Six countries spent $750,000 at the Trump Hotel in Washington during Donald Trump’s rule

Gulf states, China and Malaysia spent more than $750,000 in a Washington hotel owned by Donald Trump during his presidency, according to documents released by Congress on Monday.

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The Republican billionaire – who is expected to announce his candidacy for a second term on Tuesday – kept a hotel in his name near the White House after he was elected in 2016.

He had been accused of “conflict of interest” due to the frequent visits of foreign delegations. After many twists and turns, the US Supreme Court closed the case in January 2021, without revealing details of the costs.

But a House committee, in the hands of Democrats, recently obtained documents from Mazars, the company that manages the Trump Organization’s accounts.

It shows that “six countries have spent more than $750,000 in President Trump’s hotel, and paid up to $10,000 a night for luxury rooms,” said official-elect Carolyn Maloney, who chairs the commission. “At the same time, they are trying to influence US foreign policy,” she said in a statement.

Thus, in 2017, Malaysia spent approximately $260,000 to accommodate Prime Minister Najib Razak and his accompanying delegation during a state visit, while the subject of investigations by the US justice system embezzling $1 billion from the 1MDB sovereign wealth fund, according to this document.

In 2018, the Qatari authorities spent more than $300,000 on this hotel before the visit of Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani. Even China, which has strained relations with the United States, spent, through its embassy in Washington, nearly $20,000 in this hotel in 2017, as determined by the commission.

“In light of these discoveries,” Caroline Maloney wrote to the National Archives for more documents, with the goal, she says, of proposing a law framing the affairs of future presidents.

Donald Trump sold this hotel in May 2022 for $375 million.