Johnson pressed to investigate Trump family over ‘extensive financial ties’ to CCP

EXCLUSIVE — Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) is facing calls to open an investigation into former President Donald Trump over allegations he and his family benefited financially from “extensive ties” to the Chinese Communist Party.

The Democratic-aligned Congressional Integrity Project sent a letter to Johnson on Tuesday, urging him to direct the House Oversight Committee to investigate alleged “family corruption” while Trump was president. The letter, which was exclusively obtained by the Washington Examiner, comes after months of requested inquiries from the group into the Trump family, accusing the former president and his four oldest children of fraternizing with foreign adversaries.

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“Republican committee chairmen have not sent any letters, requested any information, issued subpoenas, or announced any hearings on potential investigations into the Trump family’s influence peddling and corruption despite ample evidence showing that Trump and his family profited from business with China while he was in office and engaged in direct talks, negotiations, and trade deals with the communist regime,” the letter states.

The letter comes amid an effort by the Congressional Integrity Project to urge Congress to open an inquiry into the Trump family, with the group previously launching a six-figure ad campaign demanding the Oversight Committee open investigations into the Trump family similar to those Chairman James Comer (R-KY) has initiated against President Joe Biden since taking over as chairman in January.

Those efforts are set to ramp up in the coming months, with the Congressional Integrity Project planning to use the lack of congressional oversight as campaign fodder against vulnerable Republicans, a source familiar with the plans told the Washington Examiner. Those attacks would specifically target 18 House Republicans representing districts won by President Joe Biden in 2020.

The Congressional Integrity Project is known for its efforts to push back on the House GOP’s investigations into the Biden administration since its relaunch in 2022, shortly after Republicans won control of the lower chamber.

The most recent letter cites three investigations that Congress should pursue related to Trump and his children that involve China, decrying those actions as “undermin[ing] the rule of law and our democracy and simply shock[ing] the conscience.”

The group accuses Trump of having “extensive financial ties” to the CCP, citing a report that shows the former president collecting millions of dollars from government-owned entities in China. The letter cites several Trump properties leased in China and a former partnership with a “major government-controlled company” during his first run for president.

The Constitution bars federal officials from accepting “any present, emolument, office, or title, of any kind whatever” from foreign states without congressional approval. Shortly before being sworn in as president, Trump announced plans to turn over operational control of his global real estate empire to his two eldest sons in order to comply with that rule.

However, the Congressional Integrity Project cited arguments from ethics experts that say Trump still violated the emoluments clause because he didn’t divest from his company altogether.

“Not only are his personal and business dealings with the Chinese government certainly shady, but they also raise legal and ethical concerns,” the letter states.

The group also accused Trump and daughter Ivanka of having trademarks approved by the Chinese government, accusing the former president’s daughter of benefiting financially while holding a government position in her father’s administration. The letter cites 16 trademarks that were approved for Ivanka Trump in the fall of 2018, two years after she initially applied for them and amid “Trump’s trade war with China.”

GOP lawmakers have previously rejected arguments that Ivanka Trump benefited from trademark deals after working for her father, noting that several of her trademark deals were approved before her father was elected.

The letter also points to seven trademarks previously approved in May 2018 that Ivanka Trump applied for after her father took office, which the group said were all “approved around the time President Trump committed to keeping a Chinese Telecommunications Company afloat, even though the company has a history of violating American limits on doing business with countries like Iran and North Korea.”

Congressional Integrity Project officials also requested the speaker to open an investigation into the Trump family’s web of more than 500 LLCs, which the group claims “were not subject to external audits or rigorous disclosure requirements.” In doing this, the letter accuses the former president of keeping his financial portfolio “outside the public eye.’”

It’s unclear whether Johnson would be open to launching the investigation, especially as the speaker has already cooled momentum on the impeachment inquiry into Biden.

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Johnson reportedly told centrist Republicans in a closed-door meeting last week that there is insufficient evidence to plow ahead with impeachment proceedings against the president. Instead, the new speaker is advising lawmakers to take their time with the investigation and not press ahead with a predetermined outcome. The strategy takes on a more reserved tone than many of the rank-and-file Republicans who are pushing for Biden’s impeachment.

Johnson has also closely aligned himself with Donald Trump, even going so far as to endorse the former president “wholeheartedly” on Tuesday. The Washington Examiner contacted Johnson’s office and the Trump campaign for comment.