Cicilline, House Colleagues Demand Ethics Investigation Into Trump’s China Ties
Wednesday, May 30, 2018
United States Congressman David Cicilline is leading more than 60 House colleagues in demanding an investigation into President Donald Trump’s efforts to help a Chinese telecom conglomerate.
Trump's efforts come just a short time after the Chinese government provided Trump’s company with a $500 million loan.
In a letter to the U.S. Office of Government Ethics, the members wrote, “The Trump administration has yet to give a satisfactory answer about the reason behind and the appropriateness of making concessions to ZTE, a Chinese company that illegally sold U.S. technology to hostile regimes. The Trump administration has also completely failed to address the suspicious timing between this policy reversal and the Chinese government’s loan to a Trump-linked project. As you know, the issue of U.S. policy being manipulated by a foreign entity or the personal business interests of a public official is of grave concern to the American people. We ask that you promptly conduct a review of this matter and keep us apprised periodically about the progress of your investigation.”
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTRead the full letter below:
David J. Apol
Acting Director
U.S. Office of Government Ethics
1201 New York Avenue, N.W., Suite 500
Washington, DC 20005
Dear Acting Director Apol:
We write to express our strong concerns about the recent dealings between President Donald J. Trump, the Trump Organization and the Chinese government, which may have violated U.S. laws on the acceptance of payments or gifts by public officials.
As you know, the Trump Organization, with the profits going to President Trump, signed a deal to license President Trump’s name as part of a theme park development project outside of Jakarta, Indonesia. The project will be built by a Chinese state-owned construction company and will include several Trump-branded properties, such as residential developments, shops, a hotel and a golf course. On May 11, 2018, the South China Morning Post reported that the Chinese government is providing $500 million in loans for the Indonesian theme park project.
The Chinese government’s loan provides a clear financial benefit to President Trump. Despite the nearly unanimous recommendation by legal experts that he divest from his business interests before assuming the presidency, he failed to do so, instead placing his adult children in charge of day-to-day operations. The President also retains interest in his businesses via a revocable trust, from which he can draw funds at any time of his choosing. Therefore, the President will be able to monitor the Indonesian project and earn a profit if it succeeds.
Three days after news broke of the Chinese government’s loan to the Trump project, the President announced that he ordered his administration to save ZTE, one of China’s biggest telecommunications companies, from the brink of collapse. Last month, the Commerce Department blocked American firms from selling parts or providing services to ZTE for seven years, after the company violated an agreement to pay a $1.2 billion fine for conspiring to sell U.S. technology to Iran and North Korea. After only five weeks of being denied U.S. parts. ZTE has lost millions of dollars and is in the midst of shutting down production operations. To relieve pressure on the company, President Trump pledged that the Commerce Department will ease restrictions on ZTE. On May 22, 2018, The Wall Street Journal reported that the U.S. and China had agreed on a broad outline of a deal to lift the sales ban on ZTE.
We believe that these events raise several potential constitutional and ethical violations. First, the Chinese government’s loan may invoke the Emoluments Clause of the United States Constitution, which prohibits officials holding an “office of profit or trust” from accepting payments or gifts from a foreign government without the consent from Congress.
Furthermore, the extremely short time between the Chinese’s government’s loan and President Trump’s order to roll back penalties on ZTE warrants a review of any applicable federal ethics regulations.
Therefore, we ask you to investigate the following matters.
· Whether the Emolument Clause applies to the $500 million loan by the Chinese government used to finance an Indonesian theme park project with several projected Trump-branded properties;
· Whether President Trump sought and obtained the consent of Congress before the Chinese government made the $500 million loan benefiting Trump properties; and
· Whether any federal statute regarding conflicts of interest or ethics may apply to President Trump or a member of the Trump administration who participated in the decision to ease restrictions on ZTE.
The Trump administration has yet to give a satisfactory answer about the reason behind and the appropriateness of making concessions to ZTE, a Chinese company that illegally sold U.S. technology to hostile regimes. The Trump administration has also completely failed to address the suspicious timing between this policy reversal and the Chinese government’s loan to a Trump-linked project. As you know, the issue of U.S. policy being manipulated by a foreign entity or the personal business interests of a public official is of grave concern to the American people. We ask that you promptly conduct a review of this matter and keep us apprised periodically about the progress of your investigation.
Thank you for your attention to this matter.
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