President Trump reportedly had second thoughts about deporting a Chinese billionaire and fugitive who has been accused of several crimes including rape after he discovered he was a paying member of his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida.
Guo Wengui, a Chinese tycoon, fled China to the U.S. after learning he was going to be arrested after allegations against him including bribing, kidnapping, money laundering, fraud and rape. He has since denied all allegations, saying they are part of a campaign against him set up by Chinese officials.
According to the Wall Street Journal, President Trump received a letter from the Chinese government hand-delivered by Steve Wynn, a Las Vegas tycoon with business interests in Macau, China. The government letter asked Trump for assistance with getting Mr. Guo deported. Trump expressed interest in helping the Chinese government, but senior officials found ways to not allow it to happen.
Members of from the Ministry of State Security in China flew to New York to meet with Mr. Guo and to get him to go back to travel back to the country and find a solution to Mr. Guo’s allegations. Prior to the visit, Mr. Guo took to Twitter to express his innocence and to blame Chinese officials for corruption.
Liu Yanping, the lead official with China’s security agency, was heard telling Mr. Guo about the consequences of him remaining in the United States and denying the allegations made against him in audio recordings, according to the Wall Street Journal. “You can’t keep doing this forever,” Mr. Liu said, “I’m worried about you, to tell you the truth.”
During a White House briefing in the Oval Office, the President was set to discuss separate issues related to China, Trump brought up the letter that had been handed to him by Steve Wynn. Trump reportedly said that he knew of at least one “Chinese criminal” that America needed to deport immediately. “Where’s that letter Steve brought?” “We need to get this criminal out of the country.”
According to the Wall Street Journal, Trump’s aides managed to convince him to change his decision to have Mr. Guo deported by letting the president know Guo was a paying member of his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida.
