Trump’s ‘Jaw-dropping’ Conflict of Interest with the UAE Defies Common Sense

The Wall Street Journal revealed new details on an unprecedented business deal where foreign leaders from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) bought a massive stake in Trump’s World Liberty crypto company, a few months before the Trump administration approved the sale of America’s most advanced AI chips to the UAE. These chips were previously withheld from the UAE due to national security concerns. But since then, the deal with UAE royals has funneled hundreds of millions of dollars directly into the pockets of the Trump family.

In response to this news, Robert Weissman, co-president of Public Citizen, issued the following statement:

“The jaw-dropping Wall Street Journal report reveals that through a complicated, secret deal, a United Arab Emirates (UAE)-linked company effectively deposited $187 million directly into the bank accounts of the president and his family, and is now primary business partner with the president’s family.

"There’s no precedent for this in American history. This deal contravenes the Constitution’s Emoluments Clause, the most basic ethics standards and plain common sense. It fundamentally and unavoidably compromises U.S. foreign policy, raising the question of whether Trump is conducting foreign policy to advance American interests or his own bottom line.

“The White House says the deal poses no conflict of interest for the president. The administration is making a regular practice of asking the American public not to see what is right before their eyes. The American people aren’t having it.

“And, if the administration actually believed there was no conflict, why was the deal kept secret?

“Among other matters involving the UAE, the Trump administration has approved the sale of advanced AI chips to the country, despite fears from national security officials that the technology may be diverted to China. Perhaps the administration would have reached the same decision authorizing the chip sale in the absence of the president’s business arrangement, but we’ll never know – precisely why business deals like this should not exist.”