Jan. 12 (UPI) — Democrats on the House Oversight Committee on Friday demanded former President Donald Trump repay $7.8 million they charged that his businesses took in from foreign entities during his time as president.
Ranking member Rep. Jamie Raskin , D-Md., sent a letter to Trump that also demanded Trump fully detail any other funds he received to the House Oversight Committee.
“Given that this is a fraction of your unconstitutional collections from foreign governments and that we do not yet know the complete sum of foreign money you accepted while in office, I also demand that you give Congress a full accounting of the money, benefits and other emoluments ‘of any kind whatsoever’ you pocketed from foreign governments and their agents during your term as president and that you return the total sum of these foreign emoluments to the American people by writing a check to the U.S. Treasury,” Raskin wrote.
Earlier this month, committee Democrats documented that Trump’s businesses made the sum mostly off his hotel empire. The report said China paid more than $5.5 million, which went to accommodations at the Trump Tower in New York and the Trump International Hotels in Las Vegas and Washington, D.C.
The House Democratic investigation said that Trump’s businesses profited from 21 countries.
Raskin’s letter noted that House Oversight Committee Chairman Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., prevented a full accounting of the payments Trump received by ending court orders requiring Trump’s former accounting firm Mazars to share information with the committee.
“Your violations of the U.S. Constitution and failure to place your duty of loyalty to the American people over your personal financial interests were entirely willful and knowing,” Raskin wrote to Trump. “You chose not to divest of your ownership of the more than 500 business entities you owned when you entered the White House, despite the advice of ethics experts from across the political spectrum, and you did not adopt a rule of refusing foreign government payments.”
The Democratic probe and letter come as Comer and House Republicans on the Oversight Committee have continued their impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden and the alleged business dealings of his son Hunter Biden.
The Republicans have claimed they are investigating if President Biden benefitted financially and affected public policy as a result of Hunter Biden’s overseas business dealings.
