Federal Election Commission records show that Donald Trump's campaign has been paid roughly $1.6 million to cover the cost of flying Secret Service agents with him on a plane owned and operated by TAG Air Inc., one of the Republican nominee's companies, Politico reports.
The agency reimburses presidential campaigns for the cost of traveling with them, and the campaign of Hillary Clinton, who primarily charters planes through a company she does not have any ownership in, has been reimbursed $2.6 million. "The taxpayers are actually reimbursing Trump for the travel of the Secret Service agents," Brett Kappel, a campaign finance lawyer, told Politico. "It's just another example of how the Trump campaign has taken an unprecedentedly large amount of its money and spent it at Trump-owned facilities." Trump's spokeswoman, Hope Hicks, told Politico that "everything was done in accordance with FEC guidelines and regulations."
Looking at FEC records, Politico says it found that through the end of August, Trump's campaign spent at least $8.2 million at his own businesses, with nearly $6 million of that going to TAG Air, Inc. The Secret Service could also be paying Trump's hotels for rooms for agents when the candidate spends the night, but those expenses do not appear on FEC reports because the government pays them directly, Politico says.