Three days before he was publicly charged with soliciting prostitution at the Orchids of Asia Day Spa in Jupiter, Florida, billionaire financier John Childs cut two checks worth $50,000 to the Republican National Committee, Politico reports, citing February campaign finance disclosures. The RNC did not respond to Politico's request for comment, and Childs has previously denied soliciting prostitution.
The most famous figure caught up in the prostitution sting, New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft, meanwhile, rejected a plea deal Wednesday that would have kept him out of jail in return for admitting he would have been found guilty, performing 100 hours of community service, and taking a course on why prostitution is harmful, CNN reports. Also on Wednesday, attorneys for Kraft and more than a dozen other defendants in the case filed a motion to keep under seal surveillance video allegedly showing Kraft and others in paid sex acts; Florida does not agree with the motion.
Kraft is a longtime friend of President Trump, and Trump wants to invite him to the White House with the Patriots this spring to celebrate New England's Super Bowl championship, Politico reports, adding that White House aides are worried inviting Kraft "could turn a feel-good photo op into an embarrassing media spectacle."
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The RNC — whose former national finance chairman Steve Wynn resigned last year after reports of sexual misconduct with employees — ended February with $31.1 million cash on hand after raising $14.6 million last month; the Democratic National Committee raised $6.5 million and finished the month with $7.5 million cash and $4.6 million in debt.
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