SoftBank contributed 50 million US dollars, roughly £40 million, to the Trump Presidential Library in January, just months before announcing that it would lease land from the federal government to build an extensive data centre in Ohio. The Japanese company disclosed the timing in response to a June letter from three members of Congress that raised concerns about bribery.
The correspondence was sent by Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, Senator Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, and Representative Melanie Stansbury of New Mexico. In a statement, Senator Warren questioned whether the sequence of events should be regarded as coincidental, noting that two months after the donation, the administration announced a substantial lease agreement covering SoftBank’s data centre.
The Ohio Data Centre Project
The facility is set to be constructed at a site in Portsmouth, Ohio. Under the arrangement, SoftBank would lease land from the federal government to house the project. The scale of the planned installation has drawn attention given the volume of investment involved and the involvement of the US Department of Energy site.
The revelation about the payment came directly from the company itself, which confirmed the January contribution when responding to the June letter from lawmakers. The Trump Presidential Library was the named recipient of the funds.
Scrutiny From Lawmakers
The three legislators who signed the letter have raised questions about the proximity of the donation to the announcement of the federal lease. Their inquiry centred on whether the timing of the financial contribution and the subsequent commercial arrangement warranted closer examination.
The concerns focus on the relationship between the corporate donation and the federal land deal that followed. SoftBank confirmed that the 50 million US dollar payment was made in January, and the data centre plans were made public in the months that followed.
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Image: theverge.com
