Trump Bailed Out Devin Nunes’ Winery As Part Of COVID-19 Small Business Relief Program

As small businesses struggle and millions of Americans remain out of work during the coronavirus pandemic, the Trump administration bailed out some of the most well-connected elites in Washington.

Among those who benefited were the family of his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, and one of his most loyal defenders in Congress, Rep. Devin Nunes (R-CA).

According to The Daily Beast, “Rep. Devin Nunes (R-CA), in his most recent financial disclosure filing, reported owning between $50,000 and $100,000 in equity in a California winery, Phase 2 Cellars. That winery received a PPP loan worth between $1 million and $2 million.”

Right-wing media outlets like Newsmax and the Tucker Carlson-founded Daily Caller also cashed in on the small business program.

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More from the report:

Records show $350,000 to $1 million went to Observer Holdings LLC, the parent entity of Observer Media—the publishing company formerly owned by White House Senior Adviser Jared Kushner. Kushner resigned from the news organization before decamping to Washington, D.C. in 2017, but it has remained in the family: Joseph Meyer, wedded to Kushner’s sister, Nicole, lists it among the holdings of his Observer Capital investment firm. The federal assistance preserved 41 jobs, according to the SBA.

The Observer was not the only Kushner family business to take advantage of the PPP program. Two of the family’s New Jersey hotels also cashed in. The SBA materials show that $1 million to $2 million in assistance went to Princeton Forrestal LLC—revealed in Security and Exchange Commission records to be 40 percent owned by the former developer’s mother, brother, and sister. Esplanade Livingston LLC, which owns the land on which the company’s Westminster Hotel sits, received another $350,000 to $1 million. Mortgage documents filed in Essex County, New Jersey show that Esplanade Livingston LLC is controlled by C.K. Livingston LLC, a company that bears the initials of Jared Kushner’s father Charles—and which the former disclosed in 2017 as a source of personal income from the hotel.

Meanwhile, the conservative online media outlet founded by Trump confidante and Fox News host Tucker Carlson, the Daily Caller, received as much as $1 million. Carlson sold his stake in the company on June 10. And Newsmax, the conservative TV network and website owned by another presidential confidante, Christopher Ruddy, got a loan worth $2 million to $5 million.

Trump’s incompetence knows no bounds

Donald Trump’s allies weren’t the only folks who received small business relief funds, The Daily Beast noted.

According to the report, other recipients included conservative anti-tax activist Grover Norquist, a consulting firm run by ex-Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, and even a firm connected to former Obama officials.

In other words, the Trump administration’s incompetence knows no bounds. In this case, it even transcends party lines.

The experiment of electing a former reality TV host president has been a massive failure as Donald Trump is simply incapable of competent governance.

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Sean Colarossi

Sean Colarossi currently resides in Cleveland, Ohio. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and was an organizing fellow for both of President Obama’s presidential campaigns. He also worked with Planned Parenthood as an Affordable Care Act Outreach Organizer in 2014, helping northeast Ohio residents obtain health insurance coverage.