Sanders, Noem raised funds for campaigns, Trump

Mar 13, 2021

Arkansas gubernatorial aspirant and South Dakota incumbent threw fundraisers at Trump’s resort

The past two weekends, candidates for governor in states other than Florida raised funds for their campaigns at Mar-a-Lago. By booking Donald J. Trump’s Palm Beach club-cum-home, the candidates ensured a payday for the influential former president.

On Friday night, former White House spokesperson and current candidate for Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders held a fundraising dinner at Mar-a-Lago.

And like a boomerang, last weekend South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem (R) returned to one of the former president’s Florida properties. This time Noem was at Mar-a-Lago to also raise money for her own campaign, reported Paul Steinhauser for Fox News.

Spotted at Noem’s fundraiser were two other politicians who’d benefit from being in the former president and venue owner’s good graces: GOP candidates for U.S. House seats George Santos (New York) and Dan Rodimer (Texas).

The Trump Store’s out of a $36 President Trump-themed baseball hat

Three weeks after it debuted on the Trump Organization’s online store, a white $36 ball cap pegged to the Trump presidency is no longer available.

It’s not clear if the hat sold out or if it’s no longer available for other reasons (Supplier issues? Second thoughts about profiting off of the presidency?). The hat, however, does appear on the website’s page of best sellers. Meanwhile the red version of the hat remains in stock.

The hats are part of the Trump Org’s T45 Collection, an entire new product line pegged to the Trump presidency.

Representatives from the Trump Organization have not responded to 1100 Pennsylvania’s inquiry about why the hat is no longer available.

FEC slapped two more fines on PAC that failed to disclose its Mar-a-Lago spending

This week the Federal Election Commission disclosed that earlier in February it fined the American Pro-Israel PAC for failing to submit its 2019 year-end and 2020 first quarter reports.

The penalties are in addition to the fine the FEC assessed the PAC for failing to submit its 2019 mid-year report—a filing that should have included two large disbursements at Mar-a-Lago for galas the PAC hosted there in March and May of that year. (1100 Pennsylvania reported about that previous fine on Monday).

The three penalties total $19,623.

The American Pro-Israel PAC’s treasurer, Jeanne Sullivan, has not replied to multiple requests for details about its spending at Mar-a-Lago and failure to file its FEC reports.

For more details about the PAC’s galas at Mar-a-Lago, check out the March 13, 2019 and May 15, 2019 issues of 1100 Pennsylvania.

Other notable sightings

A glimpse of the foreign officials, government employees, politicians, lobbyists, and the like who patronize or appear at Trump businesses. Most people shown here have reasons to want to influence the former president, rely on his good graces for their livelihoods, or should have been providing oversight. Additionally, high-profile guests serve as draws for paying customers.

The former president entertained Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) at Mar-a-Lago. Scott also chairs the National Republican Senate Committee, which works to elect members of that party to the chamber.

Another Mar-a-Lago customer enjoyed dining in the presence of a former president (and Jon Voight).

The Trump Hotel D.C.’s managing director and former Trump political appointee, Victoria Barton displayed some chummy bonhomie (and seemed to tease a future Trump Hotel Dallas).

Other Trump Organization news

“Can Cyrus Vance, Jr., nail Trump?” by Jane Mayer for The New Yorker
“NYC prosecutors’ probe into Trump finances expands to include millions loaned for Chicago skyscraper” by Kara Scannell for CNN
“Trump has left the building! Ex-president departs his Manhattan skyscraper for return trip to Mar-a-Lago after spending two days holed up inside ‘looking under the hood’ of his businesses amid NY DA probe” by Frances Mulraney for The Daily Mail
“Trump, hungry for power, tries to wrestle away G.O.P. fund-raising” by Annie Karni and Maggie Haberman for The New York Times
“RNC moves portion of its spring donor retreat to Trump’s Mar-a-Lago Club” by Josh Dawsey for The Washington Post
“Amid GOP's civil war, Trump holds court — and his grip on GOP — at Mar-a-Lago” by for The Palm beach Post
“Mar-a-Lago member Bruce Moskowitz had contacts with the White House and CMS” by government watchdog Citizens for Responsiblity and Ethics in Washington
“Trump’s first Asian resort project in Indonesia hits a snag” by Edwida Maulia for Nikkei Asia
“Trump’s next challenge is to turn 74 million believers into buyers” by Max Abelson and Sophie Alexander for Bloomberg
“Foreign embassy leases Kalorama home formerly occupied by Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump” by Daniel J. Sernovitz or Washington Business Journal
“Sterling man charged with assaulting protesters at Trump Golf Club donates $3K to NAACP Scholarship Fund” by Nathaniel Cline for The Loudon Times-Mirror

Reference section

Links to rundowns of developments in the House’s investigations and lawsuits, reference sheets for some of 1100 Pennsylvania’s previous reporting, and articles that provide the background on why all of this matters. The date published or last updated is in parentheses.

Trackers

House investigations (Dec. 20, 2020)
Lawsuits (Jan. 26, 2021)
Breakdown of judges’ rulings by political party of presidents who nominated them (July 13, 2020)
Health inspections (Oct. 6, 2020)
COVID-19 bailouts and charity (Nov. 30, 2020)

Notable hotel customers

Foreign governments with representatives spotted at the Trump Hotel D.C.: 33 (Sept. 22, 2020)
Trump cabinet members spotted at the Trump Hotel D.C.: 28 of 37 (Jan 21, 2021)
U.S. Senators who’ve supported the Trump Hotel D.C.: 35 of 65 Republicans, one Democrat (Jan. 21, 2021)
House Judiciary members who’ve supported the Trump Hotel D.C.: Seven of 17 Republicans, no Democrats (Sept. 25, 2020)
House Intelligence members who’ve supported the Trump Hotel D.C.: Four of eight Republicans, no Democrats (June 1, 2020)
House Oversight members who’ve supported the Trump Hotel D.C.: Nine of 17 Republicans, no Democrats (Aug. 2, 2020)
House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure’s Subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Buildings, and Emergency Management who’ve supported the Trump Hotel D.C.: Four out of six Republicans, one Democrat (July 1, 2020)
Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R–CA) found Trump’s hotels competitive only after Trump’s election (Sept. 12, 2019)
Rudy Giuliani at the Trump Hotel D.C: A retrospective (April 30, 2019)

Summaries

“Stay to play: Inside the sordid history of Trump’s D.C. hotel—And why the president’s prized property could be headed for a reckoning” by your correspondent for Mother Jones (September 2020)
“Power tripping in the swamp: How Trump’s D.C. hotel swallowed Washington
The MAGA social scene is a movable feast, but its dark heart resides within the Old Post Office Building, where the Trump Org operates under a mercenary charter” by your correspondent for Vanity Fair (October 2019)
“Inside the world’s most controversial hotel: The hotel that was expected to take its place among the crown jewels of D.C.’s travel scene has become a magnet for protestors, a West Wing Annex, and—possibly—the center of a constitutional crisis.” by your correspondent for Condé Nast Traveler (May 2018)

Upcoming key dates

Sept. 23, 2019—House Judiciary Committee hearing “Presidential corruption: Emoluments and profiting off the presidency” (postponed, not yet rescheduled)

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