Whew boy
- finally we can believe Trump
(If only
this one time)
A huge story
- another Trump con... here in part from ProPublica via MSN.
When it came out this year that Trump’s inaugural committee raised and spent unprecedented amounts, people wondered where all that money went. It turns out one beneficiary was Trump himself.
The inauguration paid the Trump Organization for rooms, meals and event space at the company’s Washington hotel, according to interviews as well as internal emails and receipts reviewed by WNYC and ProPublica.
During the planning, Ivanka eldest daughter and a senior executive with the Trump Organization, was involved in negotiating the price the hotel charged the 58th Presidential Inaugural Committee for venue rentals.
When it came out this year that Trump’s inaugural committee raised and spent unprecedented amounts, people wondered where all that money went. It turns out one beneficiary was Trump himself.
The inauguration paid the Trump Organization for rooms, meals and event space at the company’s Washington hotel, according to interviews as well as internal emails and receipts reviewed by WNYC and ProPublica.
During the planning, Ivanka eldest daughter and a senior executive with the Trump Organization, was involved in negotiating the price the hotel charged the 58th Presidential Inaugural Committee for venue rentals.
A top inaugural planner emailed Ivanka and others at
the company to “express my concern” that the hotel was overcharging for its
event spaces, worrying of what would happen “when this is audited.”
If they charged more than the going rate for the
venues, it could violate tax law.
The inaugural committee’s payments to the Trump
Organization and Ivanka Trump’s role have not been previously reported or
disclosed in public filings.
“The fact
that the inaugural committee did business with the Trump Organization raises
huge ethical questions about the potential for undue enrichment,” (says Marcus Owens, the former head of
the division of the IRS that oversees non-profits).
More background - FYI:
The Trump inauguration
committee, which was chaired by his friend the businessman Tom Barrack, raised
nearly $107 million from donors including the casino magnate Sheldon Adelson
and AT&T.
That January
2017 festivities cost almost twice President Barack Obama’s 2009 inauguration,
previously the most expensive.
The
nonprofit that planned Trump’s inauguration booked many spaces in the Trump International Hotel, located in
the Old Post Office building near the White House, including a ballroom, hotel
rooms, and work spaces, as well as paying for meals there, according to several
people who worked on the inauguration.
How the
inaugural committee managed to spend all the money it raised remains a mystery,
nearly two years after the event. While groups that support political
candidates or issues must publicly detail their spending, an inaugural
committee is required to list only its top five contractors.
That leaves about $40 million unaccounted
for.
My 2 cents: As I’ve said many times, the Trump’s
operational name should be “Crooks Я Us.”
It’s in their DNA: a habit, a common natural practice,
routine, or as many say it is “SOP” for them.
Thanks for stopping by.
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