White House staffers held an expensive private drinking party at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago, and they sent taxpayers the bill.
Trump’s White House Spends Money At Trump’s Club, And Taxpayers Pay The Bill
ProPublica reported on the incident that happened in 2017:
At some point later that evening, a group repaired to Mar-a-Lago’s Library Bar, a wood-paneled study with a portrait of Trump in tennis whites (titled “The Visionaryâ€) hanging nearby. The group asked the bartender to leave the room so it “could speak confidentially,†according to an email written by Mar-a-Lago’s catering director, Brooke Watson.
The Secret Service guarded the door, according to the email. The bartender wasn’t allowed to return. And members of the group began pouring themselves drinks. No one paid. Six days later, on April 13, Mar-a-Lago created a bill for those drinks, tallying $838 worth of alcohol plus a 20% service charge. It covered 54 drinks (making for an average price of $18.62 each) of premium liquor.
To get more stories like this, subscribe to our newsletter The Daily.
The bill was sent to the State Department, which objected to covering it. It was then forwarded to the White House, which paid the tab.
Trump is personally profiting off of the presidency
Trump is using the presidency for personal profit. He is encouraging corruption and waste of taxpayer funds because the money is going into his pocket. Trump’s business brand is in the dumpster thanks to his unpopular and divisive presidency, so your tax dollars are a source of income for Trump. The problem goes beyond a lack of integrity on the part of Trump and people in his administration.
It has been a century since the country has seen a presidency that was built on conflict of interest and cheating the taxpayers like the Trump administration. The corrupt behavior will not stop by itself. With Republicans controlling the Senate legislation to combat the corruption, like H.R. 1 in the House, is going nowhere.
The answer is for voters to say enough and vote Trump and his swamp creature out of DC. America needs a better government than this.
For more discussion about this story join our Rachel Maddow and MSNBC group.
Follow Jason Easley on Facebook
Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
