US: Investigate New Evidence of President Trumps Business Dealings with MBS

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(January 15, 2023 – New York): The US Department of Justice and Congress should investigate the troubling facts and circumstances surrounding the payments of Saudi Arabia’s sovereign Public Investment Fund (PIF), through its full investigation. -owned company LIV Golf, to businesses owned by former President Donald Trump, said Democracy for the Arab World Now (DAWN).

On January 13, 2023, Elliot Peters, a name partner at Keker, a prominent San Francisco law firm, leading the PGA in the players’ lawsuit, inadvertently disclosed in a court proceeding that the PIF owned 93% of LIV Golf, pays for all of its events, and holds all of the entity’s financial risk. The chairman of the PIF is Saudi Crown Prince Mohamed bin Salman (MBS), who has full and final decision-making control over the fund. LIV Golf is a newly established golf tournament franchise that emerged as a rival to PGA Golf. It paid Trump-owned golf resorts undisclosed millions of dollars to hold its events there, and former President Trump publicly championed the new league, making prominent appearances at its events, and encouraged PGA players to sign on to LIV Golf.

“The revelation that a fund controlled by Crown Prince MBS actually owns almost all of LIV Golf means that MBS has been paying Donald Trump untold millions over the past two years, through their identical corporate covers,” said Sarah Leah Whitson, Executive Director of DAWN . “The national security implications of payments from an abusive foreign dictator to a president of the United States who has granted him extraordinary favors are as dangerous as they come.”

Information about LIV Golf is kept under seal in the shareholder confidentiality agreement between PIF and LIV Golf, although LIV Golf has previously disclosed that PIF is its majority shareholder. There was no independent verification of the ownership percentages that were reportedly revealed in court. It is not known who owns the other seven percent of LIV Golf. LIV Golf Players and LIV Golf sued the PGA for suspending PGA players who had signed contracts with LIV Golf, and the PGA sued LIV Golf and the PIF for interfering with its players’ contracts. MBS is the chairman of the PIF and has full decision-making power over its investments.

There is no doubt that MBS controls the PIF with as much power as he controls the rest of the country, with final decision making on all PIF investments. When PIF’s advisory panel objected to PIF’s $2 billion investment in Trump’s son-in-law’s newly established fund, Affinity Partners, MBS reportedly vetoed objections to proceed with the controversial investment as the sole investor in a start-up fund with no track record. Following DAWN’s request for Congress to investigate this investment, as well as the $1 billion PIF investment in Trump’s newly established fund by former Treasury Secretary Stephen Mnuchin, Senator Warren announced that she would begin an investigation into violations of conflict of interest and violations of ethics laws that prevent the recruitment of foreign government officials while in office.

“Former President Trump has made no secret of the endless favors he has given to MBS and Saudi Arabia during his tenure, from his first state visit to the country, to vetoing legislation that would ban arms sales to the country , protecting MBS by hiding the CIA report concluding MBS ordered the killing of Jamal Khashoggi,” Whitson said. “It now appears that like his son-in-law and treasury secretary, Trump is putting out his chits on MBS for all these favors.”

The US Department of Justice and Congress should investigate any communications by Trump, his agents, and Trump Organization staff regarding business with LIV Golf, including any and all communications they had with MBS, PIF, LIV Golf or any of their agents as staff, and when these communications take place. The investigation shall include a thorough examination of the terms of any payments, and what promises and services will be provided and provided in exchange for these payments, to determine whether US federal laws and ethics rules that restrict on conflicts of interest, lobbying disclosures, and corruption have been violated.

“If Trump or his agents discussed any deals with LIV Golf or PIF while Trump was still in office, a criminal investigation would also be in order because federal law strictly prohibits this type of business by seat of federal officials in foreign governments,” said Whitson.

The US Congress should also begin efforts to pass legislation that clearly and unequivocally prohibits all former senior government officials from working for, advising, doing business with, or soliciting foreign government officials or controlled entities them for at least five years from the end of their term. Such conflict of interest and national security laws should prohibit former government officials with access to sensitive national security information from recalling and selling their services, knowledge and access to foreign governments. .

“The lack of strong conflict of interest laws has created a dangerous and growing threat to US national security, as former US officials, even a former president, increasingly seek to monetize their work for our government in lucrative contracts with foreign governments,” Whitson said. “Since Trump is also planning to run for president again, his business ties with Mohamed bin Salman are a national security emergency.”

A Washington Post editorial raised serious questions about the appearance of PIF investments in Kushner and Mnuchin’s funds as a reward for the Trump administration’s political support and protection of MBS despite his war-related crimes. Yemen and the killing of Khashoggi, and a political bet on “the particular political future of the Trump family, a possible return to the White House of Mr. Kushner’s father-in-law if he runs again, and wins, the presidential election in 2024.” That we now know that MBS’s PIF Fund also directly pays Trump businesses only heightens these concerns.

President Trump and Jarred Kushner established a close relationship with MBS that included MBS’ visit and dinner at the Trump White House in March 2017, followed by Trump’s visit to Riyadh. The Trump administration reportedly shared confidential national security information about the identities of Saudi nationals who held meetings with the State Department and the Trump administration with MBS, prior to the killing of US resident Jamal Khashoggi and the assassination attempt on Saad Aljabri, a former Saudi official who fled the country after MBS ousted former Crown Prince Mohamed bin Nayef (MBN). The Trump administration also reportedly shared confidential US intelligence information with MBS about a plan by MBN to depose MBS as Crown Prince, immediately after which MBS detained MBN without charge in March 2020. MBN was has remained incarcerated and has had no public communication since then.

Following the assassination of Jamal Khashoggi by MBS and his agents on October 3, 2018, the Trump administration allegedly advised MBS on how to deal with the political and public relations fallout from the assassination and Kushner continued to violate the rules of White House requiring National Security Council staff. participate in any meetings with foreign government officials in ongoing private calls with MBS. Speaking to veteran journalist Bob Woodward, President Trump boasted that he “saved his ass” referring to MBS after Khashoggi’s murder. President Trump approved a $110 billion arms sale to Saudi Arabia, and remained a strong supporter of MBS and continued arms sales to the Kingdom, vetoing two bipartisan votes by Congress to end arms sales for the war of the Kingdom of Yemen.

US laws restricting the solicitation of, or working for, foreign officials and government entities after a federal government employee leaves are inadequate, and there appear to be no laws restricting former officials outside of intelligence agencies to work or do business for foreign governments. On March 15, 2022, President Biden signed the 2022 Intelligence Authorization Act with provisions barring US intelligence agents with knowledge of national security interests and spycraft from the Central Intelligence Agency, National Security Agency, and more than a dozen other American intelligence agencies in the sale. their services to foreign governments for at least 30 months following the end of their federal employment, as well as requiring them to report any foreign government activities to the US intelligence community and Congress within five years after they leave the service.

Members of Congress proposed the legislation because of an intelligence crisis and “spycraft” leaks related to US intelligence agents working for foreign governments, particularly National Security Agency officials who worked for the government of the UAE and shared technology and surveillance techniques with them, including hacking. hundreds of phones and spies on journalists, dissidents and US citizens in a venture called “Project Raven”. The Department of Justice has also successfully prosecuted former intelligence officers for their espionage roles.

However, there are strict laws pursuant to 5 CFR 2635 Standards of Ethical Conduct for the Employees of the Federal Branch regarding communications and negotiations by US government officials for future employment or business that require disclosure and denial of official while working for the US government. Unfortunately, the only future employment ban refers to a narrow and limited ban on appearances and communications before the US government, on behalf of the new employer.

“The Justice Department and Congress have a responsibility to investigate exactly when and from whom and under what terms Trump obtained undisclosed millions from the Saudi government coffers controlled by the Crown Prince. Mohamed bin Salman, who may violate even our existing, lax ethics laws” Whitson said. “The real task for Congress, however, is to end the terrible incentives that the absence of robust conflict of interest laws have created, allowing wealthy tyrants to buy even the presidents of America.”

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