Trump’s role as LIV Golf host renews scrutiny over conflicts of interest

By Camila DeChalus, CNN

(CNN) — Experts are raising conflict-of-interest and ethical concerns after President Donald Trump hosted a LIV Golf event at his Virginia property this weekend, renewing scrutiny over whether the Trump family is financially benefiting from his time in office while supporting a golf league backed by a government accused of human rights abuses.

For years, Trump’s courses have served as both a refuge and a showcase for LIV, whose chief backer, Saudi Arabia’s government, has been accused of human rights violations. (The Saudi government announced last month that it will stop funding the league after the 2026 season.)

Critics have accused Saudi Arabia of using the golf league in part to divert attention from its human rights concerns, particularly following the 2018 killing of Saudi dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

It comes as the country’s Public Investment Fund has invested aggressively in sports more broadly, signing high-profile stars to increase the global prominence of its soccer league and leading a consortium to buy an English soccer team. Saudi Arabia also signed a 10-year deal with Formula 1 in 2021 to host annual races.

Those moves have led to widespread accusations of “sportswashing” — a concept that involves nations using high-profile sporting events to project a favorable image of their country.

“Saudi Arabia is a murderous, authoritarian, anti-democratic region,” Kathleen Clark, a law professor in government ethics at Washington University in St. Louis, told CNN. “(Trump’s) willingness to do this is actually a really nice example about what his priorities are.”

LIV and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund did not respond to a request for comment.

Trump, meanwhile, has largely shrugged off the Saudi government’s alleged human rights abuses in his two terms. During a meeting with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman at the White House last year, the president angrily dismissed a question about Khashoggi’s murder, claiming the journalist was “extremely controversial” and insisting a reporter raised the subject to embarrass the crown prince.

Trump then went on to insist Prince bin Salman — who the CIA assessed likely ordered the murder — “knew nothing about it, and we can leave it at that.” Saudi Arabian government officials have repeatedly denied these accusations and claim they had no knowledge on the journalist’s death. The Saudi Foreign Ministry released a statement in 2021 saying the country “completely rejects the negative, false and unacceptable assessment in the report pertaining to the Kingdom’s leadership, and notes that the report contained inaccurate information and conclusions.”

At the meeting, which had all the trappings of a state visit, Trump heaped praise on the crown prince, including for what he called his “incredible” record on human rights.

Tournaments raise conflict of interest questions

The president, an avid golfer, has spent the past two weekends attending professional tour events at courses he owns, including last week’s PGA Tour stop in Doral, Florida, and this weekend’s LIV event in Sterling, Virginia.

Several ethics experts who spoke to CNN say they are wary of Trump hosting these golf tournaments at his properties because there is little transparency around how much financial compensation his family is obtaining. The president’s assets are in a trust managed by his children, and Trump has said he wouldn’t be involved in running his business during his time in office.

“President Trump’s assets are in a trust managed by his children,” White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly said in a statement to CNN last year. “There are no conflicts of interest.”

One expert told CNN the potential conflicts go beyond golf tournaments.

“This is just going to be the tip of the iceberg,” Richard Painter, a professor of corporate law at the University of Minnesota Law School, told CNN. “And the message has been said all over the world that if you want to get along with the Trump administration, do business with the Trump family or with his golf courses or with his son.”

The golf events aren’t the only issues raising questions over conflicts of interest in Trump’s second term. Critics say he has brazenly blended his business interests with the presidency by having his administration accept a $400 million luxury jet from Qatar, dining with wealthy investors in his cryptocurrency coin, selling a Trump-branded smartphone, promoting his Scotland golf properties, and more.

On the crypto investors’ dinner, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters last year it was “absurd for anyone to insinuate that this president is profiting off of the presidency.”

Don Heider, executive director of the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics at Santa Clara University, called on Congress to check the president on these potential conflicts.

“Where are the ethics of all the members of the Senate and the House? … Why are they so afraid of political pressure they won’t speak up and tell the truth consistently and hold this president accountable?” he said.

The White House, the Trump Organization and the PGA did not respond to CNN’s request for comment on the ethics experts’ concerns.

Trump’s involvement in the sports world

The golf events, meanwhile, also serve as the latest example of a president who is more heavily engaged with the sports world than his recent predecessors.

His appearances at the Daytona 500, FIFA Club World Cup final, the US Open, the Ryder Cup, the College Football Playoff Championship and several UFC fights have made him a fixture at the highest-profile American sporting events — a somewhat unusual phenomenon for a sitting president.

Trump’s attendance at these events has at times prompted backlash. He was booed by some during halftime of a Washington Commanders-Detroit Lions NFL game as he was featured on the stadium’s jumbotron swearing in members of the military. He also was on the receiving end of boos at the Club World Cup final as he presented medals to players on the field.

The president has also broken norms with his level of engagement with sports leaders and leagues on a number of issues. Earlier this year, he signed an executive order aimed at preventing any football games from competing with the annual Army-Navy matchup, calling the game one of the country’s most cherished sporting traditions. He also signed an executive order aimed at stemming costs associated with the onset of the name, imaged and likeness payment system in college sports.

Trump has also developed a friendship with FIFA President Gianni Infantino, who last year awarded Trump with the inaugural FIFA Peace Prize after Trump’s failed push to win the Nobel Peace Prize.

Meanwhile, the questions from ethics experts will likely resurface this summer — Trump’s golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey, will host a LIV event in early August.

CNN’s Alayna Treene, Marshall Cohen and Kevin Liptak contributed to this report.

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