By Steve Neavling
ticklethewire.com
The Secret Service has dished out $1.1 million to stay at President Trump’s properties since he took office, The Washington Post reports.
The Secret Service was even charged $21,800 to rent a cottage and other rooms for staying at Trump’s Bedminster, N.J., club while it was closed due to the coronavirus pandemic. It wasn’t clear why the Secret Service was there, but Trump’s daughter Ivanka Trump is believed to have stayed there at least once to celebrate Passover with her family.
The Washington Post reports:
When Trump and his family members visit Trump properties, aides and Secret Service agents follow. When those federal employees rent rooms, Trump’s businesses get the revenue. Taxpayers foot the bill.
The bills are usually paid in private, with no public disclosure. The government has not disclosed how much it has paid the Trump Organization in total. Instead, The Post has tried to create an accounting of these payments, one receipt at a time, using public-records requests and lawsuits
“The waste inherent in this is appalling,” Lisa Gilbert, executive vice president at the watchdog group Public Citizen, said of the Trump Organization’s charges.
