House intel committee could investigate defense firm contributions to White House ballroom

The White House in Washington, DC, US, on Thursday, Aug. 29, 2024. (Photographer: Kent Nishimura/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

WASHINGTON — The top Democrat on the House’s intelligence committee is warning defense contractors about a “likely” investigation into whether corporate donations to President Donald Trump’s White House ballroom project were solicited in exchange for government contracts or access to the Trump administration.

In a Sept. 28 letter to the National Defense Industrial Association , Connecticut Rep. Jim Himes, the top Democrat on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (HPSCI), told the defense trade group to remind its member companies “of their obligation to be responsive to congressional oversight.”

“Specifically, I am concerned that the current Administration has departed from decades of precedent in favor of unethical or even nakedly corrupt dealings with the private sector,” he said in the letter to NDIA President David Norquist.

“At times, the Administration has appeared to inappropriately fuse the government contracting process with the attempted extraction of political or private favors,” Himes added.

Himes said the committee could seek documentation, communications, testimony and other information to understand how donations to the ballroom were solicited “and whether contributions were related in any way to the goal of obtaining or maintaining government contracts, access to the President or Administration officials, or other benefits.”

The committee may also weigh whether dealings constituted a conflict of interest or a national security risks, and whether to propose legislation that would mandate further disclosure requirements or safeguards, he wrote.

NDIA did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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Himes is likely to take over to take over HPSCI in the event that Democrats win the House during midterm elections this November — a prospect that seems likely, according to recent polling data.

Trump announced plans to rebuild the White House ballroom last year, pledging that private donations would pay for the project instead of taxpayer money. While the White House has not disclosed a complete list of donors to the ballroom project, Lockheed Martin, Booz Allen Hamilton and Palantir are among the government contractors who have donated to the White House ballroom project, according to The Guardian and other news outlets.

Himes did not name any individual contractor in his letter or raise any specific conflict of interest concern, stating only that “[s]ome of the companies publicly identified as having contributed funding to this effort are members of the NDIA.”

But Himes also suggested that the committee could investigate defense industry matters beyond the ballroom project, stating in the letter that HPSCI “may seek documents and other information to understand other unusual dealings between the White House, senior Administration officials, and NDIA members.”

Himes’ letter may foreshadow the kind of scrutiny defense contractors can expect if Democrats take the gavel of key defense and intelligence congressional committees. In August, The Washington Sun reported that defense lobbyists were already bracing for increased oversight if Democrats take one or both chambers of Congress during the midterms, with lobbyists expecting potential investigations into the Qatari-gifted Air Force One jet and the Pentagon’s equity stakes in defense and critical minerals companies.

2024年8月29日，星期四，美国华盛顿特区的白宫。（摄影：Kent Nishimura/彭博社，图片来自Getty Images）

华盛顿——众议院情报委员会的首席民主党议员警告国防承包商，一项“可能”会调查企业向唐纳德·特朗普总统的白宫宴会厅项目捐款是否是为了换取政府合同或接触特朗普政府的机会。

9 月 28 日，康涅狄格州众议员吉姆·海姆斯（Jim Himes）——众议院常设情报特别委员会 (HPSCI) 的首席民主党议员——致信美国国防工业协会，要求该国防贸易组织提醒其成员公司“履行对国会监督的义务”。

“具体而言，我担心本届政府已经背离了数十年的先例，转而与私营部门进行不道德甚至赤裸裸的腐败交易，”他在给 NDIA 主席大卫·诺奎斯特的信中写道。

“有时，本届政府似乎不恰当地将政府合同流程与试图获取政治或私人好处混为一谈，”希姆斯补充道。

海姆斯表示，委员会可以寻求文件、通信记录、证词和其他信息，以了解舞厅的捐款是如何募集的，“以及捐款是否与获得或维持政府合同、接触总统或政府官员或其他利益的目标有任何关联”。

他还写道，委员会还可以权衡这些交易是否构成利益冲突或国家安全风险，以及是否提出立法，强制要求进一步披露信息或采取保障措施。

NDIA尚未对此事作出回应。

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通用航空系统公司 (GA-ASI) 非常重视保持其作为美国及其盟国领先的无人机系统供应商的地位。

如果民主党在今年 11 月的中期选举中赢得众议院，那么海姆斯很可能会接管众议院情报委员会（HPSCI）——根据最近的民调数据，这种情况似乎很有可能发生。

特朗普去年宣布了重建白宫宴会厅的计划，并承诺该项目将由私人捐款支付，而非动用纳税人的钱。虽然白宫尚未公布宴会厅项目的完整捐赠者名单，但据《卫报》和其他新闻媒体报道，洛克希德·马丁公司、博思艾伦咨询公司和帕兰提尔公司等政府承包商都已向白宫宴会厅项目捐款。

Himes 在信中没有点名任何承包商，也没有提出任何具体的利益冲突问题，只是表示“一些公开承认为这项工作提供资金的公司是 NDIA 的成员”。

但海姆斯也暗示，委员会可以调查舞厅项目以外的国防工业事务，他在信中表示，众议院军事委员会“可能会寻求文件和其他信息，以了解白宫、高级政府官员和国防工业协会成员之间其他不寻常的交易”。

海姆斯的信函或许预示着，如果民主党掌控关键的国防和情报国会委员会，国防承包商将面临怎样的审查。今年8月，《华盛顿太阳报》报道称，如果民主党在中期选举中赢得国会参众两院或其中一院的控制权，国防游说团体已在为加强监管做准备。他们预计，卡塔尔赠送的“空军一号”专机以及五角大楼在国防和关键矿产公司中的股权都可能受到调查。