Maroc - RAWSTORY.COM - Raw Story - 01/Sep 21:14

'Sketchy foreign business deals': Report exposes 'new links between Saudi and Trump'

Donald Trump has long been criticized for what some have called corrupt foreign practices involving money coming from foreign nations, but those issues are only growing deeper, according to a new report.Before, during, and after his presidency, Trump benefited from foreign deals that largely flew under most citizens' radar.But those deals are ramping up, "likely in preparation for a second term," according to a report from the Intelligencer.ALSO READ: Why Trump’s Arlington controversy is actually a crime"Given the financial overlap between Trump, his family, his company, and a constellation of kleptocratic regimes, especially Russia, Trump presented an unprecedented opportunity for foreign regimes to directly access the White House and tilt American policy in the process," according to the report. "Now, with Trump running for the presidency once more, those concerns have hardly disappeared. If anything, foreign governments — including brand-new regimes that weren’t involved in Trump’s first whirlwind in the White House — have only spied new opportunities to burrow into his pockets and into a second administration."The report outlines various deals from various foreign nations, including Egypt, China, Kazakhstan, and Indonesia, but especially focuses on Trump's multi-prong relationship to the Saudi Arabian government."Look at Saudi Arabia. Years after Saudi tyrant Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) ordered the grisly killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, the Saudi government has used an entire fleet of PR professionals and consultancy firms to launder its image, transforming the regime from a bastion of backwardness into one of progress and reform," the article states. "And part of that influence campaign has directly targeted — and directly used — Trump."Earlier this month, Raw Story reported that former President Donald Trump had a recent discussion with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman. Just a month earlier, the Trump Organization was reported to have signed a new deal with a Saudi real estate company to build a residential high-rise tower in the city of Jeddah, the New York Times reported at the time.According to the Intelligencer, that's just the beginning."Yet the deepening links between Trump and Riyadh don’t revolve only around a single, luxe new high-rise. Time and again in recent years, Saudi and its proxies have bankrolled Trump and his inner circle — and even expanded the network of authoritarian allies succoring Trump," it states. "But the new links between Saudi and Trump go even deeper, stretching into Saudi Arabia’s latest foray into foreign investments: golf. Throwing billions of dollars into professional golf — all as a way of transforming Riyadh into a destination of global sports — Saudi backed the recent creation of LIV Golf, the rising competitor to PGA Golf."Read the full article here.