Foreign Company at Center of Trade Dispute Paid Trump Millions
The main investor in a South Korean aluminum company facing an investigation by the Department of Commerce paid $2 million to President Trump’s holding company last year.Trump included the payment from Base Group in his financial disclosure form in late June, The New York Times reports. The form stated that the payment was for a “nonrefundable development fee” and part of a “letter of intent,” but offered no further explanation. The Trump Organization told the Times in a statement that the payment is part of a golf course project that has yet to be announced.“We have been in the golf, hospitality, and real estate business for decades and have entered into transactions with countless companies around the world,” Alan Garten, chief legal officer for the Trump Organization, said in the statement. “Any suggestion that this transaction was driven by anything other than legitimate business considerations is pure fiction.”The Trump family has a longstanding relationship with Base Group, which exclusively sells Trump-branded wine in South Korea. The company hosted the president’s son Eric in February at its headquarters in Seoul for a meeting to increase trade between South Korea and the U.S.The Commerce Department found in 2023 that Korea Aluminum, of which Base Group has a major stake, skirted trade duties on Chinese-made aluminum. Since then, the company has significantly cut its exports to the U.S.The Times has not found any evidence that the president or his family members have tried to advocate for Base Group or Korea Aluminum with government officials. But the payment raises questions about conflicts of interest concerning the president and his family with government operations. Trump has close to 30 different ventures with foreign businesses around the world, according to the Times, creating issues that were unheard of in any previous presidential administration.Trump has made a whopping $2.2 billion in his second term as president from cryptocurrency, foreign real estate, stock trading, and other ventures. Being president isn’t supposed to be a business move to increase one’s personal fortune, but Trump has used the office to make himself wealthier, ignoring the Emoluments Clause of the Constitution with the Supreme Court’s assent.We only have the Trump Organization’s word that this South Korea payment didn’t come with any government favors. Who knows whether that is true, or if Trump has taken money in other cases from businesses in exchange for favorable policies.