SoftBank gave $50M to Trump library before federal Ohio data center lease

In short: SoftBank says it donated $50 million to the Trump Presidential Library in January, shortly before a federal land lease for an Ohio data center was announced.

What happened

SoftBank, a Japanese technology company, disclosed that it contributed $50 million to the Trump Presidential Library in January. The company shared the timing in a written response to lawmakers who questioned the donation.

In June, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, Sen. Richard Blumenthal, and Rep. Melanie Stansbury sent SoftBank a letter raising concerns about possible bribery. They pointed to the timing, saying the donation came months before SoftBank announced it would lease federal land to build a large data center in Portsmouth, Ohio.

A data center is a warehouse-sized building filled with computers that run online services (like a giant server room). SoftBank has said its SB Energy unit is part of a public-private partnership to build a major AI data center at a US Department of Energy site. The plan also includes building a nearby gas-fired power plant with at least 9.2 gigawatts of capacity, which is a measure of how much electricity it can produce.

The lawmakers also noted that SoftBank donated to the presidential libraries of Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush, but only after those presidents left office. They said Trump’s library is different because the donation happened during Trump’s term and before any library has been built.

SoftBank said the donation went to the Donald J. Trump Presidential Library Foundation, Inc. Reporting cited in The Verge notes that Eric Trump is a trustee of the nonprofit.

Why it matters

Projects like big data centers and power plants can affect local jobs, electricity costs, and pollution. When large political donations and government deals happen close together, it raises questions about whether decisions are being made for the public, or for well-connected companies.

Source: The Verge AI