A super PAC aligned with former President Donald J. Trump paid Melania Trump $155,000 in late 2021, an unusual payment that was not visible in the group’s initial federal filings and only came to light in a filing by Mr. . Trump on Thursday.
The money was listed as payment for a “speaking engagement” by Mrs Trump in the new filing, a personal financial disclosure by Mr Trump. The $155,000 payment was made in December 2021 to Make America Great Again, Again, which at the time was Mr. trump
Mrs. Trump’s name, however, did not appear on the super PAC’s spending list, which was made public last year.
Instead, the super PAC’s report showed two payments, for $125,000 and $30,000, to “Designer’s Management Agency,” which lists Ms. Trump as a client on your website. Payments were made on December 2 and 3, 2021; in the new disclosure, Mr. Trump reported that Ms. Trump received a $155,000 payment on December 2, 2021.
In the super PAC’s filing, those two payments were labeled as “event planning and consulting,” according to Federal Election Commission records. Federal rules are generally lax when it comes to requiring disclosure of the final destination of the money. Instead, committees must disclose only the first paid seller.
It is rare for the spouse of a potential presidential candidate to be paid directly by a campaign or outside group affiliated with the candidate.
The super PAC has since folded and in late 2022 transferred $8.9 million to a new pro-Trump super PAC called Make America Great Again Inc.
Charles Gantt, who served as treasurer of the former super PAC, said it had “complied with all applicable reporting obligations.”
A representative of the new group, who declined to be identified by name, said Ms. Trump had been hired through her agency for “design consulting” for the former super PAC’s dinner and that the her responsibilities included choosing crockery, arranging settings, and choosing flowers. repairs. The fee was $125,000, and the second payment of $30,000 was for additional services provided outside the scope of the first contract, the representative said.
The super PAC representative said the group did not know how much of the money Ms. Trump would receive from the agency.
The campaign of Mr. Trump did not immediately respond to a request for comment, and a representative for Ms. Trump did not immediately respond to an email. Pam Bondi, who served at the time as president of Make America Great Again, Again, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The December 2021 payment to Ms. Trump coincided with a private fundraising dinner the super PAC held at Mar-a-Lago, attended by Mr. trump Dinner seats sold for $125,000 each and $250,000 for a couple.
Trump-aligned groups and candidates have repeatedly held events at his private club in Florida. The super PAC Make America Great Again, Again spent more than $350,000 at Mar-a-Lago in 2021 and 2022.
The payments to Ms. Trump were not listed on the first financial disclosure form covering Mr. Trump’s candidacy. Trump for 2024 that he presented this spring, but they were among several payments for interventions by Ms. Trump in 2021 and 2022 which were recently added, along with other revisions.
Among the other fees Ms. Trump reported receiving were a $250,000 payment from Log Cabin Republicans in December 2022 and a $250,000 payment the next day from Fix California, a group founded by Richard Grenell, a former top Trump administration official and close ally. of the president
It is not the first time that a political committee linked to Mr. Trump makes a payment related to his wife. Mrs Trump’s stylist was paid $132,000 in 2022 by Save America, a political action committee that became the vehicle to park tens of millions of dollars raised by Mr Trump in the weeks after the election of 2020. Because he made false claims of widespread voter fraud, he received small contributions from supporters who wanted to help him fight to stay in office.
Save America paid for some of Mr. Trump after leaving office, and the group has given money to help other candidates. But a significant portion of that money has gone to legal fees for Mr. Trump and some witnesses in cases against him.
The PAC started the year with $18 million, and the amount of donor money going to it through a joint fundraising committee with the campaign recently increased tenfold, The New Yorker reported Times.
The financial disclosure filing also provides new details about Mr. Trump and his considerable wealth.
For example, he earned more than $12 million in fees, including an appearance at an event in Florida on the 20th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, the filing shows.
Mrs. Trump received $250,000 in licensing fees from Winning Team Publishing, an entity co-founded by Mr. Trump’s eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., which has a deal with the former president and has published two books related to him.
