U.S. taxpayers won't just be throwing money down the drain to fund Donald Trump's precious/useless border wall, they'll also be lining Trump's pocket when the Pentagon rents space in Trump Tower. Drew Harwell writes:
The U.S. military agency is “working through appropriate channels . . . to acquire a limited amount of leased space in Trump Tower,” Lt. Col. J.B. Brindle, a Pentagon spokesman, told The Washington Post in a statement late Tuesday. [...]
the prospect of a government agency paying rent to a company owned by the president again raises additional questions about the mingling of Trump’s financial interests with his presidency. Trump led the development of the Fifth Avenue skyscraper in the 1980s and still owns it.
Defense officials would not say what they expected to spend on the space. But CNN, which first reported the news, quoted a leasing agent who estimated renting a floor in Trump Tower can cost about $1.5 million a year.
Trump Organization and White House officials did not respond to requests for comment late Tuesday.
Hmm, cat got your tongue? Yeah, #NoWords over here either.
“I have never heard of a president charging rent to the DOD or any other part of the government so they can be near him on his travels,” said Richard Painter, a former chief White House ethics counsel under George W. Bush who is part of a lawsuit accusing Trump of violating a constitutional ban for his continued ownership interest in a Washington hotel. “He should give them for free a very limited amount of space and they can rent nearby if needed.”