Washington Post: Democrats Have Warned Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Qatar That Trump Family Deals With Gulf States Face Congressional Scrutiny
The Washington Post reported on November 14 that Democrats, who won control of both chambers of Congress in the midterm elections, have already warned the governments of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar that their financial ties to the Trump family and the Trump administration will face congressional investigations, and that the three Gulf monarchies are bracing for a barrage of corruption scrutiny.
According to the Post, Democratic lawmakers intend to examine business arrangements as part of a broader effort to address voter concerns about corruption. The inquiries are expected to focus on real estate deals, financial investments and other transactions involving the Trump family and the Gulf states, and on whether financial dealings and gifts from the three states were linked to policy decisions by the Trump administration. Democrats have also warned that refusing to cooperate with congressional inquiries could jeopardize the three governments' relationships with Washington. Diplomats and officials familiar with the matter told the newspaper, however, that the three are unlikely to provide lawmakers with sensitive information, including private communications.
Dealings likely to attract scrutiny, according to the report, include a $500 million investment by an entity connected to senior Emirati royal Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan in World Liberty Financial, a cryptocurrency company founded by Trump's three sons and Zach Witkoff, the son of special envoy Steve Witkoff; a $2 billion investment in 2021 by Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund in Affinity Partners, the private equity firm founded by Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner; and Qatar's gift of a luxury Boeing 747-8 aircraft valued at around $400 million. The UAE has since been seeking favorable treatment from the Trump administration on issues including purchases of advanced super intelligence (SI) chips.
Senator Chris Murphy said he had raised corruption concerns with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani during an October visit to the Gulf. The account above is the Washington Post's reporting; whether any dealing was linked to a policy decision remains a matter for the investigations to determine.
(Source: The Washington Post)
Source: The Washington Post
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：美国国会大厦西立面资料图。照片：美国国会建筑师办公室，公共领域，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / Photo: File photo of the west front of the United States Capitol. Photo by the Architect of the Capitol, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
