New information comes to light on Trump’s business dealings with the Bank of China: Politico

 April 29, 2020 By Alex Henderson, AlterNet



On Friday, April 24, Politico published an article that discussed President Donald Trump and the Trump Organization’s business dealings in Mainland China. Politico journalists Marc Caputo, Meridith McGraw and Anita Kumar originally reported that Trump owed the Bank of China tens of millions of dollars, but Politico later updated the article to include new information. And another Politico article, published on April 27, offers some clarification on the subject.

The original headline for the April 24 piece read, “Trump Owes Tens of Millions to the Bank of China — and the Loan Is Due Soon.” But that headline has since been changed to “Trump Owed Tens of Millions to Bank of China.” Politico changed the headline from present tense to past tense, and the April 27 piece explained why.


“The article cited a nearly $1 billion refinancing deal from several banks, including the Bank of China, struck in 2012 with a New York City real estate venture in which the Trump Organization has a substantial minority interest,” Politico explained on April 27. “We reported that President Trump, through the Trump Organization, owes the Chinese state-owned bank tens of millions of dollars on a loan that comes due in 2022.”

Politico’s April 27 article went on to say, “This assertion, which was referenced in the headline as well as the story, was based on public documents related to the deal as well as property records. We sought comment from the Vornado Realty Trust, the primary investor, which didn’t respond to our request before publication. The White House and the Trump Organization declined to comment on the record after being told what we intended to report.”

But on Friday night, April 24, Politico received a statement from a Bank of China USA representative, who said the bank had sold off or securitized its debt shortly after the 2012 deal discussed in the April 24 article.

According to Politico, “A spokeswoman said the bank has no current financial interest in any Trump Organization properties. We updated the body of the article to take account of the bank’s statement.”

However, the April 24 article — even after the update — still had a sub-headline reading, “The President’s Financial Dealings With the State-Owned Bank Complicate His Attacks on Biden.” Trump has been vehemently critical of former Vice President Joe Biden’s dealings with Mainland China. But Politico’s article, even after the update and new headline, points to the fact that Trump himself has had business dealings with that country — and that attacking Biden over China is hypocrisy