Donald Trump was asked a straightforward question on Monday while on Air Force One.The question was, “Where is the money?” Reporters asked the question several times, but Trump never gave a direct answer.
One reporter started by saying, “There are reports that the U.S.
has taken in $13 billion from Venezuela.Where is that money going?” Trump responded by saying he thought the amount was even higher.He also brought up Venezuela and Iran, saying the U.S.had paid for those conflicts many times over.
A female reporter then asked again, “But where is that money going?” Trump didn’t answer directly.
Instead, he compared himself to previous presidents, saying no other president could say that for a long time.He mentioned the cost and that the U.S.had paid many times over.
The reporter kept asking, “But where is the money going?” Trump finally said, “It goes toward running the country.” He added that it could go to the military, but only if Congress approved it.
He also mentioned that the U.S.was taking in a lot of money, billions and billions of dollars from Venezuela.
However, Trump never explained which account the money was being put into, which agency was handling it, or what legal authority he was using.
These are important questions because the Constitution gives Congress, not the president, the power to decide how federal money is spent.
Government money is usually handled through legal and budgetary processes, but Trump didn’t explain what process he was referring to or whether he was aware of these processes.
The conversation also comes at a time when questions are growing about what happened to the billions of dollars from Venezuelan oil that are now under U.S.
control.The Financial Times reported that the U.S.has taken in an estimated $13 billion from Venezuelan oil exports, but there has been little to no public accounting of where the money has gone.
The FT also said officials previously claimed the money would “benefit both the American and Venezuelan people,” but they gave no details about what that actually means.
The lack of transparency has raised concerns from both political parties.
Democratic Rep.Joaquin Castro accused the administration of keeping Congress in the dark about the money.Republican Rep.María Elvira Salazar also called for public disclosure, saying, “Transparency is essential.”
Trump’s comments on Air Force One didn’t help answer those questions.
He gave the kind of answer anyone might give about using the money for the country, possibly the military if Congress approved it, and repeated that the U.S.was taking in “billions and billions of dollars” from Venezuela.
We are asking, if the amounts are so large, where is the money?
Who is managing it, and when will the administration provide a full public accounting?
Congress should not let this issue slide.
Sane Republicans should team up with Democrats to demand a full accounting of every dollar, who controls it, where it is being held, and exactly how it has been or will be spent.If the administration has nothing to hide, those answers should be easy to provide.
If Republicans lose control of the House, this issue should definitely be near the top of the hearings list.
Subpoenas of records and administration officials, and a demand for sworn testimony about where the money went and who has been controlling it.
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