Four Foreign Governments Spent Money at Trump's Properties in 2017 - Reports

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The governments of Kuwait, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia and Turkey paid money in 2017 to use properties belonging to US President Donald Trump's company, local media reported on Tuesday.

Along with the four governments, 16 special interest groups and 35 Republican congressional campaign committees also spent money at Trump's properties, the NBC News broadcaster said, citing a report by the Public Citizen non-governmental group.

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"There is no way to escape the conclusion that these events are being held at the Trump properties as a way to curry favor with the president… It's just extraordinarily unlikely that these groups have an affinity for the Trump brand [that's] so great [that's] unrelated to the fact that the president happens to be named Trump," Public Citizen President Robert Weissman said.

The largest foreign contributor to Trump's properties was Saudi Arabia, which spent $270,000.

"The Saudis … have been undertaking a full-fledged effort to seduce Trump and those close to him. In that light, the event at the Trump property looks even worse, and more corrupting," Weissman said.

The group questioned Trump's promises to resolve the conflict of interests between his presidency and business made by the billionaire before the 2016 election. In January 2017, Trump handed control over The Trump Organization to his sons Donald and Eric.