Senators Call for US Audit of Trump’s Business Ties, Use of Transition Funds

The US Government Accountability Office (GAO) is being asked to scrutinize President-elect Donald Trump’s use of taxpayer money during the transition and determine if his business dealings pose a conflict of interest, Senators Elizabeth Warren and Elijah Cummings said in a letter issued Wednesday.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — The senators cited Trump’s post-election contacts with foreign leaders, including reports that, during a congratulatory phone call from Argentina’s President Mauricio Macri, Trump asked Macri to help expedite the permitting of a Buenos Aires office complex planned by the incoming US leader and Argentinian partners.

“We are writing today to request that the GAO conduct a review of President-Elect Trump’s taxpayer-funded transition,” the Democratic senators wrote. “There is no transparency with regard to transition expenditures, raising…questions about how taxpayer funds may be flowing into Mr. Trump's pockets.”

In their letter, Warren and Cummings expressed concern about potential conflicts between Trump’s business dealings and his duties as the next president.

Warren and Cummings added that they’re concerned Trump’s business ties to countries such as China and Turkey could expand into Ukraine and Russia.

The president-elect’s behavior during and since the 2016 campaign also raises national security concerns, the letter asserted, as evidenced by his communications with leaders from Australia and Japan on unsecured phone lines.