Tag: Trump grift

Former Trump official: President will face legal jeopardy for campaign cash that went to his businesses

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On MSNBC Saturday, former White House Communications Director Anthony Scaramucci predicted that President Donald Trump will face legal and political consequences for the newly reported scheme in which he and his son-in-law Jared Kushner allegedly skimmed money from the campaign through a shell company to enrich the family businesses.

“Of course he knows he’s lost,” said Scaramucci, who famously served in the Trump administration only ten days before being fired. “He’s already planning possibly a television show, a network. Lots of things to do when he leaves. And he’s bundled a tremendous amount of money, over $250 million bundled. He’s going to have to answer for the shell companies inside the campaign, and the disappearance of some of that money.”

“I don’t see him as a political force going forward,” continued Scaramucci. “I think he’ll have too many things to do. There’ll be legal consequences to some of his actions. There’s ongoing investigations in New York. And I think he’s going to be distracted, as his political power wanes, distracted. Remember, whether Secretary Pompeo or others, ten or so younger men and women that look in the mirror every morning and see a future president in his party. They’re going to come after him very hard once he leaves power.” Continue reading.

Oops: Jared Kushner Reportedly Created a Shell Company to Secretly Pay Trump Family Members and Spend Half the Campaign’s Cash

And first daughter-in-law Lara Trump was the president.

Donald Trump and his family have spent the last four years making the airtight case that they view the presidency as simply a means to enrich themselves and their associates. They probably don’t particularly like that reputation and, yet, it hasn’t stopped them from funneling taxpayer money to their private business, gouging the Secret Service, and raising legal defense funds that the fine print says could go directly to their pockets. Oh, and, according to a new report, setting up a shell company that spent hundreds of millions of campaign dollars to pay Trump family members along with other expenditures it seemingly wanted to keep under wraps.

According to Business Insider, first son-in-law Jared Kushnerpersonally approved the creation of the company, incorporated as American Made Media Consultants Corp. and American Made Media Consultants LLC, in April 2018. From there, Eric Trump’s wife, Lara Trump, was named president, with Mike Pence’s nephew John Pence serving as vice president. If you’re wondering why the shell company, described as Business Insider as acting “almost like a campaign within a campaign” was necessary, well, it’s not entirely clear, but it sure sounds like the express purpose was the ability to shield “financial and operational details from public scrutiny,” as it allowed the campaign to avoid federally mandated disclosures concerning what it was spending considerable amounts of money on. And by considerable we mean nearly half of the $1.26 billion raised for Trump’s reelection. Which seems like a lot!

Within the larger campaign, some leaders told Business Insider they were in the dark regarding the AMMC arrangement, saying that they were generally aware the company was used to purchase TV, radio, and digital advertising but had no idea exactly how much each vendor was keeping for itself. While some advisers have accused former campaign manager Brad Parscale of mismanaging money, the bulk of the cash spent by AMMC—$415 million—occurred after Parscale was fired on July 15. (Parscale has defended his spending as campaign manager.) Continue reading.

Scoop: O’Brien takes wife on COVID-era tour of Europe

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National security adviser Robert O’Brien is taking his wife on a holiday tour of the romantic Mediterranean and European capitals, including seeking a private tour of the Louvre despite it being closed because of coronavirus restrictions, people familiar with the trip tell Axios.

Why it matters: The White House announced the Paris stop shortly after an inquiry from Axios, but the entirety of the trip — which also includes stops in Tel Aviv, Rome and London — is causing consternation among O’Brien’s hosts and questions about the need for his wife to tag along.

The White House announced Sunday that O’Brien would be traveling to Paris on Monday to lead a U.S. delegation to the 60th anniversary of the signing of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development Convention. The release did not detail that O’Brien’s wife, Lo-Mari, would be joining him. Continue reading.

Trump allies in Wisconsin legislature are stiffing Dane, Milwaukee Co’s $3 million recount costs

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It appears that the Trump campaign’s promise to pay for the work of Wisconsin ballot workers for the added costs incurred in unnecessary and pointless vote recounts Trump demanded as part of his futile effort to overturn the 2020 election has gone the way of that equally imaginary $200 “Medicare Card” promised to seniors, just before they went to the polls in November.

As reported in the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel:

MADISON – The Republican-led Legislature’s budget committee is holding up reimbursements to two counties for their recount costs.

President Donald Trump’s campaign paid $3 million for recounts in Dane and Milwaukee counties, Wisconsin’s two most Democratic areas.

But two top Republicans said Friday they were withholding the money from the counties for now. They did not explain why.

Continue reading.

Trump Moved $2.7 Million Of Campaign-Donor Money Into His Business Before Election Day


Political campaigns don’t tend to be moneymaking ventures for billionaires. Just ask Mike Bloomberg, who shelled out $1.1 billion on his unsuccessful presidential bid this year. Or Tom Steyer, who spent $342 million on his. Or Ross Perot, who blew about $75 millionon two failed campaigns in the 1990s. Or even Donald Trump, who contributed $66 million to his 2016 run.

Once Trump arrived in Washington, however, he upended tradition. On the day of his inauguration, Trump filed paperwork for his reelection, allowing himself to continue raising money from supporters while he served. As other people filled his campaign coffers, Trump sat back and watched, never donating to the reelection effort. Instead, he did the opposite, taking money out of his campaign by charging for things like rent, food, lodging and legal expenses. In doing so, the president managed to shift $2.7 million from his supporters to his businesses between his first day in office in 2017 and Election Day in 2020, according to an analysis of Federal Election Commission filings. 

The $2.7 million represents a tiny sliver of the $785 millionthat the Trump campaign took in from January 2017 to November 2020. It remains a mystery why Trump, who is worth an estimated $2.5 billion, didn’t just cover the costs by making a donation. Continue reading.

Democratic lawmakers have no plans to drop multiple lawsuits filed against Trump once he leaves office: CNN

Any hope that Donald Trump may have had that Democratic lawmakers were willing to move on and ignore the possible illegalities committed during his four years in the White House has been put to rest as a top Democrat stated they have no interest in dropping a multitude of lawsuits that have been filed against the president.

With the president already looking at possible criminal indictments being filed against him and his family by New York Attorney General Letitia James and Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr., his life after leaving the Oval Office promises to be filled with depositions and increasing legal peril.

That includes lawsuits filed by House Democrats that won’t disappear after January 20th. Continue reading.

Trump campaign committees spent $1.1 million at Trump properties in the last days of his losing campaign

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President Trump’s campaign and its affiliated committees spent more than $1.1 million at Trump’s own properties in the last weeks of the 2020 campaign — continuing a pattern of self-enrichment in which Trump has converted $6.7 million from his campaign donors into revenue for his businesses since taking office, new campaign finance filings show.

The filings from Trump Victory — a fundraising committee managed by Trump’s campaign and the Republican National Committee — show $1.06 million in new spending at Trump properties in September, October and November. Trump’s own campaign, which files a separate spending report, reported spending another $66,000.

The filings don’t give much detail about the payments. Some appeared to be overnight stays at Trump hotels, costing a few hundred dollars each. There were several bills in excess of $100,000 for facility rental and catering — which likely included rentals of ballrooms for fundraisers or meetings at Trump properties. But the forms don’t say which Trump property was rented, or when. Continue reading.

Talk of self-pardon for Trump heats up

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Chatter about President Trump‘s pardon plans is heating up, with top allies to the president publicly calling for him to preemptively grant clemency to confidants, family members and even himself.

In just 50 days, President-elect Joe Biden will be sworn in as president, exposing Trump to a significant legal liability that comes when a president leaves the Oval Office.

Fox News host Sean Hannity, who has frequently had the president’s ear, urged Trump on Monday to issue a self-pardon, framing it as a way to protect himself from politically-motivated charges. Continue reading.

‘All about the grift’: Trump raises over $150 million for ‘election defense fund’

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After bombarding supporters daily with emails blaring lies about the election and soliciting donations to overcome virtually non-existent voter fraud, President Donald Trump’s political operation has reportedly raised more than $150 million since November 3, a staggering windfall that is being funneled into a Republican joint fundraising committee and a Trump PAC established to fuel his post-White House activities.

While the Trump team’s aggressive emails—sometimes as many as 15 per day—purport to be raising money for an “Official Election Defense Fund” set up to finance the president’s flailing legal effort to overturn the election, the fund does not exist.

“There is no such account,” the Washington Post reported late Monday. “The fundraising requests are being made by the Trump Make America Great Again Committee, a joint fundraising committee that raises money for the Trump campaign and the Republican National Committee. As of November 18, that committee also shares its funds with Save America, a new leadership PAC that Trump set up in early November and which he can use to fund his post-presidency activities.” Continue reading.

What the Trump family’s new political committees can and can’t do

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One of the richest political action committees in the country is under the control of someone who will soon not be an elected official at all.

President Trump’s Save America PAC will be one of the primary beneficiaries of his campaign’s effort to wring every possible dollar out of his futile effort to overturn the results of the presidential contest. That effort generated $150 million in contributions over the course of November, more than Trump’s joint fundraising committee with the Republican National Committee raised in the second quarter of 2020. Not all that money goes to the Save America PAC, but a large chunk of it will.

The president isn’t the only Trump who appears to be exploring the boundaries of campaign fundraising. Aides to his son Donald Trump Jr. have formed a political action committee called Save the U.S. Senate PAC that is focused on the runoff elections in Georgia in early January. It will produce ads starring Trump Jr. that aim to boost turnout for the contests. Continue reading.