Trump inaugural committee sued for misusing $1 million in charitable funds
The lawsuit is the latest blow to Trump’s inaugural committee, which is under federal investigation for accepting foreign money, a violation of campaign finance law.
The attorney general of the District of Columbia sued Donald Trump’s inaugural committee on Wednesday, claiming the committee spent $1 million on a ballroom and catering at Trump’s Washington, D.C., hotel in violation of its nonprofit status, the Washington Post reported.
In the lawsuit, Karl A. Racine wrote that the committee “violated District law when it wasted approximately $1 million of charitable funds in overpayment for the use of event space at the Trump hotel.” D.C. law prohibits nonprofit organizations from making profits for private individuals — in this case, Trump, who owns the D.C. hotel, where the committee spent the money.
Racine said that the inaugural committee spent $175,000 per day on the ballroom — which Racine said the committee barely used — and more than $300,000 in food and beverage, even though the committee’s own event planner objected to the cost being above market value. Emails from December 2018 show that first daughter Ivanka Trump allegedly knew the committee was being overcharged for the space.
“These charges were unreasonable and improperly served to enrich” Trump’s business, Racine wrote in the complaint.
This is just the latest trouble for Trump’s inaugural committee, which as of last May was under federal investigation for multiple alleged infractions. The committee is accused both of accepting contributions from foreign individuals in violation of federal campaign finance law and promising policy concessions or access to major inauguration donors.
Congress is also probing why a close friend of first lady Melania Trump earned $1.6 million from working for the committee.
Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation.
Recommended
Biden calls for expanded child tax credit, taxes on wealthy in $7.2 trillion budget plan
President Joe Biden released his budget request for the upcoming fiscal year Monday, calling on Congress to stick to the spending agreement brokered last year and to revamp tax laws so that the “wealthy pay their fair share.”
By Jennifer Shutt, States Newsroom - March 11, 2024Biden rallies Democrats in Las Vegas: ‘Imagine the nightmare’ if Trump reelected
With a primary win all but inevitable, President Joe Biden used his Sunday appearance in Las Vegas’s Historic Westside to rally his most vocal supporters in a battleground state that delivered for him four years ago.
By April Corbin Girnus, Nevada Current - February 05, 2024UAW delivers rousing presidential endorsement for Biden over ‘scab’ Trump
The United Auto Workers of America endorsed the re-election of President Joe Biden Wednesday, just months after he became the first sitting U.S. president to walk a picket line with striking autoworkers in Michigan.
By Ashley Murray, States Newsroom - January 24, 2024