Taxpayers are directly enriching the Trump family's businesses, sometimes even footing the bill for rooms no one is using, The Washington Post reports
It's no secret President Trump likes to visit his Trump Organization properties when he travels, and makes frequent visits to his Mar-a-Lago resort. So frequent, the Post reports, that the Secret Service rents out rooms at Mar-a-Lago when Trump isn't even there, just in case he makes a surprise visit.
The Secret Service's careful planning stems from a snub at Mar-a-Lago early in Trump's presidency, records and emails obtained by the Post reveal. The agents tasked with protecting Trump were trying to book a room near the president a few days in advance of a March 2017 trip, but were told they were all booked up. "I do have a Beach Cabana available ... across the street at the Beach Club," a Mar-a-Lago staffer emailed to the Secret Service.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.
Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.
Latest Videos FromThe Week
From then on, the Secret Service booked rooms at Mar-a-Lago for two weeks at a time. "The agency was paying for rooms on nights when Trump wasn't even visiting — to be ready just in case Trump decided to go," the Post reports via a former Trump administration official. And it paid off for the Trump Organization. Taxpayers have covered more than $900,000 spent at Trump's businesses during his presidency, $570,000 of it stemming from Trump's travel.
White House spokesperson Judd Deere told the Post that it is "blatantly interfering with the business relationships of the Trump Organization." "We are building up a very large 'dossier' on the many false David Fahrenthold and others' stories," Deere said in a statement, referring to one of the Post reporters investigating Trump's businesses. Read more at The Washington Post.
