At nighttime in a remote region of western Mongolia, Donald Trump Jr. used a rifle with a laser sight to shoot and kill an endangered argali, the largest living species of sheep. Local hunting guides fanned the lights of their cellphones across the ground to search for where the creature fell. Trump Jr. asked them not to dismember the animal on the spot, but instead to carry it away on an aluminum sheet to keep its fur and horns intact.
ProPublica described the August excursion in a report that relies on records and interviews to allege that the president’s son received special treatment from the Mongolian government just weeks after U.S. and Mongolian officials met at the White House. The Trump administration has sought to strengthen ties with Mongolia, a longtime defense partner that lies between China and Russia, to prepare for Beijing’s growing global influence.
In Mongolia, permits to shoot and kill an argali, which are prized for their tusks and meat, are determined largely by politics, connections and money, experts told ProPublica. Trump Jr. received a permit after his hunt — which ProPublica reported is a rare occurrence.
Amgalanbaatar Sukh, a scientist who heads an argali research center in Mongolia, told ProPublica that high-level government contacts often determine who gets hunting permits in ways that are opaque to almost everyone else. The government authorized 86 permits to be issued in this year’s hunting season, which runs from July 1 to Sept. 30, ProPublica reported.
Trump Jr. also met privately with the Mongolian president, Khaltmaagiin Battulga, during the trip he took with his son, according to ProPublica. Andy Surabian, a spokesman for Trump Jr., did not answer a question about what the pair discussed.