Donald Trump's Saudi Arabia Payments Spark Calls for Fresh Investigation

Donald Trump should be investigated over the payments he received to host the Saudi Arabia-backed LIV Golf tour at his resorts, according to an organization set up by supporters of murdered journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

The Democracy for the Arab World Now (DAWN) group has called in the Department of Justice and Congress to look further into the "disturbing facts and circumstances" surrounding the golf tour and its ties to the former president after new details on its funding were revealed as part of an ongoing lawsuit filed by the PGA against LIV Golf.

On January 13, it was revealed during court proceedings that the Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund (PIF), a sovereign wealth fund headed by the country's Crown Prince, Mohammed bin Salman (MBS), owns 93 percent of LIV and pays 100 percent of the costs associated with its events.

DAWN claims this is the first time that the full extent of PIF's ownership of LIV Golf has been disclosed.

LIV Golf was founded in 2021 and has been criticized over accusations it is being used as a "sportswashing" vehicle for the Saudi Arabian state.

The tournament's connection to the Crown Prince Salman has also been scrutinized as the U.S. accused him of approving the murder of Khashoggi in 2018, which the Saudi government denies.

Trump was also criticized for hosting a number of LIV Golf events at his resorts, including his club in Bedminster, New Jersey, in July 2022. DAWN has now called on the former president's business deals to host the LIV Golf events to be investigated, especially after he announced his intentions to run for the White House again in 2024.

"The revelation that a fund controlled by Crown Prince MBS actually owns almost all of LIV Golf means that MBS has been paying Donald Trump unknown millions for the past two years, via their mutual corporate covers," said Sarah Leah Whitson, executive director of DAWN.

"The national security implications of payments from a grotesquely abusive foreign dictator to a president of the United States who provided extraordinary favors to him are as dangerous as they are shocking."

Trump and LIV Golf have been contacted for comment.

Among some of the "favors" DAWN claims were agreed between Trump and Prince Salman was PIF backing the former president's son-in-law Jared Kushner's Affinity Fund with a $2 billion investment, as well as a $1 billion for Trump's former Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin' Liberty Strategic Capital firm.

DAWN is also asking the DoJ and Congress to look into how far back discussion for the former president and his real estate company The Trump Organization to host LIV tournaments at his resort took place.

"If Trump or his agents discussed any deals with LIV Golf or PIF while Trump was still in office, a criminal investigation would also be in order because federal law strictly prohibits this sort of business dealing by sitting federal officials with foreign governments," said Whitson.

"Given that Trump is also planning to run again for president, his business ties to Mohammed bin Salman are a national security emergency."

The LIV Golf series has caused a major rift in the golfing world, with a number of top stars such as Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy criticizing the tournament, while others such as Phil Mickelson and Dustin Johnson signed up to play in the lucrative tour. LIV Golf players were subsequently banned from taking part in PGA Tours and other major championships.

The PGA launched a lawsuit against LIV Golf, accusing the Saudi-funded body of interfering with its players' contracts.

DAWN was set up in 2020 aiming to promote human rights and democracy in the Arab world, a mission previously dear to Khashoggi.