'Pot meet Kettle': Internet slams Jamie Raskin for calling Trump presidency a 'moneymaking enterprise'

WASHINGTON, DC: In a recent interview on MSNBC's 'The Weekend,' Representative Jamie Raskin (D-Md), the top Democrat on the House Oversight and Accountability Committee, accused former President Donald Trump of attempting to transform the presidency into a "moneymaking enterprise."

Raskin's claims come in response to House Democrats' allegations that Trump allegedly accepted nearly $8 million from foreign governments during his tenure. Raskin declared during the MSNBC interview, "So Donald Trump did something nobody had ever done before. He tried to convert the presidency into a moneymaking enterprise."

Raskin's letter to Trump

The Maryland Democrat sent a letter to Trump on Friday, January 12, demanding the immediate return of the sum that House Democrats claim the former president received from foreign governments.

Despite the allegations, Raskin claims he has not received a response from Trump or his legal team.

"I write today to demand that you immediately return to the American people the $7,886,072 that we know you have accepted from foreign governments," Raskin alleged in his letter.

"I also demand that you give Congress a full accounting of the money, benefits, and other emoluments ‘of any kind whatever’ you pocketed from foreign governments or their agents during your term as President and that you return the total sum of these foreign emoluments."

Raskin insisted that the report covered only half of Trump's presidency and transactions at just four of his more than 500 businesses. He insisted that Trump's acceptance of foreign emoluments while in office was a "stunning violation of the US Constitution—and a profound betrayal of the interests of the United States and the trust of the American people."

The accusations against Trump are rooted in a report published by Democrats on the House Oversight Committee. The report alleges that Trump's companies accepted money from foreign entities in 20 countries, with approximately $5.6 million coming from China.

These funds reportedly went to Trump's hotels in Washington and Las Vegas, as well as Trump Tower in New York, violating the Emolument Clause of the Constitution, according to the report.

"The Constitution says that the president or any other federal official cannot accept a present and emolument, which means a payment, in office or title of any kind, whatever, that’s in the Constitution, from a king, a prince, a foreign government without the consent of Congress," Raskin explained during the interview.

"Donald Trump came to Congress zero times to ask to keep this money."

Social media backlash against Raskin

Despite Raskin's accusations gaining attention, he faced criticism on social media, with many questioning his credibility and pointing to his own controversies.

"Pot meet Kettle. Wonder what Raskin’s net worth is today versus when he started," one posted on X.

"Look who’s talking!" another wrote.

"Oh, the irony," a comment read.

"It’s obvious Democrats have been reduced to throwing crap at the wall to see what will stick," someone else added.

"Raskin has no credibility," another insisted.

Raskin's Controversies

As mentioned, Raskin has some skeletons in his own closet.

In June of last year, Raskin was called out for lying about a trusted FBI informant’s allegations that Joe Biden accepted a $5 million bribe while serving as vice president.

Despite being told several times in an FBI briefing that the case was still open, Raskin insisted that his lie was true, the New York Post reported.

Raskin's credibility faced additional challenges related to a federal conflict-of-interest law violation. In February 2022, it was reported that he failed to properly disclose stock shares his wife received for advising a Colorado-based financial technology trust company.

The congressman disclosed information about the sale of Reserve Trust stock eight months after Sarah Bloom Raskin dumped the stock in late 2020 for $1.5 million, a Business Insider analysis of federal records indicated.

This was deemed a violation of the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge Act's disclosure provisions, which exist to promote transparency and defend against financial conflicts, per the outlet.