- Jan 7, 2003
- 38,083
- 17,555
- Country
- United States
- Faith
- Unitarian
- Marital Status
- Married
- Politics
- US-Others
Unfortunately for Trump, there are rules about mixing monies. He has to be very careful.
I'm not saying that he has crossed any lines, just that he's skirting mighty close.
The Trump campaign’s most recent financial disclosures show that the self-proclaimed business mogul has a sketchy habit of steering political funds towards his own companies. Through the end of May, the Associated Press noted, Trump's campaign spent approximately $6 million on Trump products and services: nearly 10 percent of all campaign spending....
...“Presidential campaigns generally try to separate themselves from their businesses. What he is doing is unprecedented,” said Larry Noble, general counsel of the Campaign Legal Center. “Using all of your companies to provide services to your campaign—whether it’s illegal or not, that’s questionable… if he’s doing this to enrich himself, it is illegal.”
And there are other potential legal hazards: If a Trump-owned business provides a product at above-market cost, it would enrich Trump, which is illegal; but if that business provides a product at below-market cost, it would be an illegal in-kind corporate donation to the Trump campaign.
Between June 2015 and the end of that year, Trump’s campaign spent $2.2 million on Trump-owned businesses, including on Tag Air Inc., an airline where Trump is the CEO.
Most recently, in May, Trump’s campaign paid more than $400,000 to Mar-a-Lago, his Florida club. He spent money on water with the Trump brand. He snatched up a bunch of Trump wine too.
“If he’s overpaying for that, he’s helping subsidize the company. If he’s underpaying for that, the company is subsidizing him,” Noble said. “That’s why most campaigns stay away from doing this.”
Source: The DailyBeast.com...“Presidential campaigns generally try to separate themselves from their businesses. What he is doing is unprecedented,” said Larry Noble, general counsel of the Campaign Legal Center. “Using all of your companies to provide services to your campaign—whether it’s illegal or not, that’s questionable… if he’s doing this to enrich himself, it is illegal.”
And there are other potential legal hazards: If a Trump-owned business provides a product at above-market cost, it would enrich Trump, which is illegal; but if that business provides a product at below-market cost, it would be an illegal in-kind corporate donation to the Trump campaign.
Between June 2015 and the end of that year, Trump’s campaign spent $2.2 million on Trump-owned businesses, including on Tag Air Inc., an airline where Trump is the CEO.
Most recently, in May, Trump’s campaign paid more than $400,000 to Mar-a-Lago, his Florida club. He spent money on water with the Trump brand. He snatched up a bunch of Trump wine too.
“If he’s overpaying for that, he’s helping subsidize the company. If he’s underpaying for that, the company is subsidizing him,” Noble said. “That’s why most campaigns stay away from doing this.”
I'm not saying that he has crossed any lines, just that he's skirting mighty close.
