Congress Targets Infantino Over Fifa's Trump Tower Links

Raskin Opens Investigation Into Fifa-Trump Connections

Representative Jamie Raskin, the ranking Democrat on the House judiciary committee, has formally requested that Gianni Infantino appear before Congress and hand over records detailing Fifa's dealings with Donald Trump and his administration.

In a letter sent Sunday, Raskin called on Fifa to produce documents and communications related to any gifts, payments, or benefits provided to Trump and his associates. The request also covers visitor logs for the office space Fifa acquired in Trump Tower last year and asks Infantino to sit for a transcribed interview as part of the probe.

The Trump Tower Lease

Fifa's decision to lease office space in Trump Tower, a property owned by the family business of a sitting U.S. president, drew scrutiny when first reported. Now it sits at the center of a congressional inquiry.

Raskin's letter specifically names the Trump Tower office as part of the scope, asking Fifa to explain who uses the space, who visits, and what financial arrangements underpin the lease. For an organization already battered by decades of corruption scandals, the optics of renting from a politically polarizing American president are problematic.

The timing compounds the pressure. The United States co-hosts the expanded 48-team World Cup in 2026, and Fifa needs stable relationships with federal and local governments across the host nation. An investigation led by a senior House committee member introduces a complication the organization did not need.

The scope of Raskin's request, covering gifts, payments, benefits, visitor logs, and a transcribed interview, suggests he is looking for evidence that Fifa sought to curry favor with the Trump administration through financial ties, property arrangements, or personal benefits to the president or his family.

Infantino's Record With Heads of State

Infantino has never been shy about cultivating political relationships. He attended Trump's inauguration in 2017, and photographs of the two men together have circulated widely. The Fifa president has positioned himself as a dealmaker willing to sit with any head of state who can advance the organization's commercial interests.

Those instincts have served Fifa's global expansion. They have also made him a target for critics who see the organization as too willing to engage with controversial leaders.

The Trump Tower lease adds a commercial layer to what was previously a diplomatic relationship between a sports official and a head of state. Raskin's investigation targets that intersection.

Fifa Faces a Compliance Decision

Fifa has not publicly responded to Raskin's letter. The organization faces a choice between compliance, which would open its records to congressional scrutiny, and resistance, which would escalate the dispute and invite further political attention.

A transcribed interview would place the Fifa president under oath, answering questions from congressional staff about his organization's ties to a former president who is seeking office again.

The inquiry lands during a window when Fifa needs American political and institutional support for the 2026 World Cup more than at any point in its history. Alienating Democratic lawmakers on the judiciary committee is not a strategy Infantino would choose voluntarily.