WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump’s bank account in China raises serious national security concerns, U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi said on Wednesday following a New York Times report revealing the previously undisclosed account.
Pelosi cited the Chinese government’s ties to its financial industry and said Trump’s banking there risked his exposure and opened him up to vulnerabilities.
“They can watch the flow of money there and perhaps have some, shall we say, sway over the person who’s taking money or putting money into that account so it is a national security issue,” she told MSNBC in an interview.
The Times, which has obtained Trump’s tax records, late Tuesday reported that the documents show the president maintains a previously undisclosed bank account in China, one of only three foreign nations where he holds accounts along with Britain and Ireland.
White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, asked about the report, on Wednesday said he had read the Times’ piece but did not know if Trump’s Chinese bank account existed and had not asked the president about it.
“Normally, those are more operational for the region,” Meadows told reporters at the White House.
Trump, a former reality television personality, has said he relinquished day-to-day control over his real estate firm to two of his sons, but he still owns the family-run company.
(Reporting by Susan Heavey, Editing by Franklin Paul and Alistair Bell)
