WASHINGTON–As President Trump actively engages in the corruption of U.S. foreign policy, U.S. Senators Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), and Tim Kaine (D-Va.), members of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) on Thursday filed joint resolutions of disapproval (JRD) that would block three arms sales to the United Arab Emirates (UAE). At the Token 2049 crypto conference in Dubai in April, MGX, an investment firm backed by the Emiratis, announced that it would use a stablecoin issued by World Liberty Financial, a crypto company directly backed by the Trump family, to facilitate a $2 billion investment in the Binance cryptocurrency exchange. Concerns have also been raised about the UAE’s arming of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), who have killed tens of thousands of people in Sudan and furthered the civil war in that country.

The three sales include:

  1. Six CH-47F Block II Chinook helicopters and associated equipment, valued at $1.32 billion (see text)
  2. F-16 aircraft components, accessories and defense services, valued at $130 million (see text)
  3. Spare and repair parts to support the United Arab Emirates' fleet of AH-64 Apache, UH-60 Black Hawk, and CH-47 Chinook aircraft, and other logistics and program support, valued at $150 million (see text)

“The Emiratis invested $2 billion in a company run by the sons of the President of the United States and the Special Envoy to the Middle East. Now, the administration wants to sell $1.6 billion in military aircraft to the UAE. Trump’s foreign policy is really that simple – make him and his family richer in exchange for favors like arms sales and access to our most advanced computer chips. If a foreign government is participating in this kind of nuclear grade corruption by directly enriching the President and his family, we are going to force a full Senate debate on that behavior and a vote on their security relationship with the United States,” said Murphy.

“As I’ve repeatedly said, the United States should not provide weapons to the UAE until they cease arming the murderous RSF – a paramilitary group in Sudan that has prolonged the civil war, brought on humanitarian catastrophe, and committed genocide. The U.S. should not be delivering weapons to the UAE as it aids and abets this humanitarian disaster and gross human rights violations. We must stop this corrupt Trump family crypto-for-arms deal and use our leverage to prevent more suffering in Sudan – and bring its civil war to a peaceful resolution,” said Van Hollen.

“Everywhere I go in Virginia, I hear about how worried folks are about price hikes because of President Trump’s tariffs and the massive cuts he’s trying to implement on basic government services, including Medicaid. Meanwhile, he’s hatching secret plans with corrupt foreign governments to enrich himself with crypto deals, golf courses, and a luxury plane?” said Kaine. “I’m glad to be working with my colleagues to force votes on legislation challenging arms sales to Qatar and the United Arab Emirates to make it clear that bribing an American president is one of the fastest ways to poison your relationship with the United States. Countries around the world should take notice.”

“Trump’s personal business ties with the UAE while pushing for U.S. arms sales is a blatant conflict of interest,” said Schatz. “This is no way for the leader of the free world to conduct foreign policy.”

“The UAE is exploiting Trump’s greed by routing $2 billion through a cryptocurrency scheme that will bring his family tens of millions a year, all while lobbying the President for arms sales and access to sensitive technology. This is blatant corruption and we must not let it stand,” said Sanders.

###