{"id":8760,"date":"2026-08-06T10:36:08","date_gmt":"2026-08-06T10:36:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=8760"},"modified":"2026-08-06T10:36:08","modified_gmt":"2026-08-06T10:36:08","slug":"senate-democrats-probe-korean-firms-2-million-payment-to-trump-company","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=8760","title":{"rendered":"Senate Democrats probe Korean firm\u2019s $2 million payment to Trump company"},"content":{"rendered":"

Base Co. LTD was fighting a trade case before the Commerce Department at the time of the payment.<\/strong><\/p>

Read more Justice Department\u2019s $3 billion \u2018BIDEN\u2019 grants come with an immigration catch<\/a><\/p>\n

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\"\"<\/figure>\n\n
Elizabeth Warren (Massachusetts) was among Democratic senators who sought more information about the payment. (Anna Moneymaker\/Getty Images)<\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n

Senate Democrats on Wednesday demanded that a South Korean company explain why it paid $2 million<\/a> to President Donald Trump\u2019s holding company while it was embroiled in a trade dispute with his administration, writing that the transaction \u201craises significant concerns about pay-to-play politics and the potential for bribery.\u201d<\/p>\n

The payment from Base Group Ltd. was described in the president\u2019s June financial disclosure<\/a> as part of a \u201cletter of intent\u201d and a \u201cnonrefundable development fee.\u201d Base Group is a key investor in Korea Aluminium, one of several companies that the Commerce Department accused of circumventing tariffs imposed on Chinese aluminum.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf Base Group were attempting to buy influence with President Trump in an effort to secure lower tariffs or special-interest exemptions for Korea Aluminium, it would be a particularly egregious example of Trump Administration corruption,\u201d wrote Democratic Sens. Elizabeth Warren (Massachusetts), Richard Blumenthal (Connecticut) and Andy Kim (New Jersey) in a letter <\/b>first reported by The Washington Post.<\/p>\n

The probe offers a preview of how Democrats might leverage their power in Congress if they regain the House of Representatives or the Senate in the midterms. As they accuse<\/a> the Trump administration of corruption on the campaign trail, Democrats have launched multiple probes into the Trump family\u2019s business empire and corporations that have sought to curry favor with the administration.<\/p>\n

Trump\u2019s expansive portfolio and the global transactions of his family business have no other parallel in modern American history, creating unprecedented ethical questions.<\/p>\n

In the past month, Warren and other Democrats have also launched investigations into a Trump family\u2019s cryptocurrency venture<\/a> and a new paid service<\/a> that will give investors faster access to Trump\u2019s market-moving social media posts. On Wednesday, she sent a letter<\/a> to Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, asking whether the administration\u2019s decision to ease export controls on the United Arab Emirates was influenced by UAE-linked investments in the Trump family\u2019s crypto venture.<\/p>\n

The Trump Organization said on Wednesday night that the payment from Base Group was related to an August 2025 letter of intent for the management of a golf course. Base Group was selected \u201cbased solely on its experience and the extraordinary quality and location of the project,\u201d the statement said.<\/p>\n

\u201cAny suggestion that this transaction was driven by anything other than legitimate business considerations is pure fiction,\u201d a Trump Organization spokesperson said.<\/p>

Read more Trump tells donors, \u2018We need to elect JD,\u2019 as vice president weighs his future<\/a><\/p>\n

The White House and Base Group did not immediately respond to requests for comment about the investigation.<\/p>\n

The Commerce Department issued a preliminary finding shortly after the president\u2019s financial disclosure was released that would impose a 105 percent tariff on exports from Korean Aluminium \u2014 nearly four times the current rate.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf the Trump Administration were to provide relief from these penalties, it would represent a substantial financial windfall for Base Group,\u201d the senators wrote.<\/p>\n

The White House told The Post in July that the payment from the South Korean company was not a conflict of interest, stating that the Commerce Department\u2019s probe had been governed by a \u201ctransparent, quasi-judicial process that is laid out in statute.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cFurther, all of the President\u2019s assets are held in fully discretionary accounts managed by independent third-party financial institutions,\u201d White House spokesman Kush Desai said in a statement.<\/p>\n

The Trump Organization, the Commerce Department, Base and Korea Aluminium have not responded to The Post\u2019s inquiries about the payment. The New York Times first reported the transaction<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The Democratic senators wrote that the payment fits a pattern of companies receiving favorable policy outcomes following donations to entities associated with the president, including his campaign fund and ballroom project. They cited tariff exemptions granted to Apple<\/a> after CEO Tim Cook donated $1 million to the president\u2019s inauguration celebrations<\/a>.<\/p>

Read more Mystics come back to beat Wings for fifth-straight win<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Base Co. LTD was fighting a trade case before the Commerce Department at the time of the payment.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8758,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8760","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interesting"],"yoast_head":"\nSenate Democrats probe Korean firm\u2019s $2 million payment to Trump company - Moving Insider USA<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=8760\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Senate Democrats probe Korean firm\u2019s $2 million payment to Trump company - Moving Insider USA\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Base Co. 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