![]() ![]() The revelations about the inauguration's finances show how Trump blurred the lines between his political and business lives, as the real estate mogul ascended to the presidency. It is not clear whether any vendors took him up on his request. The vendors felt the request was unusual and concerning, according to these people, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they signed confidentiality agreements. Rick Gates, then the deputy to the chairman of the inaugural, asked some vendors to take payments directly from donors, rather than through the committee, according to two people with direct knowledge. ![]() "The fact that the inaugural committee did business with the Trump Organization raises huge ethical questions about the potential for undue enrichment," said Marcus Owens, the former head of the division of the Internal Revenue Service that oversees nonprofits. The inaugural committee's payments to the Trump Organization and Ivanka Trump's role have not been previously reported or disclosed in public filings. If the Trump hotel charged more than the going rate for the venues, it could violate tax law. A top inaugural planner emailed Ivanka and others at the company to "express my concern" that the hotel was overcharging for its event spaces, worrying of what would happen "when this is audited." The inauguration paid the Trump Organization for rooms, meals and event space at the company's Washington hotel, according to interviews as well as internal emails and receipts reviewed by WNYC and ProPublica.ĭuring the planning, Ivanka Trump, the president-elect's eldest daughter and a senior executive with the Trump Organization, was involved in negotiating the price the hotel charged the 58th Presidential Inaugural Committee for venue rentals. ![]()
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