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Highlighting the appearance of "cronyism, nepotism, abuses of power, and conflicts of interest" in U.S. President Donald Trump's recent negotiations to rescue the failing Chinese telecom giant ZTE after Beijing dumped $500 million into a major Trump development project in Indonesia, the watchdog group Common Cause sent a letter (pdf) to two key congressional committees on Thursday calling for a probe into whether Trump is "abusing his office to enrich his family."
"The office of the president is not intended for self-enrichment, but the president and members of the Trump family have seen a massive windfall since Donald Trump took office."
-- Karen Hobert Flynn, Common Cause
"To help set the record straight, we respectfully ask you to hold oversight hearings to investigate the administration's interactions with ZTE and the Chinese government to determine if there were any laws and/or regulations that were broken," read's Common Cause's letter, which was sent to all members of both the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee and the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.
The letter goes on to demand that the committees request answers to these four specific questions:
"Americans expect and deserve open and honest government, and the dealings between the Trump administration, the Chinese government and ZTE raise a host of red flags," Karen Hobert Flynn, president of Common Cause, said in a statement on Thursday. "The office of the president is not intended for self-enrichment, but the president and members of the Trump family have seen a massive windfall since Donald Trump took office. Members of Congress must put their country before their party and begin asking some tough questions."
As Common Dreams reported last week, other advocacy groups and legal experts have similarly raised alarm about the timing of Trump's efforts to rescue ZTE, which is on the brink of going out of business because of sanctions imposed by the U.S. over export law violations.
Public Citizen president Robert Weissman argued it is "almost inconceivable" that the Chinese government's $500 million investment in a Trump development project in Indonesia did not influence the president's efforts to rescue ZTE.
Dear Common Dreams reader, The U.S. is on a fast track to authoritarianism like nothing I've ever seen. Meanwhile, corporate news outlets are utterly capitulating to Trump, twisting their coverage to avoid drawing his ire while lining up to stuff cash in his pockets. That's why I believe that Common Dreams is doing the best and most consequential reporting that we've ever done. Our small but mighty team is a progressive reporting powerhouse, covering the news every day that the corporate media never will. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. And to ignite change for the common good. Now here's the key piece that I want all our readers to understand: None of this would be possible without your financial support. That's not just some fundraising cliche. It's the absolute and literal truth. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. Will you donate now to help power the nonprofit, independent reporting of Common Dreams? Thank you for being a vital member of our community. Together, we can keep independent journalism alive when it’s needed most. - Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Highlighting the appearance of "cronyism, nepotism, abuses of power, and conflicts of interest" in U.S. President Donald Trump's recent negotiations to rescue the failing Chinese telecom giant ZTE after Beijing dumped $500 million into a major Trump development project in Indonesia, the watchdog group Common Cause sent a letter (pdf) to two key congressional committees on Thursday calling for a probe into whether Trump is "abusing his office to enrich his family."
"The office of the president is not intended for self-enrichment, but the president and members of the Trump family have seen a massive windfall since Donald Trump took office."
-- Karen Hobert Flynn, Common Cause
"To help set the record straight, we respectfully ask you to hold oversight hearings to investigate the administration's interactions with ZTE and the Chinese government to determine if there were any laws and/or regulations that were broken," read's Common Cause's letter, which was sent to all members of both the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee and the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.
The letter goes on to demand that the committees request answers to these four specific questions:
"Americans expect and deserve open and honest government, and the dealings between the Trump administration, the Chinese government and ZTE raise a host of red flags," Karen Hobert Flynn, president of Common Cause, said in a statement on Thursday. "The office of the president is not intended for self-enrichment, but the president and members of the Trump family have seen a massive windfall since Donald Trump took office. Members of Congress must put their country before their party and begin asking some tough questions."
As Common Dreams reported last week, other advocacy groups and legal experts have similarly raised alarm about the timing of Trump's efforts to rescue ZTE, which is on the brink of going out of business because of sanctions imposed by the U.S. over export law violations.
Public Citizen president Robert Weissman argued it is "almost inconceivable" that the Chinese government's $500 million investment in a Trump development project in Indonesia did not influence the president's efforts to rescue ZTE.
Highlighting the appearance of "cronyism, nepotism, abuses of power, and conflicts of interest" in U.S. President Donald Trump's recent negotiations to rescue the failing Chinese telecom giant ZTE after Beijing dumped $500 million into a major Trump development project in Indonesia, the watchdog group Common Cause sent a letter (pdf) to two key congressional committees on Thursday calling for a probe into whether Trump is "abusing his office to enrich his family."
"The office of the president is not intended for self-enrichment, but the president and members of the Trump family have seen a massive windfall since Donald Trump took office."
-- Karen Hobert Flynn, Common Cause
"To help set the record straight, we respectfully ask you to hold oversight hearings to investigate the administration's interactions with ZTE and the Chinese government to determine if there were any laws and/or regulations that were broken," read's Common Cause's letter, which was sent to all members of both the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee and the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.
The letter goes on to demand that the committees request answers to these four specific questions:
"Americans expect and deserve open and honest government, and the dealings between the Trump administration, the Chinese government and ZTE raise a host of red flags," Karen Hobert Flynn, president of Common Cause, said in a statement on Thursday. "The office of the president is not intended for self-enrichment, but the president and members of the Trump family have seen a massive windfall since Donald Trump took office. Members of Congress must put their country before their party and begin asking some tough questions."
As Common Dreams reported last week, other advocacy groups and legal experts have similarly raised alarm about the timing of Trump's efforts to rescue ZTE, which is on the brink of going out of business because of sanctions imposed by the U.S. over export law violations.
Public Citizen president Robert Weissman argued it is "almost inconceivable" that the Chinese government's $500 million investment in a Trump development project in Indonesia did not influence the president's efforts to rescue ZTE.