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On the day Trump became President of the U.S., while Inauguration Festivities were still in full swing, he Officially launched his 2020 Reelection Campaign. Donations poured in from more than 50,000 People across the Country. But according to the latest Federal Filings, Trump still has not Donated a Penny of his Own, while his Businesses continues to Charge the Campaign for Hotels, Food, Rent, and Legal Consulting. That means the Richest President in American History has turned $1.1 Million from Donors across the Country into Revenue for himself.

It wasn’t always this way. From April 2015 to June 2016, Trump put $50 Million of his own Money into his Campaign, while running a famously Frugal Operation. When Outsiders started Paying the vast Majority of his Expenses in July 2016, he loosened the Purse Strings a bit, funneling more Money to his Own Companies and stemming his Personal Losses. Now that he is apparently not Donating anything to the 2020 effort, Trump seems to be getting a Small Payback on his Investment.

Trump Tower Commercial LLC, an entity owned 100% by the President, has Charged the Reelection Campaign $665,000 in Rent, according to Federal Filings. The Republican National Committee (RNC) also Coordinated with the Campaign to Pay him an additional $225,000 in Rent. An RNC Official declined to say exactly how much Space they Leased inside Trump Tower.

But it appears to be plenty. Leading up to the 2016 Election, the President’s Campaign paid an average of $2,700 in Monthly Trump Tower Rent for Every Person Listed in Campaign Filings as receiving a “Payroll” Payment. The 2020 Operation, by contrast, is Shelling out an average of $6,300 in Monthly Rent for every such Person.

Then there are the Payments flowing into Trump Plaza LLC, a Trump-owned entity that has taken in $42,000 of Campaign Money since November 2017. Although Federal Filings list the purpose of those Payments as “Rent,” it is difficult to tell what the Campaign is actually Renting. Trump Plaza LLC controls a Retail Space, Garage, and Two Brownstones near Third Avenue in New York City. The Retail Space at Trump Plaza shows No Signs of Campaign Activity, and a Non-Trump Company seems to Sub-Lease the Garage from Trump Plaza LLC, leaving just the Two Brownstones. But they are not Open to the Public, making it difficult to see who the Tenants are, and whether they include the President’s Campaign.

Is the Trump Campaign simply funneling Money into the President’s Business and getting nothing in return? That seems unlikely. One Person who worked on the 2016 Campaign said Staffers sometimes crashed at Trump Plaza when they were in Town. If that’s the reason for the Payments, it would be an Unconventional Arrangement. The Campaign could, of course, Pay for Hotel Rooms, although that would Not Guarantee a Steady Stream of Rent for the President.

From November 2017 to August 2018, the Trump Campaign paid Trump Plaza LLC an average of $4,200 per Month. The Real Estate website StreetEasy lists recent Rentals in the Building for $3,700 to $3,850 per month. Candidates are Permitted to do Business with their Own Companies only if they Pay Fair-Market prices.

There are other Campaign Payments that raise Suspicions. One Month after Robert Mueller was appointed Special Counsel to Investigate Russian Interference in the 2016 Election, the Campaign paid the Trump Corporation, another one of the President’s Companies, $90,000 in “Legal Consulting” Expenses, according to Federal Records. It is not clear what Legal Services Trump’s Company provided the Campaign, or what Rate it Charged for the Work.

Trump’s 2020 Campaign also spent about $120,000 at the President’s Hotel in Washington, D.C. And the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas got $15,000 of Campaign Money in February 2017.

“This is extremely unusual,” says Ann Ravel, a Democrat who left her Post as a Commissioner of the FEC shortly after Trump’s Inauguration. “There is always a concern when you’re looking at expenditures as to whether those expenditures are being used for personal use, for personal purposes, because that’s illegal. And there is, in my opinion, a fine line here with so much money being utilized for economic benefit for the candidate himself.”










NYC Wins When Everyone Can Vote! Michael H. Drucker