Kamlager-Dove Pursues Investigation into Corrupt Trump, UAE AI Chip Deal
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove (CA-37), Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on South and Central Asia with jurisdiction over export controls, wrote to the Acting Inspector General for the U.S. Department of Commerce demanding an investigation into blatant financial conflicts of interest surrounding President Trump’s decision to approve the export of 500,000 advanced AI chips to the United Arab Emirates in May 2025.
This letter is a precursor to an investigation that Rep. Kamlager-Dove plans to launch as Chair of the South and Central Asia Subcommittee once Democrats are back in the majority.
The top democrats on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Armed Services Committee, Oversight Committee, Select Intelligence Committee, CIA Subcommittee, State Department Appropriations Subcommittee, and Commerce Appropriations Subcommittee joined the letter as co-leads.
“Sheikh Tahnoon bought a 49 percent stake in President Trump’s crypto company, World Liberty Financial, just months before securing U.S. approval for the sale of 500,000 AI chips. 100,000 of those AI chips were greenlit for direct sale to Sheikh Tahnoon’s company, G42…These facts raise serious questions about whether the President’s personal financial interests, and those of Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, compromised U.S. export controls and national security decision-making,” wrote the lawmakers.
“The U.S. intelligence community has raised concerns about G42’s interest in accessing advanced U.S. AI chips, citing the risk that such technologies could be diverted for PRC military or intelligence use. Despite these security concerns, the Trump Administration decided to sell chips directly to G42 only after Sheikh Tahnoon entered into very high-value business deals with President Trump,” the lawmakers continued.
“These overlapping financial, corporate, and national security relationships underscore the need to determine whether U.S. export control decisions were improperly influenced by personal enrichment. We request you conduct an immediate review on whether the Bureau of Information Security and Commerce Department officials followed appropriate safeguards and whether outside financial interests influenced the granting of these export licenses,” thelawmakers concluded.
The full letter can be viewed here. In addition to Congresswoman Kamlager-Dove, the letter was signed by Reps. Gregory Meeks, Jim Himes, Robert Garcia, Adam Smith, Grace Meng, Lois Frankel, Jimmy Gomez, Brad Sherman, George Latimer, Johnny Olszewski, Bill Keating, Ami Bera, Gabe Amo, and Julie Johnson.
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