The Middle East may become the main focus of Democratic investigations after the midterm elections

Investigations as the Democrats' top priority

Several voter polls conducted around the recent midterm elections showed that the main complaint against the Trump administration is corruption. Just days after the election, senior figures in the Democratic Party announced that, once they take their seats in Congress in January, they will pursue investigations into corruption allegations. As Deutsche Wellereports, a significant share of these investigations will likely focus on the administration's and the Trump family's ties to the wealthy countries of the Middle East. Amy Hawthorne, a resident scholar at the Washington think tank Arab Center.

Cryptocurrency and real estate: $300 million from the Gulf

Trump's financial disclosures, published in mid-year, showed that in 2025 his businesses earned about $2 billion — three times more than the year before. Brian Katulis, a senior fellow at the Middle East Institute, noted in July that Middle Eastern countries and companies contributed more to the revenue of Trump's family business than any other region in the world: Gulf entities paid the president's businesses about $300 million in 2025. A significant portion of the proceeds is tied to the sale of a stake in the cryptocurrency company World Liberty Financial, founded by the Trump and Witkoff families in 2024. Steve Witkoff is Trump's special envoy to the Middle East. In January 2026, shortly before the inauguration, a large stake in the company was sold in a closed deal to an investment firm linked to Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan — the UAE's national security adviser and brother of the Emirates' president. In May 2026, the US approved the UAE's access to advanced AI chips despite objections from some national security advisers; Trump's critics see a connection, which the administration denies. In late October, a lawsuit was filed claiming that the UAE investment fund led by Tahnoon also spent about $2 billion on World Liberty cryptocurrency in order to inflate the company's valuation. A separate thread is real estate: according to CNBC, in 2025 Trump declared $59.5 million in income from foreign real estate licensing — ten times more than in 2023 — with nearly two-thirds coming from projects in the Gulf: branded resorts, hotels and skyscrapers in Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar and the Maldives. Ethics experts believe such deals create a conflict between Trump's political role and private interests, since developers from these countries are simultaneously seeking American investment, permits and favorable diplomatic relations.

The Qatari plane and the presidential library

In May 2025, the Qatari royal family gave Trump a luxury plane worth about $400 million, raising questions about the propriety of such an expensive gift from a foreign state. After leaving the presidency, Trump reportedly planned to transfer the plane to his Donald J. Trump Presidential Library Foundation in Florida; it is unclear whether the transfer will take place, and there are suggestions he may keep the plane for personal use. A CBS investigation traced more than $100 million in donations to the library — from lawsuits and corporate donors. Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren has already stated that the library project will be investigated:

The Gaza

The plan for the so-called Board of Peace was created in September 2025 to facilitate a ceasefire and reconstruction in Gaza. The organization was conceived as a multilateral structure similar to the UN, but with Trump as its chairman for an indefinite term and with a permanent seat on the board reserved for countries donating $1 billion. According to experts, the board has achieved little. The Financial Times reported in Maythat four months after its creation, the World Bank account for the board's funds was empty — the money was going into a private account at JP Morgan without any oversight. Known contributions include about $3 million from Morocco and $20 million from the UAE, along with pledges of $7 billion from board members and $10 billion from Trump. The board's legal status was changed to that of an international non-governmental organization. Zaha Hassan, a lawyer and senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment, warned in June that this may have been done to 'avoid oversight by the US Congress and keep most of its activities in the shadows,' and that it gives Trump 'final decision-making authority, including on financial matters.'

Kushner: conflicts of interest and an accusatory book

'The criminal Trump family is the top priority of our investigations,' said after the midterm elections Robert Garcia, the senior Democrat on the House Oversight Committee. He has already voiced concern about the conduct of Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner in the Middle East. Kushner works there as a volunteer envoy and is deeply involved in negotiations to end the conflict in Gaza and the war with Iran; his 'volunteer' status exempts him from the same vetting that elected officials undergo. In early October CNN published an investigation into the ties between his private investment firm Affinity Partners and investments in leading Israeli defense manufacturers; it was also reported that during trips to the region Kushner tried to raise billions for his firm. In March, Democrats, including Garcia, sent letters to the presidential administration expressing 'serious concern about whether the White House is allowing Kushner to use his influence for personal financial gain.' The most serious allegations are contained in the book 'Prince and Thieves' by investigative journalist Matthew Cole, published in late October: according to Cole, Kushner cooperated with the UAE in shaping US policy in the Middle East and gained access to bank accounts totaling roughly $2 billion — this is how the book is retold in a New York Times review. Kushner denies the allegations about such a fund in an Israeli bank and has threatened to sue Vanity Fair, which published excerpts. 'Cole's work is calm, detailed and thorough enough to demand a sweeping and urgent congressional investigation,' the New York Times concluded.