Report: The FBI is scrutinizing one of Ivanka Trump's international business deals


FBI counterintelligence investigators are taking a close look at the negotiations and financing of the Trump International Hotel and Tower in Vancouver, Canada, former and current U.S. officials told CNN.
The Trump Organization does not own the hoteld but receives licensing and marketing fees from the property. President Trump's daughter and senior adviser Ivanka Trump had a key role in launching the deal with the hotel's developer, Joo Kim Tiah, in 2013, and the property opened in February 2017. Tiah is from one of the wealthiest families in Malaysia, and runs its Canada-based development company, Holborn Group. Per President Trump's financial disclosure form from June, the Trump Organization made more than $5 million in royalties and $21,500 in management fees from the hotel.
It's not clear why FBI investigators are looking at this deal, but it might be because it's one of just a handful of Trump-branded properties that have opened since Trump's inauguration, CNN reports. While doing background checks for security clearances, the FBI looks into foreign contacts and business deals to see if a person is vulnerable to pressure or blackmail, and this may be what's standing in Trump's way of getting full security clearance. A spokesman for Ivanka Trump's ethics counsel told CNN they are "wrong that any hurdle, obstacle, concern, red flag, or problem has been raised with respect to Ms. Trump or her clearance application."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
July 6 editorial cartoons
Cartoons Sunday’s political cartoons include paying for school lunch by enlisting, and the banality of evil
-
5 biting editorial cartoons about 'Alligator Alcatraz'
Cartoons Artists take on dangerous green things, historical precedent, and more
-
A journey into the deep past on beautiful Arran
The Week Recommends New Unesco Global Geopark played a 'key role' in the birth of modern geological science
-
Dollar faces historic slump as stocks hit new high
Speed Read While stocks have recovered post-Trump tariffs, the dollar has weakened more than 10% this year
-
Economists fear US inflation data less reliable
speed read The Labor Department is collecting less data for its consumer price index due to staffing shortages
-
Crypto firm Coinbase hacked, faces SEC scrutiny
Speed Read The Securities and Exchange Commission has also been investigating whether Coinbase misstated its user numbers in past disclosures
-
Starbucks baristas strike over dress code
speed read The new uniform 'puts the burden on baristas' to buy new clothes, said a Starbucks Workers United union delegate
-
Warren Buffet announces surprise retirement
speed read At the annual meeting of Berkshire Hathaway, the billionaire investor named Vice Chairman Greg Abel his replacement
-
Trump calls Amazon's Bezos over tariff display
Speed Read The president was not happy with reports that Amazon would list the added cost from tariffs alongside product prices
-
Markets notch worst quarter in years as new tariffs loom
Speed Read The S&P 500 is on track for its worst month since 2022 as investors brace for Trump's tariffs
-
Tesla Cybertrucks recalled over dislodging panels
Speed Read Almost every Cybertruck in the US has been recalled over a stainless steel panel that could fall off