Politico Issues Correction on Story Alleging Trump Ties to Bank of China

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Politico has issued a correction to a viral story alleging the Trump Organization was involved in a real-estate deal that included the Bank of China, writing that the publication “fell short in this case.”

The story, published on April 24, was originally headlined, “Trump owes tens of millions to the Bank of China — and the loan is due soon.” In the correction issued on Monday, Politico said the claim was false and that authors had failed to seek a comment from the Bank of China, leading the bank to seek a correction post-publication.

“This assertion, which was referenced in the headline as well as the story, was based on public documents related to the deal as well as property records,” Politico explained in an unsigned statement. “We sought comment from the Vornado Realty Trust, the primary investor, which didn’t respond to our request before publication. The White House and the Trump Organization declined to comment on the record after being told what we intended to report.”

President Donald Trump reportedly owned a minority stake in the building at the center of the story, a 43-story skyscraper at 1290 Avenue of the Americas in Manhattan. Vornado Realty, which owns 70 percent of the building, sought a $950 million refinancing deal in 2012, “to which the Bank of China chipped in $211 million.”

Politico said the Bank of China in fact ended its involvement soon after entering the deal, and that the bank said it was not involved in any other Trump properties. “On Friday evening, POLITICO received a statement from a representative for Bank of China USA, which had not been contacted beforehand, that the bank had sold off, or securitized, its debt shortly after the 2012 deal. A spokeswoman said the bank has no current financial interest in any Trump Organization properties. We updated the body of the article to take account of the bank’s statement. The original headline was changed to ‘Trump owed tens of millions to the Bank of China.'”

Despite the correction, the story’s authors retained language arguing the situation was analogous to allegations that Hunter Biden profited from deals stemming from his father’s term as vice president. “The bank’s initial financing of the property stands out because Trump and his campaign have repeatedly highlighted the same bank’s role in a $1.5 billion deal announced in 2013 by partners of Joe Biden’s son, Hunter Biden,” authors wrote. “Critics of the Bidens have seized on the fact that the agreement materialized just days after Hunter Biden traveled to China with the then-vice president, who was there on official business.”

Politico’s correction said a Wells Fargo document still suggested that the Bank of China retained a “secured interest” in the building until 2022. “A 2017 document filed by the loan servicer, Wells Fargo, with the New York Department of Finance listed Bank of China as having a financial interest in the building, 1290 Avenue of the Americas in Manhattan. That record, known as a UCC3, indicated that Bank of China had a ‘secured’ interest in the building’s fixtures in case of default on the loan. The 2017 document is valid until 2022, when the loan comes due.”

While the original version of the story is no longer available on Politico’s website, a copy was archived on the Wayback Machine.