Former President Donald Trump attends a rally Sept. 23, 2022, in Wilmington, N.C. (AP Photo/Chris Seward)
Former U.S. President Donald Trump has continuously been accused of using his office to commit unsavory crimes and for personal gain. Now a new book alleges Trump accepted $20 million from a billionaire to move the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.
Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Maggie Haberman makes the claim in her new book, “Confidence Man: The Making of Donald Trump And The Breaking Of America.”
According to Haberman, billionaire casino mogul Sheldon Adelson made the hefty $20 million contribution to pressure Trump into living up to his promise to move the U.S. embassy.
“Adelson’s singular focus was Israel,” Haberman wrote, according to a report by Responsible Statecraft. “[In] Trump, he saw a chance at enacting change in American policy toward [Israel], and gave $20 million to a super PAC working to elect him.”
“As a candidate, Trump promised that he would open an embassy in Jerusalem ‘fairly quickly,’ and after his victory, Adelson pushed him to act on it,” Haberman’s book continued. “Over meetings during the transition and first year of the administration, Adelson assured Trump that the nightmare scenarios that he would be warned about in briefings as a possibility following such a move were overblown.”
According to the New York Times, Haberman had unprecedented access to Trump and followed him closely during his presidency. She is also a native New Yorker, which the Times said helped her assess Trump in a way a non-native could not.
Adelson died last year, so he cannot speak to the truth of the matter and it is doubtful Trump will ever admit to such an act. Therefore, aside from Haberman’s words, one cannot specify whether or not the allegations are true.
This isn’t the first time, however, that Adelson and Trump have been suspected of bribery. In Aug. 2020, two Democratic members of Congress asked the FBI to review a call the two had to see if any bribery was involved.
Reps. Ted Lieu of California and Kathleen Rice of New York sent a letter requesting an investigation.
“Mr. Adelson discussed a specific piece of legislation, the Coronavirus relief bill, with the President,” Lieu and Rice wrote. “In the same conversation, the President asked Mr. Adelson to do more to support his campaign. Depending on what exactly was said, a bribe or solicitation of a bribe may have occurred.”
PHOTO: Former President Donald Trump attends a rally Sept. 23, 2022, in Wilmington, N.C. (AP Photo/Chris Seward)
