New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft sat at the same table with his friend President Trump as the two attended a Washington, DC state dinner for the emir of Qatar.
Kraft was photographed sitting at the president’s table during the dinner at the Treasury Department on Monday.
The Patriots owner sat one seat over from Christine Lagarde, the head of the International Monetary Fund.
Trump is seated to Lagarde’s left. To the president’s left is the emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani.
New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft attends a state dinner at the Treasury Department in Washington on Monday. He is seen foreground sitting next to International Monetary Fund head Christine Lagarde, President Trump, and Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani
The Patriots owner was a guest of the president five months after he was arrested for soliciting a prostitute in Florida
The president hailed Kraft and the others in attendance at Monday’s dinner as a ‘who’s who of business people’
Ivanka Trump (far right) also attended the dinner with her husband, Jared Kushner (center), and World Bank President David Malpass (left)
The president’s daughter, Ivanka, and her husband, Jared, were seen arriving at the dinner earlier in the evening.
The Qatari ruler is in Washington to discuss economic and security ties as well as counterterrorism issues.
Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt severed ties with Qatar in 2017, in one of the worst diplomatic disputes in the region in years.
They accused Doha of support for Islamist militants and Iran, charges it denies.
Trump said the dinner ‘is a fitting tribute to the economic and security partnership between our two nations,’ The New York Times reported.
The president then pointed to the assembled guests and said: ‘This is a who’s who of people in business.’
Among the guests were former Trump aide and Goldman Sachs executive Dina Powell; former Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson; sports owner Stan Kroenke; Citigroup CEO Michael Corbat; billionaire investor Tom Barrack; and Wells Fargo CEO C. Allen Parker.
One person who was disinvited was Kim Darroch, the British ambassador to Washington.
Darroch wrote a diplomatic cable back to London which called the president and his administration ‘inept’ and ‘dysfunctional.’
Earlier this year, Kraft was arrested in Florida for allegedly soliciting sex from a prostitute in a massage parlor in Jupiter.
He has pleaded not guilty to the misdemeanor charges and issued a public apology for his actions.
Despite the embarrassing public episode, Kraft is a welcome guest for the Trump administration.
The president’s daughter was all smiles as she, her husband, and the World Bank president arrived at the Treasury Department on Monday
Trump is seen left with the emir of Qatar. The emir is in Washington to discuss regional issues including counterterrorism and relations with Gulf states
Trump said the dinner ‘is a fitting tribute to the economic and security partnership between our two nations’
The president appears to be remaining loyal to his friend, Kraft, in spite of the soliciting charges.
It has been reported that Trump wants to invite Kraft and his Patriots to the White House for a Super Bowl celebration, though it is not known if an official invite has been extended.
Kraft and Trump have been friends. Their relationship was cemented by the president’s frequent phone calls to the Patriots owner in the weeks and months following the death of his wife, Myra, in 2011.
Trump has a history of publicly showing support for friends and allies who have been accused of sexual misconduct, including the late ex-Fox News boss Roger Ailes; former Fox News host Bill O’Reilly; and Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh.
Kraft’s presence at the White House may be considered awkward given that another Trump associate, Epstein, was arraigned in federal court on Monday on charges of sex trafficking of minors.
The wealthy financier pleaded not guilty as prosecutors accused him of luring dozens of girls as young as 14 to his luxury homes in New York and Florida and paying them for sex acts.
Both Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner serve as advisers to the president
An indictment unsealed in federal court in Manhattan accused Epstein, 66, of arranging for girls to perform nude “massages” and other sex acts, and paying some girls to recruit others, from at least 2002 to 2005.
Epstein was known for socializing with politicians and royalty, with friends who have included Trump and former President Bill Clinton.
Clinton issued a statement on Monday denying that he knew of Epstein’s crimes.