The White House on Thursday threatened The Washington Post after it reported how President Donald Trump’s properties have profited off the U.S. government and bilked taxpayers for at least $900,000 since he took office.
Through his 270 trips to his own clubs, Post reporter David Fahrenthold revealed on Thursday, “Trump has brought the Trump Organization a stream of private revenue from federal agencies and GOP campaign groups. Federal spending records show that taxpayers have paid Trump’s businesses more than $900,000 since he took office. At least $570,000 came as a result of the president’s travel, according to a Post analysis.” Much of that cash came from charging the Secret Service—“captive customers” due to their requirement to be near Trump at all times—with excess fees and forcing them to book rooms even when the president was not scheduled to be at the club.
“The Washington Post is blatantly interfering with the business relationships of the Trump Organization, and it must stop,” White House spokesman Judd Deere said in a statement to the Post, before pivoting to a direct threat: “Please be advised that we are building up a very large ‘dossier’ on the many false David Fahrenthold and others stories as they are a disgrace to journalism and the American people.”
Read it at The Washington Post
