Regime Cash Machine: How the Democratic Republic of Congo’s Booming Mining Exports Are Failing to Benefit Its People, New Your Times (July 2017) (online at https://int.nyt.com/data/documenttools/ ... b/full.pdf); DRC: Gécamines and the Missing Millions, The Africa Report (June 6, 2022) (online at www.theafricareport.com/210908/drc-geca ... -millions/).
630 Hunt for the “Blood Diamond of Batteries” Impedes Green Energy Push, New York Times (Nov. 19, 2021) (online at www.nytimes.com/2021/11/29/world/congo- ... limbi.html).
631 Id.
632 Former Congo President's Ally Loses Chairmanship of State Mining Company, Reuters (Dec. 2, 2021) (online at wwwreuters.com/markets/commodities/former-congo-presidents-ally-loses-chairmanship-state-mining-company-2021-12-03/); Congo Ousts Mining Leader in A Cloud of Corruption Claims, New York Times (Dec. 3, 2021) (online at www.nytimes.com/2021/12/03/world/congo- ... limbi.html).
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Emoluments Paid by the D.R.C. to Trump-Owned Businesses
The Mazars records produced to the Committee show that between September 2017 and March 2018, Congolese government officials and the then-chairman of the D.R.C. state-owned mining entity Gécamines spent $25,171 at the Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C.
The vast majority of these expenditures were incurred by Raymond Tshibanda, then-D.R.C President Joseph Kabila’s Special Envoy to the United States. Mr. Tshibanda stayed at the hotel twice in September 2017, from November 26 through December 4, 2017, and again at the end of December 2017. For these four stays, he spent a combined total of nearly $18,000.633 As discussed, Mr. Tshibanda first appears in the documents produced to the Committee by Mazars in the Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C.’s guest ledger for September 2017. Media reports indicate that he also traveled to Washington, D.C., as part of the D.R.C.’s lobbying effort earlier in 2017, but because Chairman Comer curtailed Mazars’s document productions to the Committee, it is unclear if Mr. Tshibanda stayed at a Trump property during that trip.634
In addition, D.R.C.’s Ambassador to the United States, Francois Balumuene, spent $1,600 at the Trump International Hotel on October 12, 2017.635
The Mazars records produced to the Committee also show that Albert Yuma spent $5,642 for two adjacent rooms at the Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C., between March 13 and March 16, 2018.636
633 MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018306; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018315; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018324; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018334; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018343; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018349; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018353; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018400; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018451; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018914; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018916; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018919; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018924; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018929; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018937; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018942; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018947; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018956; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00019049; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00019052.
634 Congo’s Lobbyists Seek Allies in Washington Amid Election Turmoil, The Hill (June 28, 2017) (online at https://thehill.com/business-a-lobbying ... gton-amid/); Congo Inks $5.6 Million Lobbying Deal Amid Election Strife, The Hill (May 1, 2017) (online at https://thehill.com/business-a-lobbying ... on-strife/); Department of Justice, Supplemental Statement (Oct. 31, 2017) (online at https://efile.fara.gov/docs/6415-Supple ... 1128-1.pdf).
635 MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018553; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018555.
636 MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00016648; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00016659; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00016671; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00016678.
140
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Re: White House for Sale: ... [For] Donald Trump
by admin » Sat Jan 06, 2024 11:29 pm
ALBANIA
The records Mazars provided to the Committee show that during the Trump presidency, the Prime Minister of Albania, Edi Rama, and his advisors, as well as an Albanian government minister, spent approximately $6,000 at the Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C.
Albania’s Emolument Spending at Trump Properties
Date
Location
Expenditure
Amount
January 18–19, 2018
Trump International Hotel
(Washington, D.C.)
Dorjan Ducka, Advisor to Mr. Rama
$1,503637
March 3–4, 2018
Trump International Hotel
(Washington, D.C.)
Edi Rama, Prime Minister of Albania
$1,158638
March 3–4, 2018
Trump International Hotel
(Washington, D.C.)
Endri Fuga, Advisor to Mr. Rama
$1,158639
March 3–4, 2018
Trump International Hotel
(Washington, D.C.)
Keisi Seferi, Advisor to Mr. Rama
$1,158640
June 24–26, 2018
Trump International Hotel
(Washington, D.C.)
Damian Gjiknuri,
Minister of Infrastructure and Energy
$1,025641
EMOLUMENTS PAID BY ALBANIA
(2017–2020)
$6,002
Albania is a parliamentary democracy, and since September 2013, it has been led by Prime Minister Edi Rama, a member of the Socialist Party.642 In recent years, Albania has been a key NATO ally, an opponent of Russian aggression, and an important player in combatting terrorism.643 It has also suffered from “pervasive corruption in all branches of government and municipal institutions.”644
637 MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00028926; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00028930.
638 MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00016568; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00016576.
639 MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00016568; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00016577.
640 MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00016569; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00016577.
641 MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00017647; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00017657; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00017669.
642 Edi Rama Sworn in as Albania PM, Balkan Insight (Sept. 16, 2013) (online at https://balkaninsight.com/2013/09/16/ed ... lbania-pm/).
643 Former FBI Agent’s Side Work Puts Bureau Under New Scrutiny, Washington Post (Feb. 13, 2023) (online at www.washingtonpost.com/national-securit ... tment-fbi/).
644 U.S. Department of State, 2020 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Albania (Mar. 30, 2021)
141
At the time of President Trump’s election, the Albanian opposition party, the center-right Democratic Party of Albania, and its former leader Lulzim Basha (whose slogan was “Make Albania Great Again”) had accused Prime Minister Rama’s Socialist Party of endemic corruption and ties to organized crime.645 The 2017 Albanian parliamentary elections were contentious: in the months preceding the election, Albania’s Democratic Party boycotted the Albanian parliament and sponsored protests.646 Following Mr. Rama’s electoral victory, opposition groups accused him of conspiring with organized crime groups and rigging the vote.647
Amidst this rancor and volatility, Albanian political parties turned to K Street to try to gain a political advantage in Washington. The three main Albanian parties hired U.S.-based lobbyists with close ties to then-President Trump; two of the three parties reportedly funded their lobbying services through obscure shell companies with ties to Russian interests.648 Mr. Rama’s Socialist Party retained the firm of Brian Ballard—a Trump fundraiser and D.C. lobbyist— at a rate of $20,000 a month.649 His political rival, Mr. Basha, hired Nicholas Muzin, a former aide to Senator Ted Cruz who had also advised the Trump campaign. As one Washington lobbyist noted, a picture with the U.S. President often translated to political capital: “The fact that [foreign politicians] could get a meeting, have a handshake and take a picture that gets distributed far and wide back home—that is gold to them. They’ll almost do anything to achieve that.”650 Accordingly, in the months leading up to the Albanian parliamentary election, Mr.
(online at www.state.gov/reports/2020-country-repo ... s/albania/).
645 The Head of Albania’s Conservative Party Faces Criminal Charges, and an Ex-Trump Aide Is Involved, Mother Jones (June 13, 2019) (online at www.motherjones.com/politics/2019/06/th ... -involved/); Thousands of Albanians Call for Edi Rama’s Resignation, Al Jazeera (Jan. 27, 2018) (online at www.aljazeera.com/news/2018/1/27/thousa ... esignation).
646 U.S. Diplomat Tries to Mediate Compromise in Albanian Politics, Associated Press (May 15, 2017) (online at wwwksl.com/article/44254626/us-diplomat-tries-to-mediate-compromise-in-albanian-politics); How a Russian-Linked Shell Company Hired an Ex-Trump Aide to Boost Albania’s Right-Wing Party in D.C., Mother Jones (Mar. 6, 2018) (online at wwwmotherjones.com/politics/2018/03/how-a-russian-linked-shell-company-hired-an-ex-trump-aide-to-boost-albanias-right-wing-party-in-dc/).
647 Albania President Cancels Elections, Citing Tense Climate, New York Times (June 9, 2019) (online at www.nytimes.com/2019/06/09/world/europe ... celed.html).
648 How a Mysterious Overseas Shell Company Used a Former GOP Congressman to Lobby Trump and Congress, Mother Jones (Apr. 25, 2018) (online at wwwmotherjones.com/politics/2018/04/how-a-mysterious-overseas-shell-company-used-a-former-gop-congressman-to-lobby-trump-and-congress/); How a Russian-Linked Shell Company Hired an Ex-Trump Aide to Boost Albania’s Right-Wing Party in D.C., Mother Jones (Mar. 6, 2018) (online at wwwmotherjones.com/politics/2018/03/how-a-russian-linked-shell-company-hired-an-ex-trump-aide-to-boost-albanias-right-wing-party-in-dc/). LSI, the third largest party, funded its lobbying through a Cypriot-shell company with ties to Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska. Deripaska would later pay McGonigal to illegally assist him in an effort to get U.S. sanctions lifted. Indictment, 10 (June 13, 2003), United States of America v. Charles F. McGonigal, D.D.C. (No. 1:03 CV 00652); Department of Justice, Press Release: Former Special Agent In Charge of the New York FBI Counterintelligence Division Pleads Guilty to Conspiring To Violate U.S. Sanctions On Russia (Aug. 15, 2023) (online at www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/pr/former-spe ... ads-guilty).
649 How a Russian-Linked Shell Company Hired an Ex-Trump Aide to Boost Albania’s Right-Wing Party in D.C., Mother Jones (Mar. 6, 2018) (online at www.motherjones.com/politics/2018/03/ho ... rty-in-dc/).
650 The Swamp That Trump Built, New York Times (Oct. 10, 2020) (online at
142
Muzin arranged for Mr. Basha to take a photo with President Trump at a fundraiser. The Democratic Party of Albania disseminated the photo widely in an effort to portray a close relationship between Mr. Basha and President Trump.
651
According to a filing with the DOJ pursuant to FARA, Mr. Ballard continued to lobby on behalf of Prime Minister Rama’s party through 2017, by “updat[ing] individuals on current events in Albania and discuss[ing] U.S.-Albania bi-lateral relations” with Members of Congress and State Department officials.652
On the nights of March 3 and March 4, 2018, Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama stayed at the Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C., along with two advisors. Federal prosecutors have alleged that on March 4, Mr. Rama dined with Charles McGonigal, a former FBI counterintelligence chief, and Agron Neza, a New Jersey businessman who previously worked at an Albanian intelligence agency.653 The DOJ determined that Mr. McGonigal had previously traveled to Albania to meet with Mr. Rama several times and, by the time of the March 4 meeting, Mr. McGonigal had received $225,000 in cash payments from Mr. Neza.654 Mr. McGonigal had also allegedly passed along potentially damaging information about Mr. Muzin—the U.S. lobbyist for Mr. Rama’s chief rival—from Mr. Rama’s office to others in U.S. law enforcement.655 In late February, less than a week before the McGonigal-Rama meeting, the FBI formally opened an investigation into an American lobbyist, thought to be Mr. Muzin, at “McGonigal’s request and upon his guidance.”656 Mr. McGonigal’s work on behalf of Mr. Rama and Mr. Neza would later be at the center of a federal criminal case brought against Mr. McGonigal in 2022, several years after he left the Bureau. He has since pleaded guilty to one count of illegally concealing from the FBI his business activities in Albania.657
www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/10/10/ ... -swamphtml).
651 Id.; The Head of Albania’s Conservative Party Faces Criminal Charges, and an Ex-Trump Aide is Involved, Mother Jones (June 13, 2019) (online at wwwmotherjones.com/politics/2019/06/the-head-of-albanias-conservative-party-faces-criminal-charges-and-an-ex-trump-aide-is-involved/).
652 Department of Justice, Supplemental Statement Pursuant to the Foreign Agents Registration Act of 1938, as Amended (May 31, 2018) (online at https://efilefara.gov/docs/6415-Supplem ... 0531-2.pdf).
653 Indictment United States v. McGonigal, No. 1:23 00021 (D.D.C. Jan. 18, 2023) (online at www.justice.gov/usao-dc/press-release/f ... 6/download); How Prosecutors Say a Top F.B.I. Agent Sold His Services Overseas, New York Times (Feb. 3, 2023) (online at www.nytimes.com/2023/02/03/nyregion/fbi ... lbaniahtml).
654 Id.
655 How Prosecutors Say a Top F.B.I. Agent Sold His Services Overseas, New York Times (Feb. 3, 2023) (online at wwwnytimes.com/2023/02/03/nyregion/fbi-intelligence-charged-albania.html).
656 Id.
657 Ex-FBI Counterspy Chief McGonigal Pleads Guilty in Payment Plot, Washington Post (Sept. 22, 2023) (online at www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2023/09 ... igal-plea/); Department of Justice, Press Release: Retired FBI Special Agent in Charge Pleads Guilty to Concealing Information from the FBI (Sept. 22, 2023) (online at www.justice.gov/opa/pr/retired-fbi-spec ... mation-fbi); Indictment United States v. McGonigal, No. 1:23 00021 (D.D.C. Jan. 18, 2023) (online at www.justice.gov/usao-dc/press-release/f ... 6/download); How Prosecutors Say a Top F.B.I. Agent Sold His Services Overseas, New York Times (Feb. 3, 2023) (online at wwwnytimes.com/2023/02/03/nyregion/fbi-
143
Emoluments Paid by Albania to Trump-Owned Businesses
Prime Minister Rama chose to patronize the Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C., during his March 2017 visit. Over the course of two nights, Mr. Rama and his aides spent $3,474 at the hotel. They stayed on the same floor as Mr. Neza.658
There is no indication in the records produced by Mazars that Mr. McGonigal stayed at Trump International Hotel during this period in March 2017.
Separately, Mr. Dorjan Duçka, another Rama advisor, booked four rooms over two nights at Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C. on January 18 and January 19, 2018, at a cost of $1,503.659
The Mazars records further show that Albania’s then-Minister of Infrastructure and Energy, Damian Gjiknuri, stayed at the Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C., from June 24 through June 26, 2018, spending $1,025.660
intelligence-charged-albaniahtml).
658 MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00016568; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00016569; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00016576; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00016577.
659 MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00028926; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00028930.
660 MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00017647; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00017657; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00017669; MINISTRIA E INFRASTRUKTURES DHE ENERGJISE, Minister of Infrastructure and Energy, Albania, Press Release: Minister Gjiknuri in Washington, Meetings at the State Department (Feb. 6, 2018) (online at www.infrastruktura.gov.al/en/minister-g ... departmen/); Albanian PM Reshuffles Cabinet After Student Protests, Reuters (Dec. 28, 2018) (online at www.reuters.com/article/us-albania-gove ... SKCN1OR1CW).
144
The records Mazars provided to the Committee show that during the Trump presidency, the Prime Minister of Albania, Edi Rama, and his advisors, as well as an Albanian government minister, spent approximately $6,000 at the Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C.
Albania’s Emolument Spending at Trump Properties
Date
Location
Expenditure
Amount
January 18–19, 2018
Trump International Hotel
(Washington, D.C.)
Dorjan Ducka, Advisor to Mr. Rama
$1,503637
March 3–4, 2018
Trump International Hotel
(Washington, D.C.)
Edi Rama, Prime Minister of Albania
$1,158638
March 3–4, 2018
Trump International Hotel
(Washington, D.C.)
Endri Fuga, Advisor to Mr. Rama
$1,158639
March 3–4, 2018
Trump International Hotel
(Washington, D.C.)
Keisi Seferi, Advisor to Mr. Rama
$1,158640
June 24–26, 2018
Trump International Hotel
(Washington, D.C.)
Damian Gjiknuri,
Minister of Infrastructure and Energy
$1,025641
EMOLUMENTS PAID BY ALBANIA
(2017–2020)
$6,002
Albania is a parliamentary democracy, and since September 2013, it has been led by Prime Minister Edi Rama, a member of the Socialist Party.642 In recent years, Albania has been a key NATO ally, an opponent of Russian aggression, and an important player in combatting terrorism.643 It has also suffered from “pervasive corruption in all branches of government and municipal institutions.”644
637 MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00028926; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00028930.
638 MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00016568; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00016576.
639 MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00016568; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00016577.
640 MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00016569; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00016577.
641 MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00017647; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00017657; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00017669.
642 Edi Rama Sworn in as Albania PM, Balkan Insight (Sept. 16, 2013) (online at https://balkaninsight.com/2013/09/16/ed ... lbania-pm/).
643 Former FBI Agent’s Side Work Puts Bureau Under New Scrutiny, Washington Post (Feb. 13, 2023) (online at www.washingtonpost.com/national-securit ... tment-fbi/).
644 U.S. Department of State, 2020 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Albania (Mar. 30, 2021)
141
At the time of President Trump’s election, the Albanian opposition party, the center-right Democratic Party of Albania, and its former leader Lulzim Basha (whose slogan was “Make Albania Great Again”) had accused Prime Minister Rama’s Socialist Party of endemic corruption and ties to organized crime.645 The 2017 Albanian parliamentary elections were contentious: in the months preceding the election, Albania’s Democratic Party boycotted the Albanian parliament and sponsored protests.646 Following Mr. Rama’s electoral victory, opposition groups accused him of conspiring with organized crime groups and rigging the vote.647
Amidst this rancor and volatility, Albanian political parties turned to K Street to try to gain a political advantage in Washington. The three main Albanian parties hired U.S.-based lobbyists with close ties to then-President Trump; two of the three parties reportedly funded their lobbying services through obscure shell companies with ties to Russian interests.648 Mr. Rama’s Socialist Party retained the firm of Brian Ballard—a Trump fundraiser and D.C. lobbyist— at a rate of $20,000 a month.649 His political rival, Mr. Basha, hired Nicholas Muzin, a former aide to Senator Ted Cruz who had also advised the Trump campaign. As one Washington lobbyist noted, a picture with the U.S. President often translated to political capital: “The fact that [foreign politicians] could get a meeting, have a handshake and take a picture that gets distributed far and wide back home—that is gold to them. They’ll almost do anything to achieve that.”650 Accordingly, in the months leading up to the Albanian parliamentary election, Mr.
(online at www.state.gov/reports/2020-country-repo ... s/albania/).
645 The Head of Albania’s Conservative Party Faces Criminal Charges, and an Ex-Trump Aide Is Involved, Mother Jones (June 13, 2019) (online at www.motherjones.com/politics/2019/06/th ... -involved/); Thousands of Albanians Call for Edi Rama’s Resignation, Al Jazeera (Jan. 27, 2018) (online at www.aljazeera.com/news/2018/1/27/thousa ... esignation).
646 U.S. Diplomat Tries to Mediate Compromise in Albanian Politics, Associated Press (May 15, 2017) (online at wwwksl.com/article/44254626/us-diplomat-tries-to-mediate-compromise-in-albanian-politics); How a Russian-Linked Shell Company Hired an Ex-Trump Aide to Boost Albania’s Right-Wing Party in D.C., Mother Jones (Mar. 6, 2018) (online at wwwmotherjones.com/politics/2018/03/how-a-russian-linked-shell-company-hired-an-ex-trump-aide-to-boost-albanias-right-wing-party-in-dc/).
647 Albania President Cancels Elections, Citing Tense Climate, New York Times (June 9, 2019) (online at www.nytimes.com/2019/06/09/world/europe ... celed.html).
648 How a Mysterious Overseas Shell Company Used a Former GOP Congressman to Lobby Trump and Congress, Mother Jones (Apr. 25, 2018) (online at wwwmotherjones.com/politics/2018/04/how-a-mysterious-overseas-shell-company-used-a-former-gop-congressman-to-lobby-trump-and-congress/); How a Russian-Linked Shell Company Hired an Ex-Trump Aide to Boost Albania’s Right-Wing Party in D.C., Mother Jones (Mar. 6, 2018) (online at wwwmotherjones.com/politics/2018/03/how-a-russian-linked-shell-company-hired-an-ex-trump-aide-to-boost-albanias-right-wing-party-in-dc/). LSI, the third largest party, funded its lobbying through a Cypriot-shell company with ties to Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska. Deripaska would later pay McGonigal to illegally assist him in an effort to get U.S. sanctions lifted. Indictment, 10 (June 13, 2003), United States of America v. Charles F. McGonigal, D.D.C. (No. 1:03 CV 00652); Department of Justice, Press Release: Former Special Agent In Charge of the New York FBI Counterintelligence Division Pleads Guilty to Conspiring To Violate U.S. Sanctions On Russia (Aug. 15, 2023) (online at www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/pr/former-spe ... ads-guilty).
649 How a Russian-Linked Shell Company Hired an Ex-Trump Aide to Boost Albania’s Right-Wing Party in D.C., Mother Jones (Mar. 6, 2018) (online at www.motherjones.com/politics/2018/03/ho ... rty-in-dc/).
650 The Swamp That Trump Built, New York Times (Oct. 10, 2020) (online at
142
Muzin arranged for Mr. Basha to take a photo with President Trump at a fundraiser. The Democratic Party of Albania disseminated the photo widely in an effort to portray a close relationship between Mr. Basha and President Trump.
651
According to a filing with the DOJ pursuant to FARA, Mr. Ballard continued to lobby on behalf of Prime Minister Rama’s party through 2017, by “updat[ing] individuals on current events in Albania and discuss[ing] U.S.-Albania bi-lateral relations” with Members of Congress and State Department officials.652
On the nights of March 3 and March 4, 2018, Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama stayed at the Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C., along with two advisors. Federal prosecutors have alleged that on March 4, Mr. Rama dined with Charles McGonigal, a former FBI counterintelligence chief, and Agron Neza, a New Jersey businessman who previously worked at an Albanian intelligence agency.653 The DOJ determined that Mr. McGonigal had previously traveled to Albania to meet with Mr. Rama several times and, by the time of the March 4 meeting, Mr. McGonigal had received $225,000 in cash payments from Mr. Neza.654 Mr. McGonigal had also allegedly passed along potentially damaging information about Mr. Muzin—the U.S. lobbyist for Mr. Rama’s chief rival—from Mr. Rama’s office to others in U.S. law enforcement.655 In late February, less than a week before the McGonigal-Rama meeting, the FBI formally opened an investigation into an American lobbyist, thought to be Mr. Muzin, at “McGonigal’s request and upon his guidance.”656 Mr. McGonigal’s work on behalf of Mr. Rama and Mr. Neza would later be at the center of a federal criminal case brought against Mr. McGonigal in 2022, several years after he left the Bureau. He has since pleaded guilty to one count of illegally concealing from the FBI his business activities in Albania.657
www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/10/10/ ... -swamphtml).
651 Id.; The Head of Albania’s Conservative Party Faces Criminal Charges, and an Ex-Trump Aide is Involved, Mother Jones (June 13, 2019) (online at wwwmotherjones.com/politics/2019/06/the-head-of-albanias-conservative-party-faces-criminal-charges-and-an-ex-trump-aide-is-involved/).
652 Department of Justice, Supplemental Statement Pursuant to the Foreign Agents Registration Act of 1938, as Amended (May 31, 2018) (online at https://efilefara.gov/docs/6415-Supplem ... 0531-2.pdf).
653 Indictment United States v. McGonigal, No. 1:23 00021 (D.D.C. Jan. 18, 2023) (online at www.justice.gov/usao-dc/press-release/f ... 6/download); How Prosecutors Say a Top F.B.I. Agent Sold His Services Overseas, New York Times (Feb. 3, 2023) (online at www.nytimes.com/2023/02/03/nyregion/fbi ... lbaniahtml).
654 Id.
655 How Prosecutors Say a Top F.B.I. Agent Sold His Services Overseas, New York Times (Feb. 3, 2023) (online at wwwnytimes.com/2023/02/03/nyregion/fbi-intelligence-charged-albania.html).
656 Id.
657 Ex-FBI Counterspy Chief McGonigal Pleads Guilty in Payment Plot, Washington Post (Sept. 22, 2023) (online at www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2023/09 ... igal-plea/); Department of Justice, Press Release: Retired FBI Special Agent in Charge Pleads Guilty to Concealing Information from the FBI (Sept. 22, 2023) (online at www.justice.gov/opa/pr/retired-fbi-spec ... mation-fbi); Indictment United States v. McGonigal, No. 1:23 00021 (D.D.C. Jan. 18, 2023) (online at www.justice.gov/usao-dc/press-release/f ... 6/download); How Prosecutors Say a Top F.B.I. Agent Sold His Services Overseas, New York Times (Feb. 3, 2023) (online at wwwnytimes.com/2023/02/03/nyregion/fbi-
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Emoluments Paid by Albania to Trump-Owned Businesses
Prime Minister Rama chose to patronize the Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C., during his March 2017 visit. Over the course of two nights, Mr. Rama and his aides spent $3,474 at the hotel. They stayed on the same floor as Mr. Neza.658
There is no indication in the records produced by Mazars that Mr. McGonigal stayed at Trump International Hotel during this period in March 2017.
Separately, Mr. Dorjan Duçka, another Rama advisor, booked four rooms over two nights at Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C. on January 18 and January 19, 2018, at a cost of $1,503.659
The Mazars records further show that Albania’s then-Minister of Infrastructure and Energy, Damian Gjiknuri, stayed at the Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C., from June 24 through June 26, 2018, spending $1,025.660
intelligence-charged-albaniahtml).
658 MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00016568; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00016569; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00016576; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00016577.
659 MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00028926; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00028930.
660 MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00017647; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00017657; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00017669; MINISTRIA E INFRASTRUKTURES DHE ENERGJISE, Minister of Infrastructure and Energy, Albania, Press Release: Minister Gjiknuri in Washington, Meetings at the State Department (Feb. 6, 2018) (online at www.infrastruktura.gov.al/en/minister-g ... departmen/); Albanian PM Reshuffles Cabinet After Student Protests, Reuters (Dec. 28, 2018) (online at www.reuters.com/article/us-albania-gove ... SKCN1OR1CW).
144
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Re: White House for Sale: ... [For] Donald Trump
by admin » Sat Jan 06, 2024 11:29 pm
KOSOVO
During the Trump Administration, Kosovo sought to leverage U.S. support in order to gain greater international recognition, including from neighboring Serbia. The Mazars records show that several officials from Kosovo’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs—including the then-Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, Behgjet Pacolli—stayed at the Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C., in July 2018, spending nearly $5,000 at the hotel. Social media posts indicate that other Kosovar officials again visited the property later in the Trump Administration, but Mazars did not produce any documents to the Committee regarding that visit. Kosovo eventually signed an economic cooperation agreement with Serbia at a White House event over which then-President Trump presided.
Kosovar Emolument Spending at Trump Properties
Date
Location
Expenditure
Amount
July 25–26, 2018
Trump International Hotel
(Washington, D.C.)
Stay by Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Kosovo Behgjet Pacolli
$990661
July 25–28, 2018
Trump International Hotel
(Washington, D.C.)
Stay by additional officials of the Kosovo Ministry of Foreign Affairs
$3,960662
EMOLUMENTS PAID BY KOSOVO
(2018)
$4,950
In the former Yugoslavia, Kosovo had been “an autonomous province of Serbia.”663 While Serbians consider Kosovo to be “the birthplace of their nation,” more than 90% of the population of Kosovo is ethnically Albanian.664 A CRS report explains that by 1998, “growing ethnic unrest and violence in Kosovo, promoted by the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA), led Serbian leader Slobodan Milosevic to launch a counterinsurgency campaign against the ethnic Albanian and Kosovar communities in Kosovo.”665 According to the State Department, “Serbian forces and paramilitaries implemented a systematic campaign to ethnically cleanse Kosovo.”666
661 MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00017891; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00017900.
662 MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00017891; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00017900; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00017910; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00017911; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00017919; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00017920.
663 Congressional Research Service, Kosovo: Background and U.S. Relations (Aug. 13, 2018) (online at https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/R/R44979/11).
664 Kosovo: Why Is Violence Flaring Between Ethnic Serbs and Albanians, BBC (Oct. 2, 2023) (online at www.bbc.com/news/62382069).
665 Congressional Research Service, Kosovo: Background and U.S. Relations (Aug. 13, 2018) (online at https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/R/R44979/11).
666 Department of State, Ethnic Cleansing in Kosovo: An Accounting, (Dec. 1999) (online at https://1997-
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Thousands were killed and “[o]ver 1.5 million Kosovar Albanians—at least 90 percent of the estimated 1998 Kosovar Albanian population of Kosovo—were forcibly expelled from their homes.”
667 The United States joined NATO in an air campaign in an effort to end the humanitarian crisis.668 According to CRS, the NATO operation “ultimately forced the Serbs to agree to withdraw their military and police forces from Kosovo.”669
In 2008, Kosovo declared its independence from Serbia, and by 2018, Kosovo had been “recognized by over 110 countries worldwide, including the United States,” but “Serbia ha[d] refused to recognize Kosovo’s independence, as ha[d] Russia, China, and several EU countries.”670
As part of Kosovo’s campaign to garner greater American support for its effort to secure international recognition, a delegation from the Kosovar government—including then-President Hashim Thaçi—visited the United States in January 2017, where they reportedly met with several Republican Members of Congress and tried to initiate a relationship with the incoming Trump Administration.671 As reported in Balkan Insight, the government of Kosovo—which had “long seen the Democrats as their country’s natural allies in US politics”—was “keen to remind whoever runs Washington of their staunchly pro-American credentials.”672
The government of Kosovo also used U.N. General Assembly meetings as opportunities to meet with world leaders and advance its effort to gain greater international recognition for the country. While in New York for the 2017 and 2019 General Assembly meetings, then-President Thaçi met with then-President Trump.673 Media reports indicate that Behgjet Pacolli, who was then Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Kosovo, was part of the Kosovo delegation attending the 2017 and 2019 U.N. meetings.674
2001.state.gov/global/human_rights/kosovoii/pdf/kosovii.pdf).
667 Id.
668 North Atlantic Treaty Organization, Kosovo Air Campaign (March–June 1999) (May 17, 2022) (online at www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/topics_49602.htm).
669 Congressional Research Service, Kosovo: Background and U.S. Relations (Aug. 13, 2018) (online at https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/R/R44979/10).
670 Id.
671 Ambassador Reminds Trump That Kosovo Loves America, Balkan Insight (Jan. 18, 2017) (online at https://balkaninsight.com/2017/01/18/ko ... 1-18-2017/).
672 Id.
673 Thaçi Meets with U.S. President Donald Trump, Euronews. Albania (Sept. 25, 2019) (online at https://euronews.al/en/president-of-kos ... ald-trump/); President Thaci Meets US President Trump, Prishtina Insight (Sept. 20, 2017) (online at https://prishtinainsight.com/president- ... ent-trump/).
674 Thaçi Meets with U.S. President Donald Trump, Euronews. Albania (Sept. 25, 2019) (online at https://euronews.al/en/president-of-kos ... ald-trump/); President Thaci Meets US President Trump, Prishtina Insight (Sept. 20, 2017) (online at https://prishtinainsight.com/president- ... ent-trump/); Congressional Research Service, Kosovo: Background and U.S. Relations (Aug. 13, 2018) (online at https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/R/R44979/11).
146
Brian Ballard—a Trump fundraiser and D.C. lobbyist—reported in a filing with the DOJ pursuant to FARA that he began to represent Kosovo on December 22, 2017.675 In June 2018, Politico reported that Ballard had “personally lobbied Trump” on behalf of the county in April 2018.676
The Trump Administration apparently proved interested in helping Kosovo and Serbia improve their relationship. In December 2018, Trump reportedly wrote to Thaçi and Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, “dangling a potential Rose Garden peace ceremony if they could resolve their differences.”677 In October 2019, shortly after that year’s U.N. General Assembly, then-President Trump appointed the U.S. Ambassador to Germany, Richard Grenell, to serve in an additional role as the “special envoy for peace negotiations between Serbia and Kosovo.”678
In September 2020, at a White House event over which then-President Trump presided, Serbia and Kosovo signed an agreement “to normalize economic ties[.]” The agreement did not, however, provide for the full diplomatic recognition that Kosovo sought and that the Trump Administration and European Union had reportedly supported.679
In October 2020, Forbes reported:
President Donald Trump added a new line to his foreign policy resume this week, repeatedly insisting he brokered an end to the violent conflict between Serbia and Kosovo, even though the Kosovo War ended more than two decades ago—a bizarre and inaccurate claim as the president looks to tout his dealmaking skills in the final week of the campaign.680
For example, speaking at a rally in Omaha, Nebraska, on October 27, 2020, then-President Trump referred to the arrangement between Kosovo and Serbia signed in the Oval Office. He said:
675 Department of Justice, Supplemental Statement Pursuant to the Foreign Agents Registration Act of 1938, as Amended (May 31, 2018) (online at https://efile.fara.gov/docs/6415-Supple ... 0531-2.pdf).
676 Ballard Lobbied Trump on Kosovo, Politico (June 6, 2018) (online at www.politico.com/newsletters/politico-i ... ovo-244463).
677 Serbia and Kosovo Sign Breakthrough Economic Accord that is Short of Normal Relations, Washington Post (Sept. 4, 2020) (online at www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-k ... _storyhtml).
678 Trump Names Ric Grenell His Special Envoy for Serbia and Kosovo, Politico (Oct. 4, 2019) (online at www.politico.eu/article/trump-names-ric ... nd-kosovo/); Thaçi Meets with U.S. President Donald Trump, Euronews. Albania (Sept. 25, 2019) (online at https://euronews.al/en/president-of-kos ... ld-trump/#!).
679 Serbia and Kosovo Sign Breakthrough Economic Accord that is Short of Normal Relations, Washington Post (Sept. 4, 2020) (online at www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-k ... _storyhtml).
680 Trump Takes Credit for Ending Kosovo War, Which Ended In 1999, Forbes (Oct. 28, 2020) (online at wwwforbes.com/sites/joewalsh/2020/10/28/trump-takes-credit-for-ending-kosovo-war-which-ended-in-1999/).
147
You know what, it took about 20 minutes. They’d been fighting for 40 years. I think they’d been fighting for 400 years, you want to know the truth. But they’d been fighting for a long time. They want to make a deal. All of a sudden, two months ago, they’re in the oval office hugging the two prime ministers [. . .] hugging and kissing.681
Then-President Trump also said that, as a result of the deal, “We save a lot of lives, that’s a good thing.”682
Total Kosovar Emolument Spending
Records produced to the Committee by Mazars show that Kosovo’s then-Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pacolli stayed at the Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C., on July 25 and July 26, 2018. He was accompanied by two other officials from the Kosovo Ministry of Foreign Affairs, including Jetlir Zyberaj, an advisor to Mr. Pacolli; both of these officials stayed at the hotel for additional days after it appears that Mr. Pacolli had left.683 Together, all of the rooms booked by the Kosovar officials at the hotel cost $4,950.684
A social media post indicates that approximately two years later, then-Kosovar Justice Minister Selim Selimi and then-Kosovar Foreign Minister Meliza Haradinaj (who was Foreign Minister of Kosovo subsequent to Pacolli) met with Ambassador Grenell at the Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C., in 2020 at or about the time Serbia and Kosovo signed the economic normalization deal at the White House.685 The Committee has not received any documents from Mazars indicating whether or not the Kosovar officials made payments to Trump-owned entities during this time.
681 President Trump Campaign Rally in Omaha, Nebraska, C-SPAN (Oct. 27, 2020) (online at www.c-span.org/video/?477342-1/presiden ... a-nebraska).
682 Id.
683 Kosovo Bans Serbian Officials in New Diplomatic Dispute, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (July 4, 2019) (online at www.rferl.org/a/kosovo-bans-serbian-off ... 037050html).
684 MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00017891; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00017900; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00017910; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00017911; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00017919; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00017920.
685 Adriatik Kelemendi, Facebook (Sept. 5, 2020) (online at wwwfacebook.com/adriatikkelmendi/posts/pfbid02rJEdPxW2P4BxBc77yS1CuSq5zqACEpWNmFf4Jdts4SVZpnS7eE1NDXRtnU9GxqgWl); Meliza Haradinaj (@MelizaHaradinaj), X (formerly Twitter) (Sept. 5, 2020) (online at https://x.com/MelizaHaradinaj/status/13 ... 28481?s=20); Haradinaj-Stublla Resigns as Foreign Minister and Quits AAK, Prishtina Insight (Mar. 9, 2021) (online at https://prishtinainsight.com/haradinaj- ... quits-aak/); Kosovo American Education Fund, Facebook (June 5, 2020) (online at wwwfacebook.com/kaefonline/photos/a.10150263607456156/10157181290271156/?type=3).
148
During the Trump Administration, Kosovo sought to leverage U.S. support in order to gain greater international recognition, including from neighboring Serbia. The Mazars records show that several officials from Kosovo’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs—including the then-Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, Behgjet Pacolli—stayed at the Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C., in July 2018, spending nearly $5,000 at the hotel. Social media posts indicate that other Kosovar officials again visited the property later in the Trump Administration, but Mazars did not produce any documents to the Committee regarding that visit. Kosovo eventually signed an economic cooperation agreement with Serbia at a White House event over which then-President Trump presided.
Kosovar Emolument Spending at Trump Properties
Date
Location
Expenditure
Amount
July 25–26, 2018
Trump International Hotel
(Washington, D.C.)
Stay by Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Kosovo Behgjet Pacolli
$990661
July 25–28, 2018
Trump International Hotel
(Washington, D.C.)
Stay by additional officials of the Kosovo Ministry of Foreign Affairs
$3,960662
EMOLUMENTS PAID BY KOSOVO
(2018)
$4,950
In the former Yugoslavia, Kosovo had been “an autonomous province of Serbia.”663 While Serbians consider Kosovo to be “the birthplace of their nation,” more than 90% of the population of Kosovo is ethnically Albanian.664 A CRS report explains that by 1998, “growing ethnic unrest and violence in Kosovo, promoted by the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA), led Serbian leader Slobodan Milosevic to launch a counterinsurgency campaign against the ethnic Albanian and Kosovar communities in Kosovo.”665 According to the State Department, “Serbian forces and paramilitaries implemented a systematic campaign to ethnically cleanse Kosovo.”666
661 MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00017891; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00017900.
662 MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00017891; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00017900; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00017910; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00017911; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00017919; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00017920.
663 Congressional Research Service, Kosovo: Background and U.S. Relations (Aug. 13, 2018) (online at https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/R/R44979/11).
664 Kosovo: Why Is Violence Flaring Between Ethnic Serbs and Albanians, BBC (Oct. 2, 2023) (online at www.bbc.com/news/62382069).
665 Congressional Research Service, Kosovo: Background and U.S. Relations (Aug. 13, 2018) (online at https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/R/R44979/11).
666 Department of State, Ethnic Cleansing in Kosovo: An Accounting, (Dec. 1999) (online at https://1997-
145
Thousands were killed and “[o]ver 1.5 million Kosovar Albanians—at least 90 percent of the estimated 1998 Kosovar Albanian population of Kosovo—were forcibly expelled from their homes.”
667 The United States joined NATO in an air campaign in an effort to end the humanitarian crisis.668 According to CRS, the NATO operation “ultimately forced the Serbs to agree to withdraw their military and police forces from Kosovo.”669
In 2008, Kosovo declared its independence from Serbia, and by 2018, Kosovo had been “recognized by over 110 countries worldwide, including the United States,” but “Serbia ha[d] refused to recognize Kosovo’s independence, as ha[d] Russia, China, and several EU countries.”670
As part of Kosovo’s campaign to garner greater American support for its effort to secure international recognition, a delegation from the Kosovar government—including then-President Hashim Thaçi—visited the United States in January 2017, where they reportedly met with several Republican Members of Congress and tried to initiate a relationship with the incoming Trump Administration.671 As reported in Balkan Insight, the government of Kosovo—which had “long seen the Democrats as their country’s natural allies in US politics”—was “keen to remind whoever runs Washington of their staunchly pro-American credentials.”672
The government of Kosovo also used U.N. General Assembly meetings as opportunities to meet with world leaders and advance its effort to gain greater international recognition for the country. While in New York for the 2017 and 2019 General Assembly meetings, then-President Thaçi met with then-President Trump.673 Media reports indicate that Behgjet Pacolli, who was then Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Kosovo, was part of the Kosovo delegation attending the 2017 and 2019 U.N. meetings.674
2001.state.gov/global/human_rights/kosovoii/pdf/kosovii.pdf).
667 Id.
668 North Atlantic Treaty Organization, Kosovo Air Campaign (March–June 1999) (May 17, 2022) (online at www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/topics_49602.htm).
669 Congressional Research Service, Kosovo: Background and U.S. Relations (Aug. 13, 2018) (online at https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/R/R44979/10).
670 Id.
671 Ambassador Reminds Trump That Kosovo Loves America, Balkan Insight (Jan. 18, 2017) (online at https://balkaninsight.com/2017/01/18/ko ... 1-18-2017/).
672 Id.
673 Thaçi Meets with U.S. President Donald Trump, Euronews. Albania (Sept. 25, 2019) (online at https://euronews.al/en/president-of-kos ... ald-trump/); President Thaci Meets US President Trump, Prishtina Insight (Sept. 20, 2017) (online at https://prishtinainsight.com/president- ... ent-trump/).
674 Thaçi Meets with U.S. President Donald Trump, Euronews. Albania (Sept. 25, 2019) (online at https://euronews.al/en/president-of-kos ... ald-trump/); President Thaci Meets US President Trump, Prishtina Insight (Sept. 20, 2017) (online at https://prishtinainsight.com/president- ... ent-trump/); Congressional Research Service, Kosovo: Background and U.S. Relations (Aug. 13, 2018) (online at https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/R/R44979/11).
146
Brian Ballard—a Trump fundraiser and D.C. lobbyist—reported in a filing with the DOJ pursuant to FARA that he began to represent Kosovo on December 22, 2017.675 In June 2018, Politico reported that Ballard had “personally lobbied Trump” on behalf of the county in April 2018.676
The Trump Administration apparently proved interested in helping Kosovo and Serbia improve their relationship. In December 2018, Trump reportedly wrote to Thaçi and Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, “dangling a potential Rose Garden peace ceremony if they could resolve their differences.”677 In October 2019, shortly after that year’s U.N. General Assembly, then-President Trump appointed the U.S. Ambassador to Germany, Richard Grenell, to serve in an additional role as the “special envoy for peace negotiations between Serbia and Kosovo.”678
In September 2020, at a White House event over which then-President Trump presided, Serbia and Kosovo signed an agreement “to normalize economic ties[.]” The agreement did not, however, provide for the full diplomatic recognition that Kosovo sought and that the Trump Administration and European Union had reportedly supported.679
In October 2020, Forbes reported:
President Donald Trump added a new line to his foreign policy resume this week, repeatedly insisting he brokered an end to the violent conflict between Serbia and Kosovo, even though the Kosovo War ended more than two decades ago—a bizarre and inaccurate claim as the president looks to tout his dealmaking skills in the final week of the campaign.680
For example, speaking at a rally in Omaha, Nebraska, on October 27, 2020, then-President Trump referred to the arrangement between Kosovo and Serbia signed in the Oval Office. He said:
675 Department of Justice, Supplemental Statement Pursuant to the Foreign Agents Registration Act of 1938, as Amended (May 31, 2018) (online at https://efile.fara.gov/docs/6415-Supple ... 0531-2.pdf).
676 Ballard Lobbied Trump on Kosovo, Politico (June 6, 2018) (online at www.politico.com/newsletters/politico-i ... ovo-244463).
677 Serbia and Kosovo Sign Breakthrough Economic Accord that is Short of Normal Relations, Washington Post (Sept. 4, 2020) (online at www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-k ... _storyhtml).
678 Trump Names Ric Grenell His Special Envoy for Serbia and Kosovo, Politico (Oct. 4, 2019) (online at www.politico.eu/article/trump-names-ric ... nd-kosovo/); Thaçi Meets with U.S. President Donald Trump, Euronews. Albania (Sept. 25, 2019) (online at https://euronews.al/en/president-of-kos ... ld-trump/#!).
679 Serbia and Kosovo Sign Breakthrough Economic Accord that is Short of Normal Relations, Washington Post (Sept. 4, 2020) (online at www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-k ... _storyhtml).
680 Trump Takes Credit for Ending Kosovo War, Which Ended In 1999, Forbes (Oct. 28, 2020) (online at wwwforbes.com/sites/joewalsh/2020/10/28/trump-takes-credit-for-ending-kosovo-war-which-ended-in-1999/).
147
You know what, it took about 20 minutes. They’d been fighting for 40 years. I think they’d been fighting for 400 years, you want to know the truth. But they’d been fighting for a long time. They want to make a deal. All of a sudden, two months ago, they’re in the oval office hugging the two prime ministers [. . .] hugging and kissing.681
Then-President Trump also said that, as a result of the deal, “We save a lot of lives, that’s a good thing.”682
Total Kosovar Emolument Spending
Records produced to the Committee by Mazars show that Kosovo’s then-Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pacolli stayed at the Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C., on July 25 and July 26, 2018. He was accompanied by two other officials from the Kosovo Ministry of Foreign Affairs, including Jetlir Zyberaj, an advisor to Mr. Pacolli; both of these officials stayed at the hotel for additional days after it appears that Mr. Pacolli had left.683 Together, all of the rooms booked by the Kosovar officials at the hotel cost $4,950.684
A social media post indicates that approximately two years later, then-Kosovar Justice Minister Selim Selimi and then-Kosovar Foreign Minister Meliza Haradinaj (who was Foreign Minister of Kosovo subsequent to Pacolli) met with Ambassador Grenell at the Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C., in 2020 at or about the time Serbia and Kosovo signed the economic normalization deal at the White House.685 The Committee has not received any documents from Mazars indicating whether or not the Kosovar officials made payments to Trump-owned entities during this time.
681 President Trump Campaign Rally in Omaha, Nebraska, C-SPAN (Oct. 27, 2020) (online at www.c-span.org/video/?477342-1/presiden ... a-nebraska).
682 Id.
683 Kosovo Bans Serbian Officials in New Diplomatic Dispute, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (July 4, 2019) (online at www.rferl.org/a/kosovo-bans-serbian-off ... 037050html).
684 MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00017891; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00017900; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00017910; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00017911; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00017919; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00017920.
685 Adriatik Kelemendi, Facebook (Sept. 5, 2020) (online at wwwfacebook.com/adriatikkelmendi/posts/pfbid02rJEdPxW2P4BxBc77yS1CuSq5zqACEpWNmFf4Jdts4SVZpnS7eE1NDXRtnU9GxqgWl); Meliza Haradinaj (@MelizaHaradinaj), X (formerly Twitter) (Sept. 5, 2020) (online at https://x.com/MelizaHaradinaj/status/13 ... 28481?s=20); Haradinaj-Stublla Resigns as Foreign Minister and Quits AAK, Prishtina Insight (Mar. 9, 2021) (online at https://prishtinainsight.com/haradinaj- ... quits-aak/); Kosovo American Education Fund, Facebook (June 5, 2020) (online at wwwfacebook.com/kaefonline/photos/a.10150263607456156/10157181290271156/?type=3).
148
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Re: White House for Sale: ... [For] Donald Trump
by admin » Sat Jan 06, 2024 11:30 pm
ADDITIONAL EMOLUMENT SPENDING
The ledgers provided to the Committee by Mazars record several additional governments whose officials patronized President Trump’s businesses while he was in office. These emoluments are enumerated below.
• Afghanistan spent money at both Trump World Tower in New York and the Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C., during then-President Trump’s term. The Permanent Mission of Afghanistan maintained a unit at Trump World Tower throughout the Trump presidency, incurring $38,302 in common monthly charges for that unit in 2018—as noted, the only year for which Mazars provided records of expenditures at Trump World Tower.700 Assuming the monthly charges did not change during President Trump’s four-year term, this report estimates that Afghanistan spent $153,208 on common monthly charges for the unit during President Trump’s time in office.701 In addition, the records provided by Mazars show that Khan Agha Rezayee, a Member of Afghanistan’s Parliament, paid $1,542 for a stay at the Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C., in late February 2018.702
• Officials from the self-declared Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus rented multiple rooms at Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C., from September 24 through September 27, 2017, spending $8,800.703 A militarized “green line” divides the island of Cyprus, separating the Turkish-controlled northern sector from the southern, predominantly Greek-speaking nation of the Republic of Cyprus. Turkish control of the northern enclave is not recognized by any other nation. The U.N. peace-keeping mission on Cyprus is one of the longest running in U.N. history.704
• Kornelios Korneliou, a member of the diplomatic service of the Republic of Cyprus, patronized the Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C., on at least one occasion, spending $590 for two nights in early February 2018. At the time, he was Cyprus’s Permanent Representative to the U.N.705
In addition, records produced to the Committee by Mazars also show that in May 2018, the International Coordinating Committee – Justice for Cyprus (PSEKA), an advocacy group that condemns the Turkish occupation of Northern Cyprus, held a conference at the Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C., and spent $11,421 on rooms.
706 The explicit purpose of the gathering was to influence then-President Trump. News reports stated that the Cyprus News Agency, a partially government-funded news outlet, claimed its members were looking “into ways of exerting influence on US President Donald Trump with a view to averting the Islamization of the Turkish occupied part of Cyprus.” Reportedly, at least three foreign government officials attended the gathering, including the mayors of two Cypriot towns and a member of the Greek parliament. The head of PSEKA opened the event by stating: “Trump is not a politician, and we hope that he can get the message.”707
• The Republic of Kazakhstan, including nine government officials, spent at least $21,311 at the Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C, in the fall of 2017 and the spring of 2018. These officials included the Kazakh Minister of National Economy, Timur Suleimenov, and other officials from the National Bank of Kazakhstan, including its Chairman, Daniyar Akishev. The Second Secretary of the Embassy of Kazakhstan, Arman Sapargaliyev, also stayed at the hotel.708 The names of the Minister, the Chairman, and the other officials from the National Bank of Kazakhstan appear among the “Accredited Members of the Delegations at the 2017 Annual Meetings” included in the “Summary Proceedings” of the World Bank’s “2017 Annual Meetings of the Boards of Governors,” which were held between October 13 and October 15, 2017.709 AinurKuatova, Managing Director and member of the Executive Board of the state-owned Baiterek National Managing Holding, stayed at the hotel in late May 2018, spending $1,050.710 Also staying at the Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C., in late May 2018, was Adil Mukhamejanov, Chairman of the Management Board of Kazakhstan Housing Company, who spent $1,411.711
• The records provided to the Committee by Mazars indicate that the Embassy of Lebanon made two expenditures at a Trump-owned property. “Embassy of Lebanon Transient Bookings” appears on a list of embassies that had accounts at a Trump-owned property. The “Start Date” for this account was March 20, 2017—just weeks after President Trump took office.712 Mazars did not provide any documents showing the amount of or services provided for this expenditure, or the specific location of the expenditure. The second expenditure was made at the Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C., on the nights of July 24 and July 25, 2018, when the Embassy of Lebanon booked nine rooms at a cost of $7,720.713
• The Minister for Agriculture and Cooperatives of Thailand, Grisada Boonrach, stayed at the Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C., on the nights of August 18 to August 22, 2018. He was accompanied by additional officials from the Government of Thailand who stayed at the hotel on the nights of August 18 through August 24, 2018. Together, they spent $11,340 at the hotel.714
• The Governor of the Bank of Mongolia, Bayartsaikhan Nadmid, stayed at the Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C., on the nights of October 7 through October 15, 2017, and again on the nights of April 17 through April 23, 2018, spending a combined total of $8,486.
• The Chief Executive Officer of the Government Debt Management Agency of Hungary, György Janos Barcza, stayed at the Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C., on the nights of April 24 and April 25, 2018, spending $1,011.716
• The Governor of the Bank of Latvia, Ilmars Rimsevics, stayed at the Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C., from October 11 through October 15, 2017, spending $2,739. By virtue of his position at the Bank of Latvia, Mr. Rimsevics was also on the governing council of the European Central Bank. 717
_______________
Notes:
686 MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00027356; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00027402; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00027449; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00027498; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00027556; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00027613; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00027707; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00027661; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00027754; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00027796; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-000027839; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00027884.
687 MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00019372; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00019379; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00019384.
688 MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018392; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018400; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018411; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018412; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018423.
689 MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00019247; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00019252.
690 MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018542; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018553.
691 MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018546; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018554; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018557; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018558; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018564; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018566; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018567; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018568; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00016982; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00017007; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00017022, MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00017036; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00017037; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00017052.
692 MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018543; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018554.
693 MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00017410; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00017415; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00017421; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00017428.
694 MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00017417; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00017422; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00017430.
695 MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00017883; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00017894; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00017895.
696 MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018079; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-
00018088; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018089; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018095; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018100; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018106; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018113; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018124.
697 MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018509; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018516; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018526; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018536; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018548; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018559; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018569; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018577; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018582; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00016978; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00017001; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00017020; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00017034; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00017049; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00017064; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00017072.
698 MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00017082; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00017094.
699 MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018541; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018557; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018566; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018575; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018581.
700 New York City Department of Finance, Document ID: 2009082401334002 (Aug. 21, 2009) (online at https://a836-acris.nyc.gov/DS/DocumentS ... 2401334002) (accessed Dec. 7, 2023); New York City Department of Finance, Assessment Roll 2016-2017, Borough: Manhattan, Block: 1340, Lot: 1212 (Jan. 5, 2016) (accessed Dec. 6, 2023); New York City Department of Finance, Assessment Roll 2017-2018, Borough: Manhattan, Block: 1340, Lot: 1212 (Jan. 5, 2017) (accessed Dec. 6, 2023); New York City
Department of Finance, Assessment Roll 2018-2019, Borough: Manhattan, Block: 1340, Lot: 1212 (Jan. 5, 2018) (accessed Dec. 6, 2023); New York City Department of Finance, Final Assessment Roll 2019-2020, Borough: Manhattan, Block: 1340, Lot: 1212 (Jan. 5, 2019) (accessed Dec. 6, 2023); New York City Department of Finance, Final Assessment Roll 2020-2021, Borough: Manhattan, Block: 1340, Lot: 1212 (Jan. 5, 2020) (accessed Dec. 6, 2023); New York City Department of Finance, Final Assessment Roll 2021-2022, Borough: Manhattan, Block: 1340, Lot: 1212 (Jan. 5, 2021) (accessed Dec. 6, 2023)
701 MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00027356; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00027402; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00027449; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00027498; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00027556; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00027613; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00027707; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00027661; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00027754; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00027796; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00027839; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00027884.
702 MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00019372; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00019379; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00019384; Khan Rezayee, LinkedIn (online at https://af.linkedin.com/in/khan-rezayee-58578b47) (accessed Oct. 31, 2023); Young, Modern Afghans Fear ‘Losing Everything’ as Taliban Regains Ground, PBS (July 14, 2021) (online at http://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/young- ... ins-ground).
703 MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018392; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018400; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018411; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018412; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018423.
704 Erdogan’s Visit to Northern Cyprus Stokes Decades-Long Dispute, New York Times (Nov. 17, 2020) (online at wwwnytimes.com/2020/11/15/world/europe/cyprus-turkey-erdogan.html).
705 MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00019247; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00019252; Kornelius S. Korneliou, LinkedIn (online at https://il.linkedin.com/in/kornelios-s- ... 337633b/en) (accessed Oct. 31, 2023); Embassy of the Republic of Cyprus in Tel Aviv, Ambassador
Kornelios S. Korneliou, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Cyprus (online at http://wwwmfa.gov.cy/mfa/embassies/emba ... assador_en) (accessed Oct. 31, 2023).
706 MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00017355; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00017366; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00017376; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00017377; PSEKA International Coordinating Committee Justice for Cyprus, About PSEKA (online at https://pseka.org/about/) (accessed Oct. 27, 2023).
707 Delegation From Mueller-Scrutinized Cyprus Gets Sweet Deal at Trump’s D.C. Hotel, The Daily Beast (June 18, 2018) (online at http://www.thedailybeast.com/delegation ... s-dc-hotel); PSEKA Conference Delegates Highlight Need to Inform US Administration about the Danger of Occupied Cyprus’ Islamization, Parikiaki (May 23, 2018) (online at http://www.parikiaki.com/2018/05/pseka- ... amization/).
708MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018542; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018543; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018546; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018553. MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018554; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018557; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018558; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018564; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018566; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018567; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018568; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00016982; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00017007; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00017022, MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00017036; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00017037; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00017052; Kazakh President Appoints New Foreign Minister, Minister of National Economy, Astana Times (Dec. 29, 2016) (online at https://astanatimes.com/2016/12/kazakh- ... l-economy/); Official Website of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Events – Meeting with the Chairman of the National Bank of Kazakhstan Daniyer Akishev (Aug. 3, 2016) (online at http://www.akorda.kz/en/events/akorda_n ... -akishev-5); U.S. Department of State, Embassy of the Republic of Kazakhstan (Archived Content from Jan. 20, 2009 to Jan. 20, 2017) (online at https://2009-2017.state.gov/s/cpr/rls/dpl/221208htm#K).
709 The World Bank Group, 2017 Annual Meetings of the Boards of Governors Summary Proceedings (Oct.
13–15, 2017) (online at https://documents1.worldbank.org/curate ... 232018.pdf).
710 MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00017417; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00017422; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00017430; Ainur Kuatova, LinkedIn (online at https://kz.linkedin.com/in/ainur-kuatova-7a3a2b6) (accessed Oct. 31, 2023).
711 MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00017410; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00017415; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00017421; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00017428; Baiterek, Mukhamejanov Adil Bektasovich, Deputy Chairman of the Management Board (online at https://baiterek.govkz/en/about-holding ... ktasovich/) (accessed Oct. 31, 2023).
712 MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00008041.
713 MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00017883; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00017894; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00017895.
714 MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018079; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018088; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018089; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018095; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018100; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018106; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018113; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018124; Thai Cabinet Reshuffle Underlines Junta’s Bid to Reach Farmers, Nikkei Asia (Nov. 17, 2017) (online at https://asia.nikkei.com/Politics/Thai-c ... ch-farmers); Committee on World Food Security, Forty-Fifth Session (Oct. 15–19, 2018) (online at http://www.gisa-unr.com/pdf/fao2018-delegados.pdf).
715 MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018509; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018516; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018526; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018536; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018548; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018559; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018569; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018577; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018582; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00016978; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00017001; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00017020; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00017034; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00017049; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00017064; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00017072;Mongolia Governor Replaced Two Years Before End of Term, Central Banking (July 21, 2016) (online at http://www.centralbanking.com/central-b ... nd-of-term); The World Bank Group, 2017 Annual Meetings of the Board of Governors Summary Proceedings (Oct. 13–15, 2017) (online at https://documents1.worldbank.org/curate ... 232018.pdf).
716 MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00017082; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00017094; György Barcza (online at https://hu.linkedin.com/in/gy%C3%B6rgy-barcza-8206231b9) (accessed Oct. 10, 2023); Államadósság Kezelő Központ Zrt., Goals, Activities, and Legal Framework (Apr. 7, 2020) (online at https://akk.hu/introduction/goals-activities-legal); The World Bank Group, 2016 Sovereign Debt Management Forum: Sovereign Debt Management in Emerging Markets: Is the Party Over? (Oct. 19–20, 2016) (online at http://www.worldbank.org/en/events/2017 ... ment-forum).
717 MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018541; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018557; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018566; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018575; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018581; Former ECB Governor to Testify on Bribery Allegations, Reuters (July 4, 2023) (online at http://www.reuters.com/world/europe/for ... 023-07-04/); ECB Slams Latvia for Banning Rimsevics Before Criminal Case, Bloomberg (Sept. 25, 2018) (online at http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/ ... minal-case); ECB Seeks EU Court Ruling on Latvian Central Bank Governor, New York Daily News (Apr. 7, 2018) (online at wwwnydailynews.com/2018/04/06/ecb-seeks-eu-court-ruling-on-latvian-central-bank-governor/).
155
The ledgers provided to the Committee by Mazars record several additional governments whose officials patronized President Trump’s businesses while he was in office. These emoluments are enumerated below.
Date / Location / Expenditure / Amount
2018
Trump World Tower
(New York, NY)
Permanent Mission of Afghanistan
$38,302686
(2018)
Estimated Total Emolument for 4 Years:
$153,208 (2017–2020)
February 23–25, 2018
Trump International Hotel
(Washington, D.C.)
Khan Agha Rezayee, Member of Parliament from Kabul, Afghanistan
$1,542687
September 24– 27, 2017
Trump International Hotel
(Washington, D.C.)
Self-Declared Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus
$8,800688
February 6–7, 2018
Trump International Hotel
(Washington, D.C.)
Kornelios Korneliou, Permanent Representative of the Republic of Cyprus to the United Nations
$590689
October 11–12, 2017
Trump International Hotel
(Washington, D.C.)
Timur Suleimenov, Minister of National Economy of Kazakhstan
$1,050690
October 11–14, 2017 and April 17–21, 2018
Trump International Hotel
(Washington, D.C.)
Daniyar Akishev, Governor of the National Bank of Kazakhstan; and additional officials from the National Bank of Kazakhstan
(stays for each person varied within the specified time frames)
$19,211691
October 11–12, 2017
Trump International Hotel
(Washington, D.C.)
Arman Sapargaliyev, Second Secretary at the Embassy of Kazakhstan in the U.S.
$1,050692
May 28–31, 2018
Trump International Hotel
(Washington, D.C.)
Adil Mukhamejanov, Chairman of the Management Board of Kazakhstan Housing Company
$1,411693
May 29–31, 2018
Trump International Hotel
(Washington, D.C.)
Ainur Kuatova, Managing Director and member of the Executive Board of Baiterek National Managing Holding (Kazakhstan)
$1,050694
July 24–25, 2018
Trump International Hotel
(Washington, D.C.)
Embassy of Lebanon
$7,720695
August 18–24, 2018
Trump International Hotel
(Washington, D.C.)
Grisada Boonrach, Minister for Agriculture
$11,340696
and Cooperatives of Thailand and additional officials from the Government of Thailand
(stays for each person varied within the specified time periods)
October 7–15, 2017 and April 17–23, 2018
Trump International Hotel
(Washington, D.C.)
Bayartsaikhan Nadmid,
Governor, Bank of Mongolia
$8,486697
April 24–25, 2018
Trump International Hotel
(Washington, D.C.)
György Janos Barcza,
Chief Executive Officer, Government Debt Management Agency of Hungary
$1,011698
October 11–15, 2017
Trump International Hotel
(Washington, D.C.)
Ilmars Rimsevics,
Governor, Bank of Latvia
$2,739699
• Afghanistan spent money at both Trump World Tower in New York and the Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C., during then-President Trump’s term. The Permanent Mission of Afghanistan maintained a unit at Trump World Tower throughout the Trump presidency, incurring $38,302 in common monthly charges for that unit in 2018—as noted, the only year for which Mazars provided records of expenditures at Trump World Tower.700 Assuming the monthly charges did not change during President Trump’s four-year term, this report estimates that Afghanistan spent $153,208 on common monthly charges for the unit during President Trump’s time in office.701 In addition, the records provided by Mazars show that Khan Agha Rezayee, a Member of Afghanistan’s Parliament, paid $1,542 for a stay at the Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C., in late February 2018.702
• Officials from the self-declared Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus rented multiple rooms at Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C., from September 24 through September 27, 2017, spending $8,800.703 A militarized “green line” divides the island of Cyprus, separating the Turkish-controlled northern sector from the southern, predominantly Greek-speaking nation of the Republic of Cyprus. Turkish control of the northern enclave is not recognized by any other nation. The U.N. peace-keeping mission on Cyprus is one of the longest running in U.N. history.704
• Kornelios Korneliou, a member of the diplomatic service of the Republic of Cyprus, patronized the Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C., on at least one occasion, spending $590 for two nights in early February 2018. At the time, he was Cyprus’s Permanent Representative to the U.N.705
In addition, records produced to the Committee by Mazars also show that in May 2018, the International Coordinating Committee – Justice for Cyprus (PSEKA), an advocacy group that condemns the Turkish occupation of Northern Cyprus, held a conference at the Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C., and spent $11,421 on rooms.
706 The explicit purpose of the gathering was to influence then-President Trump. News reports stated that the Cyprus News Agency, a partially government-funded news outlet, claimed its members were looking “into ways of exerting influence on US President Donald Trump with a view to averting the Islamization of the Turkish occupied part of Cyprus.” Reportedly, at least three foreign government officials attended the gathering, including the mayors of two Cypriot towns and a member of the Greek parliament. The head of PSEKA opened the event by stating: “Trump is not a politician, and we hope that he can get the message.”707
• The Republic of Kazakhstan, including nine government officials, spent at least $21,311 at the Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C, in the fall of 2017 and the spring of 2018. These officials included the Kazakh Minister of National Economy, Timur Suleimenov, and other officials from the National Bank of Kazakhstan, including its Chairman, Daniyar Akishev. The Second Secretary of the Embassy of Kazakhstan, Arman Sapargaliyev, also stayed at the hotel.708 The names of the Minister, the Chairman, and the other officials from the National Bank of Kazakhstan appear among the “Accredited Members of the Delegations at the 2017 Annual Meetings” included in the “Summary Proceedings” of the World Bank’s “2017 Annual Meetings of the Boards of Governors,” which were held between October 13 and October 15, 2017.709 AinurKuatova, Managing Director and member of the Executive Board of the state-owned Baiterek National Managing Holding, stayed at the hotel in late May 2018, spending $1,050.710 Also staying at the Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C., in late May 2018, was Adil Mukhamejanov, Chairman of the Management Board of Kazakhstan Housing Company, who spent $1,411.711
• The records provided to the Committee by Mazars indicate that the Embassy of Lebanon made two expenditures at a Trump-owned property. “Embassy of Lebanon Transient Bookings” appears on a list of embassies that had accounts at a Trump-owned property. The “Start Date” for this account was March 20, 2017—just weeks after President Trump took office.712 Mazars did not provide any documents showing the amount of or services provided for this expenditure, or the specific location of the expenditure. The second expenditure was made at the Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C., on the nights of July 24 and July 25, 2018, when the Embassy of Lebanon booked nine rooms at a cost of $7,720.713
• The Minister for Agriculture and Cooperatives of Thailand, Grisada Boonrach, stayed at the Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C., on the nights of August 18 to August 22, 2018. He was accompanied by additional officials from the Government of Thailand who stayed at the hotel on the nights of August 18 through August 24, 2018. Together, they spent $11,340 at the hotel.714
• The Governor of the Bank of Mongolia, Bayartsaikhan Nadmid, stayed at the Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C., on the nights of October 7 through October 15, 2017, and again on the nights of April 17 through April 23, 2018, spending a combined total of $8,486.
• The Chief Executive Officer of the Government Debt Management Agency of Hungary, György Janos Barcza, stayed at the Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C., on the nights of April 24 and April 25, 2018, spending $1,011.716
• The Governor of the Bank of Latvia, Ilmars Rimsevics, stayed at the Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C., from October 11 through October 15, 2017, spending $2,739. By virtue of his position at the Bank of Latvia, Mr. Rimsevics was also on the governing council of the European Central Bank. 717
_______________
Notes:
686 MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00027356; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00027402; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00027449; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00027498; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00027556; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00027613; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00027707; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00027661; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00027754; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00027796; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-000027839; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00027884.
687 MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00019372; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00019379; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00019384.
688 MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018392; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018400; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018411; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018412; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018423.
689 MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00019247; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00019252.
690 MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018542; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018553.
691 MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018546; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018554; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018557; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018558; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018564; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018566; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018567; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018568; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00016982; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00017007; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00017022, MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00017036; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00017037; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00017052.
692 MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018543; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018554.
693 MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00017410; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00017415; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00017421; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00017428.
694 MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00017417; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00017422; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00017430.
695 MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00017883; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00017894; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00017895.
696 MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018079; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-
00018088; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018089; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018095; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018100; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018106; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018113; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018124.
697 MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018509; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018516; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018526; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018536; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018548; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018559; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018569; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018577; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018582; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00016978; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00017001; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00017020; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00017034; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00017049; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00017064; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00017072.
698 MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00017082; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00017094.
699 MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018541; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018557; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018566; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018575; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018581.
700 New York City Department of Finance, Document ID: 2009082401334002 (Aug. 21, 2009) (online at https://a836-acris.nyc.gov/DS/DocumentS ... 2401334002) (accessed Dec. 7, 2023); New York City Department of Finance, Assessment Roll 2016-2017, Borough: Manhattan, Block: 1340, Lot: 1212 (Jan. 5, 2016) (accessed Dec. 6, 2023); New York City Department of Finance, Assessment Roll 2017-2018, Borough: Manhattan, Block: 1340, Lot: 1212 (Jan. 5, 2017) (accessed Dec. 6, 2023); New York City
Department of Finance, Assessment Roll 2018-2019, Borough: Manhattan, Block: 1340, Lot: 1212 (Jan. 5, 2018) (accessed Dec. 6, 2023); New York City Department of Finance, Final Assessment Roll 2019-2020, Borough: Manhattan, Block: 1340, Lot: 1212 (Jan. 5, 2019) (accessed Dec. 6, 2023); New York City Department of Finance, Final Assessment Roll 2020-2021, Borough: Manhattan, Block: 1340, Lot: 1212 (Jan. 5, 2020) (accessed Dec. 6, 2023); New York City Department of Finance, Final Assessment Roll 2021-2022, Borough: Manhattan, Block: 1340, Lot: 1212 (Jan. 5, 2021) (accessed Dec. 6, 2023)
701 MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00027356; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00027402; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00027449; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00027498; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00027556; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00027613; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00027707; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00027661; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00027754; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00027796; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00027839; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00027884.
702 MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00019372; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00019379; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00019384; Khan Rezayee, LinkedIn (online at https://af.linkedin.com/in/khan-rezayee-58578b47) (accessed Oct. 31, 2023); Young, Modern Afghans Fear ‘Losing Everything’ as Taliban Regains Ground, PBS (July 14, 2021) (online at http://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/young- ... ins-ground).
703 MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018392; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018400; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018411; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018412; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018423.
704 Erdogan’s Visit to Northern Cyprus Stokes Decades-Long Dispute, New York Times (Nov. 17, 2020) (online at wwwnytimes.com/2020/11/15/world/europe/cyprus-turkey-erdogan.html).
705 MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00019247; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00019252; Kornelius S. Korneliou, LinkedIn (online at https://il.linkedin.com/in/kornelios-s- ... 337633b/en) (accessed Oct. 31, 2023); Embassy of the Republic of Cyprus in Tel Aviv, Ambassador
Kornelios S. Korneliou, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Cyprus (online at http://wwwmfa.gov.cy/mfa/embassies/emba ... assador_en) (accessed Oct. 31, 2023).
706 MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00017355; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00017366; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00017376; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00017377; PSEKA International Coordinating Committee Justice for Cyprus, About PSEKA (online at https://pseka.org/about/) (accessed Oct. 27, 2023).
707 Delegation From Mueller-Scrutinized Cyprus Gets Sweet Deal at Trump’s D.C. Hotel, The Daily Beast (June 18, 2018) (online at http://www.thedailybeast.com/delegation ... s-dc-hotel); PSEKA Conference Delegates Highlight Need to Inform US Administration about the Danger of Occupied Cyprus’ Islamization, Parikiaki (May 23, 2018) (online at http://www.parikiaki.com/2018/05/pseka- ... amization/).
708MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018542; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018543; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018546; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018553. MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018554; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018557; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018558; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018564; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018566; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018567; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018568; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00016982; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00017007; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00017022, MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00017036; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00017037; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00017052; Kazakh President Appoints New Foreign Minister, Minister of National Economy, Astana Times (Dec. 29, 2016) (online at https://astanatimes.com/2016/12/kazakh- ... l-economy/); Official Website of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Events – Meeting with the Chairman of the National Bank of Kazakhstan Daniyer Akishev (Aug. 3, 2016) (online at http://www.akorda.kz/en/events/akorda_n ... -akishev-5); U.S. Department of State, Embassy of the Republic of Kazakhstan (Archived Content from Jan. 20, 2009 to Jan. 20, 2017) (online at https://2009-2017.state.gov/s/cpr/rls/dpl/221208htm#K).
709 The World Bank Group, 2017 Annual Meetings of the Boards of Governors Summary Proceedings (Oct.
13–15, 2017) (online at https://documents1.worldbank.org/curate ... 232018.pdf).
710 MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00017417; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00017422; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00017430; Ainur Kuatova, LinkedIn (online at https://kz.linkedin.com/in/ainur-kuatova-7a3a2b6) (accessed Oct. 31, 2023).
711 MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00017410; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00017415; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00017421; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00017428; Baiterek, Mukhamejanov Adil Bektasovich, Deputy Chairman of the Management Board (online at https://baiterek.govkz/en/about-holding ... ktasovich/) (accessed Oct. 31, 2023).
712 MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00008041.
713 MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00017883; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00017894; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00017895.
714 MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018079; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018088; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018089; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018095; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018100; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018106; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018113; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018124; Thai Cabinet Reshuffle Underlines Junta’s Bid to Reach Farmers, Nikkei Asia (Nov. 17, 2017) (online at https://asia.nikkei.com/Politics/Thai-c ... ch-farmers); Committee on World Food Security, Forty-Fifth Session (Oct. 15–19, 2018) (online at http://www.gisa-unr.com/pdf/fao2018-delegados.pdf).
715 MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018509; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018516; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018526; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018536; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018548; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018559; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018569; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018577; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018582; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00016978; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00017001; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00017020; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00017034; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00017049; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00017064; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00017072;Mongolia Governor Replaced Two Years Before End of Term, Central Banking (July 21, 2016) (online at http://www.centralbanking.com/central-b ... nd-of-term); The World Bank Group, 2017 Annual Meetings of the Board of Governors Summary Proceedings (Oct. 13–15, 2017) (online at https://documents1.worldbank.org/curate ... 232018.pdf).
716 MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00017082; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00017094; György Barcza (online at https://hu.linkedin.com/in/gy%C3%B6rgy-barcza-8206231b9) (accessed Oct. 10, 2023); Államadósság Kezelő Központ Zrt., Goals, Activities, and Legal Framework (Apr. 7, 2020) (online at https://akk.hu/introduction/goals-activities-legal); The World Bank Group, 2016 Sovereign Debt Management Forum: Sovereign Debt Management in Emerging Markets: Is the Party Over? (Oct. 19–20, 2016) (online at http://www.worldbank.org/en/events/2017 ... ment-forum).
717 MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018541; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018557; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018566; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018575; MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-00018581; Former ECB Governor to Testify on Bribery Allegations, Reuters (July 4, 2023) (online at http://www.reuters.com/world/europe/for ... 023-07-04/); ECB Slams Latvia for Banning Rimsevics Before Criminal Case, Bloomberg (Sept. 25, 2018) (online at http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/ ... minal-case); ECB Seeks EU Court Ruling on Latvian Central Bank Governor, New York Daily News (Apr. 7, 2018) (online at wwwnydailynews.com/2018/04/06/ecb-seeks-eu-court-ruling-on-latvian-central-bank-governor/).
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Re: White House for Sale: ... [For] Donald Trump
by admin » Sat Jan 06, 2024 11:30 pm
ADDITIONAL COUNTRIES WITH ACCOUNTS AT TRUMP-OWNED BUSINESSES
In addition to the documents recording the emoluments included in this report, the records produced to the Committee by Mazars include an email from Michael Levchuck, the “Area Director of Finance” for the Trump International Hotel and Tower in New York and the Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C., to Donald Bender at Mazars, which includes an attachment referred to as an “Embassy List from HMS.”718 This list identifies more than a dozen countries that apparently had accounts at a Trump property. For several of the countries and events on the list—such as the “Embassy of the Philippines National Day Reception” and the “Embassy of Malaysia Delegation”—Mazars produced records that provide at least some basic details on the expenditures. However, the list includes the following country/event accounts with “start dates” after Donald Trump had been elected President but for which Mazars produced no other records to the Committee:
• “Embassy of Azeirbaijan [sic] 12/14/16- Conference of Presidents” (start date 12/14/2016);
• “Embassy of Georgia Delegation” (start date 03/30/2017);
• “Embassy of Namibia VIP Visit” (start date 06/09/2017);
• “Embassy of Romania VIP Visit” (start date 05/31/2017, end date 06/11/2017); and
• “United States Embassy – Costa Rica” (start date 05/01/2017).719
Given the absence of relevant records, this report cannot determine the purposes and amounts of these countries’ expenditures at Trump-owned properties during President Trump’s term.
_______________
Notes:
718 MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-0008040.
719 MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-0008041.
In addition to the documents recording the emoluments included in this report, the records produced to the Committee by Mazars include an email from Michael Levchuck, the “Area Director of Finance” for the Trump International Hotel and Tower in New York and the Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C., to Donald Bender at Mazars, which includes an attachment referred to as an “Embassy List from HMS.”718 This list identifies more than a dozen countries that apparently had accounts at a Trump property. For several of the countries and events on the list—such as the “Embassy of the Philippines National Day Reception” and the “Embassy of Malaysia Delegation”—Mazars produced records that provide at least some basic details on the expenditures. However, the list includes the following country/event accounts with “start dates” after Donald Trump had been elected President but for which Mazars produced no other records to the Committee:
• “Embassy of Azeirbaijan [sic] 12/14/16- Conference of Presidents” (start date 12/14/2016);
• “Embassy of Georgia Delegation” (start date 03/30/2017);
• “Embassy of Namibia VIP Visit” (start date 06/09/2017);
• “Embassy of Romania VIP Visit” (start date 05/31/2017, end date 06/11/2017); and
• “United States Embassy – Costa Rica” (start date 05/01/2017).719
Given the absence of relevant records, this report cannot determine the purposes and amounts of these countries’ expenditures at Trump-owned properties during President Trump’s term.
_______________
Notes:
718 MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-0008040.
719 MAZARS-OVERSIGHT_COMMITTEE-0008041.
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Re: White House for Sale: ... [For] Donald Trump
by admin » Sat Jan 06, 2024 11:30 pm
CONCLUSION
This report has documented the payment of many millions of dollars in unconstitutional emoluments to Trump-owned businesses from at least 20 foreign governments as well as entities and lobbyists acting on their behalf. As noted, given the incompleteness of the documents received by the Committee and Chairman Comer’s decision to act in concert with former President Trump’s attorneys to block the production of additional records, this total is likely but a small fraction of the full universe of foreign emolument spending that took place during the Trump presidency in violation of the U.S. Constitution.
President Trump’s pervasive use of the presidency for personal financial gain is particularly alarming given not only the significant dollar amounts and multiplicity of countries involved, but also former President Trump’s repeated indications of his willingness to allow his personal financial interest to dictate policy decisions he made as President. The rich profits that Trump businesses reaped from those countries, at best, leaves subject to question whether the often favorable treatment they received from the Trump Administration resulted from the former President’s bona fide judgment about advancing the vital interests of the United States, or his desire to perpetuate the substantial personal enrichment he enjoyed from the lavish emolument spending by those countries.
As he accepted these payments, Mr. Trump ignored the Foreign Emolument Clause’s explicit requirement that he obtain congressional authorization before pocketing such gifts—never even seeking, let alone securing, the consent of Congress to his receipt of these large-scale emoluments. No president has ever come so close to brazenly ignoring the Foreign Emoluments Clause.
These facts demonstrate the need for urgent congressional action to prevent future presidents and senior officials from serving under similarly grave conflicts of interest and unconstitutional arrangements. Accordingly, this report recommends that Congress expeditiously consider adopting measures that would require presidents and senior executive officials to disclose to Congress their receipt of any foreign emoluments, set forth an explicit procedure for presidents and senior officials to seek the requisite congressional authorization for the receipt and retention of emoluments, and require the disclosure of payments to entities in which a sitting president has a financial interest “of any kind whatever” by officials and lobbyists acting on behalf of kings, princes, and foreign governments.
This report has documented the payment of many millions of dollars in unconstitutional emoluments to Trump-owned businesses from at least 20 foreign governments as well as entities and lobbyists acting on their behalf. As noted, given the incompleteness of the documents received by the Committee and Chairman Comer’s decision to act in concert with former President Trump’s attorneys to block the production of additional records, this total is likely but a small fraction of the full universe of foreign emolument spending that took place during the Trump presidency in violation of the U.S. Constitution.
President Trump’s pervasive use of the presidency for personal financial gain is particularly alarming given not only the significant dollar amounts and multiplicity of countries involved, but also former President Trump’s repeated indications of his willingness to allow his personal financial interest to dictate policy decisions he made as President. The rich profits that Trump businesses reaped from those countries, at best, leaves subject to question whether the often favorable treatment they received from the Trump Administration resulted from the former President’s bona fide judgment about advancing the vital interests of the United States, or his desire to perpetuate the substantial personal enrichment he enjoyed from the lavish emolument spending by those countries.
As he accepted these payments, Mr. Trump ignored the Foreign Emolument Clause’s explicit requirement that he obtain congressional authorization before pocketing such gifts—never even seeking, let alone securing, the consent of Congress to his receipt of these large-scale emoluments. No president has ever come so close to brazenly ignoring the Foreign Emoluments Clause.
These facts demonstrate the need for urgent congressional action to prevent future presidents and senior officials from serving under similarly grave conflicts of interest and unconstitutional arrangements. Accordingly, this report recommends that Congress expeditiously consider adopting measures that would require presidents and senior executive officials to disclose to Congress their receipt of any foreign emoluments, set forth an explicit procedure for presidents and senior officials to seek the requisite congressional authorization for the receipt and retention of emoluments, and require the disclosure of payments to entities in which a sitting president has a financial interest “of any kind whatever” by officials and lobbyists acting on behalf of kings, princes, and foreign governments.
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