Trump Hotel is an expensive tourist attraction to the vacationer visiting Washington, D.C. It could be convenient turnstile for anyone else looking to curry favor with the current commander in chief.
The Washington Post provides an example of the danger: “Saudi-funded lobbyist paid for 500 rooms at Trump’s hotel after 2016 election,” blares a headline that could have been predicted once President Trump made it clear he would not be divesting from his business empire.
His supporters cheered a businessman in the White House. Special interest celebrated a pay-to-play scheme ready to exploit. As Tim Carney pointed out at the beginning of the year, corporations and foreign countries can ingratiate themselves with Trump by buying a membership, reserving a banquet hall, or booking rooms at one of his clubs.
As for the Trump Hotel’s lobbyist guests, is there any better way to start a meeting with this president than by complimenting, with a wink and a nod, on his excellent properties?
This negotiation tactic was not lost on the lobbyists and operatives working for the Saudi royal family. They spent $270,000 at Trump’s luxury hotel in D.C. in the first three months after he was elected as part of a lobbying effort.
Read the whole Post story, and you see an even uglier wrinkle: Lobbyists booked the rooms for veterans who, unbeknownst to some of them, were recruited to speak with lawmakers against legislation the Saudi government opposed. They used Trump Hotel as a staging ground to oppose the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act, which would allow families of the victims of Sept. 11 to sue Saudi Arabia.
Even without positing a quid pro quo — and in this case, the Saudis were two steps removed it seems from the decision to spend the cash at the Trump hotel — Saudi generosity casts a shadow over Trump’s actions toward the Saudis. The Saudis have managed to secure a $110 billion arms deal from the Trump administration and to avoid anything stronger than a tongue lashing for their murder of WaPo journalist, Jamal Khashoggi.
With Democrats in control of the House next Congress, expect more oversight of Trump and his soft influence sales. It will be warranted whether or not the president actually broke any laws with his business empire. The appearance of impropriety is ugly enough.
