The following article by Drew Harwell and Amy Brittain was posted on the Washington Post website September 15, 2017:
The Washington Post has obtained a March 2017 receipt for a two-night stay at Mar-a-Lago. Here’s why it matters. (Video: Bastien Inzaurralde/Photo: Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post)
Given the number of high-profile presidential events at Mar-a-Lago, questions about who pays for meals and rooms have generally gone unanswered. When Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe visited in February, the White House made a point of saying that Abe would stay at the club free of charge as a personal guest of Trump.
The March invoice was provided to the advocacy group by the Coast Guard in response to a broader Freedom of Information Act request seeking records on the agency’s expenses related to Trump-affiliated properties. The Coast Guard FOIA office searched the agency’s credit card payment records, which led it to the invoice, according to an explanation provided by the agency. Continue reading “Taxpayers billed $1,092 for an official’s two-night stay at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club”