Government Agencies Using Trump Hotels, Despite Official Ethics Advice

A bombshell report dropped late Thursday from the Washington Post showing just how much money Trump has pocketed from taxpayers by encouraging government agencies to use his properties for official government events — a practice his own ethics officials know is wrong but have been powerless to stop.

Trump earned at least $1.6 million from both the federal government and Republican campaigns which have used his properties. And the Post cautioned that the actual number is likely much, much higher, given that the numbers they crunched were only from the first half of 2017 when Trump first took office. Since then, Trump, GOP lawmakers, and administration officials have made many more stops at his properties.

In fact, GOP fundraisers admit that’s why they hold fundraisers at Trump hotels — it increases the chances Trump might show up.

Trump has also been successful in getting government agencies to use his properties. The Department of Defense shelled out $12,000 for rooms at Mar-a-Lago in early 2017. Other executive agencies racked up a $30,000 bill for hotel stays in April of that year as well.

The Post went on to report that ethics officials have “sought to dissuade” Trump from holding official events or taking trips to his properties — such as the out-of-the-way pit stop he made to his failing golf resort in Ireland during his U.K. state visit earlier this month — but have been ignored.

In fact, Trump has only gotten more brazen about his use of his properties.

Trump wants to hold a Group of Seven (G-7) meeting at his failing golf resort in Doral, Florida. That would mean foreign governments would be spending large sums of money at his property, putting money in Trump’s pocket in what looks like a blatant violation of the Constitution’s Emoluments Clause that bans presidents from receiving payments from foreign governments.

Published with permission of The American Independent.