Documents show big foreign gov't spending at Trump hotel

NEW YORK (AP) — The Trump hotel in Washington took in more than $750,000 from six foreign governments at sensitive moments in their U.S. relations, with guests spending as much as $10,000 per room a night, according to documents from the Trump family company's former accountants released Monday by a congressional committee.

The Trump International Hotel received at least $259,724 on a visit by Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak and other officials in September 2017 while the U.S. Justice Department was investigating his role in a money laundering scandal, according to a statement released by the Democratic-led House Oversight Committee.

Saudi Arabia spent at least $164,929 that same year and in 2018 for hotel stays while trying to win over support after its invasion and blockade of Qatar, according to the committee, citing documents from former Trump accountants Mazars USA. For its part, Qatar spent more than $300,000 at the hotel.

The heavy foreign government spending at Donald Trump's hotel, since sold to a Miami-based investment firm, has been reported before but details and the timing of this snapshot of payments are new. Two days after a March 2018 stay by the Saudis, the committee noted, then-president Trump approved $1.3 billion in arms sales to the country.

“These documents sharply call into question the extent to which President Trump was guided by his personal financial interest while in office rather than the best interests of the American people," Oversight Committee Chair Carolyn Maloney, Dem.-New York, said in statement.

The Trump Organization said the former president, far from being influenced by spending at his hotel and other properties, made an effort to avoid even the appearance he would be so influenced.

“We walked away from billions of dollars...