Trump says his businesses got money from foreign governments because he was 'doing services' for them
Trump says his businesses got money from foreign governments because he was 'doing services' for them
"I was doing services for them. People were staying in these massive hotels, these beautiful hotels," Trump said.
Donald Trump says his businesses received payments from foreign governments because he was "doing services" for them.
Trump was at a Fox News town hall on Wednesday, commenting on a recent report from Democratic lawmakers on the House Oversight Committee. The report, published on January 4, said Trump's businesses had received at least $7.8 million in foreign payments during his presidency.
"That's a small amount of money. You know, it sounds like a lot of money. That's small," Trump said at the town hall.
The former president then explained that the payments were for accommodation at his clubs and hotels.
I love it when he just stands up there and blithely admits to all the crimes and then nothing happens.
“That’s a small amount of money. You know, it sounds like a lot of money. That’s small,” Trump said at the town hall.
So he's a cheap bribe.
He just means it's a small amount of money for billionaires. They paid outrageous markups.
The joke is he completely misses the point that he shouldn't have used his private businesses to host foreign government officials, or to conduct official business. That's a conflict of interest in itself no matter how much they spent.
For those wondering why this is a big deal:
US Constitution, Article 1, Section 9, Clause 8:
"no Person holding any Office of Profit or Trust under them, shall, without the Consent of the Congress, accept of any present, Emolument, Office, or Title, of any kind whatever, from any King, Prince, or foreign State."
Emolument:
https://en.m.wiktionary.org/wiki/emolument#Noun
emolument (plural emoluments)
(formal) Payment for employment or an office; compensation for a job, which is usually monetary. synonyms ▲quotations ▼Synonyms: compensation, fee, payment, remuneration
For fucks sake, they made Jimmy Carter give up a damn peanut farm, but not the orange chucklefuck who has a DC Hotel…
no way that was used to buy access or influence… none at all /s
So, openly admitting it was "quid pro quo". Cool.
I don't want to defend Trump, but If I understand what he said correctly, then yes but because all business is quid pro quo (this for that). You don't do business for free. The argument is whether they did business with him to influence him. That's where it becomes illegal.
Trump has done plenty wrong that we don't need to grasp for straws. Getting paid for "work" is the way capitalism functions. It's always "I'll give you this for that" and that's not illegal or even wrong usually.
I don't see the bit in
And no Person holding any Office of Profit or Trust under them, shall, without the Consent of the Congress, accept of any present, Emolument, Office, or Title, of any kind whatever, from any King, Prince, or foreign State.
That says "unless it's a business transaction, that's just fine"....
Unfortunately for his supporters and the GOP it's only that when the exact words are used/said out loud
Fuckin Donald Adultman over here, doing a business. This is the worst goddamn timeline.
Money laundering for foreigners has been the basis of the Trump Inc business model since the 1980s. Hell, I think this goes back to his father's rise to fortune back in the 1950s, even.
Like, yeah. He's a crook. But he's the kind of crook this country has been gleefully manufacturing and showering with praise for their genius and entrepreneurial spirit and innovative efforts for over a century.
If he'd been a bit smarter and a bit more ambitious, he could have been a Bernie Madoff or a Sam Bankman Fried, even.
This is the best summary I could come up with:
Trump was at a Fox News town hall on Wednesday, commenting on a recent report from Democratic lawmakers on the House Oversight Committee.
The report, published on January 4, said Trump's businesses had received at least $7.8 million in foreign payments during his presidency.
Foreign governments and government-controlled entities had made payments to Trump's hotels in Washington, Las Vegas, and New York.
"President Trump never sought or received Congress's approval to keep these foreign payments, as the Constitution requires," the authors wrote.
Trump was indicted in four separate prosecutions last year and faces 91 criminal counts, ranging from falsifying business records to election interference.
Trump remains the frontrunner for the Republican presidential nomination, and recent polls suggest a close fight between him and President Joe Biden.
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