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Documents published by a commission of the Congress of USA revealed that the private company donald trumpthe Trump Organization, arranged for the Secret Service to pay for rooms at Trump properties for amounts above government-approved rates on at least 40 occasions.
According to the AP agency, In total, the Trump Organization charged the agency responsible for protecting the president of the United States and his family at least 1.4 million dollars. from January 2017 to September 15, 2021. The figure could be higher because they do not include Trump’s properties abroad, where agents accompanied him on several occasions during his Presidency.
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The former president’s hotels charged the Secret Service up to $1,185 a night, more than five times the recommended rate by the Government. These charges continued even after Trump left office, according to the investigation by the Committee on Oversight and Reform of the United States House of Representatives.
The news network NBC News reported that an accounting book, obtained by the committee and published in the report, indicates that the Secret Service paid $1,160 for a room at the Trump International Hotel in Washington, DC for the agents who protected Eric Trump on March 8, 2017, when the rate that night was $242. At the time, the president’s son was promoting a golf tournament at Trump National Golf Club.
The report also mentions that the Secret Service paid room rates of more than $800 a night at least 11 times when agents stayed at Mar-a-Lago, Donald Trump’s Florida mansion; at the Trump Hotel in Washington, DC and at other former president properties.
Another ledger, according to NBC News, shows that the Secret Service paid $1,185 to house agents protecting Donald Trump Jr. on November 8, 2017, when the fee was $201.
The documents show that Trump charged $21,800 to the Secret Service for renting a cabin and several rooms at his club in Bedminster, New Jersey, even though it was closed due to the pandemic. According to the newspaper “The Washington Post”, the president did not visit the club at that time, but his daughter Ivanka did. There she was with relatives over Easter despite stay-at-home orders in both Washington and New Jersey.
The president of the parliamentary committee, Carolyn Maloneydetailed the findings in a letter to Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle, noting that the then-president assured that federal employees traveling with him would stay at his properties for free or at retail price.
“The exorbitant fees charged to the Secret Service and the agents’ frequent stays at Trump properties raise significant concerns about the former president’s self-management and could have led to a taxpayer-funded windfall for the former president’s ailing businesses.” , said Maloney.
NBC News also reported that during his tenure, Trump visited his properties 547 times, 145 of the trips were to Mar-a-Lago in Florida.
The agents of Secret Service They had to stay on property owned by the Trump Organization to protect the president, other officials and foreign leaders.
The Trump Organization denied that the charges to the Secret Service been a problem, noting that it provided rooms and other services at cost, heavily discounted, or free.
“The Trump family is probably the first family in American history that has not benefited from the United States government,” Eric Trump, son of the former president, said in a statement. “President Trump financed most of his campaign with hundreds of millions of dollars of his own money and turned his back on billions of dollars in real estate deals around the world.”
According to the congressional committee, travel expenses Secret Service they are typically based on a formula that takes into account season and location, with higher rates vetted by the agency.
“The Secret Service has been authorized for additional spending flexibility during protection missions, including per diem above the government rate.”Maloney said in his letter to the Secret Service.
Source: Elcomercio
I, Ronald Payne, am a journalist and author who dedicated his life to telling the stories that need to be said. I have over 7 years of experience as a reporter and editor, covering everything from politics to business to crime.
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