Trump hotels charged his Secret Service protectors 'exorbitant' rates

"The Trump Organization appears to have overcharged the Secret Service for stays at Trump-owned properties by agents protecting the then-president. The charges exceeded the government's approved rate, according to the House Oversight Committee, which says Secret Service records show payments totaling over $1.4 million."

"The exorbitant rates charged to the Secret Service and agents' frequent stays at Trump-owned properties raise significant concerns about the former President's self-dealing and may have resulted in a taxpayer-funded windfall for former President Trump's struggling businesses," Chairwoman Carolyn Maloney wrote in a letter to Kimberly Cheatle, the service's director."

"According to the documents, the Secret Service was charged as much as $1,185 per room per night, nearly five times the government rate, which is set by the General Services Administration."

"This is a far cry from what Trump Organization Executive Vice President Eric Trump claimed in 2020 — that rooms were provided "at cost" to the Secret Service."

Full Article: [npr.org]