In December, a London-based anti-corruption group found that that Trump Organization is pursuing a real estate project in the Dominican Republic.
In 2017, Trump’s real estate company sold a $16 million Manhattan penthouse to the owner of a consultancy company that helps U.S. companies establish a presence in China. In June, it was reported the Trump Organization sold a $13.5 million Beverly Hills mansion to Hillcrest Asia Ltd, a corporate entity connected to an Indonesian businessman.
Earlier this year, an Indonesian theme park that includes a Trump hotel and condos had to relinquish Chinese financial backing after critics warned that the deal could influence Trump’s handling of the U.S.-China trade war.
How Trump’s children are conducting business
Trump family members have had regular business dealings with foreign governments and investors for years. Past comments from Ivanka Trump, the president’s daughter, have come under scrutiny this week amid Turkey’s assault on Syrian Kurds.
In 2012, before she was an adviser to the president of the United States, Trump tweeted her thanks to Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, then the Turkish prime minister, for celebrating the launch of Trump Tower Istanbul.
Amid trade talks with China last year, Ivanka Trump gained initial approval from that country for 16 new trademarks on a variety of products, from handbags to voting machines, which also raised concerns.
In August, an asset management company that has backing from Qatar agreed to a 99-year lease on a New York building owned by Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law who is also his adviser. The deal gave Kushner’s company a lifeline as it was facing $1.4 billion mortgage payment on the property.
Watchdog groups say conflicts of interests, and the perception of conflicts, in Washington politics is hardly new.
“There is this implicit access or proximity to power with having the last name of a Biden, or a Clinton or a Bush or a Trump,” said Hedtler-Gaudette.
But ethics experts warn against drawing too close a comparison between Hunter Biden’s business and the Trump family’s.
“The unavoidable difference is the fact that Donald Trump right now has two adult sons who are traveling the world and the country, running a business that not only they benefit from, but that the president of the United States is profiting from,” Maguire said. “There is no parallel for that.”