Since leaving office, Trump has charged the Secret Service more than $40,000 to use space at Mar-a-Lago
By David A. Fahrenthol and Josh Dawsey
May 21, 2021 at 5:30 a.m. EDT
Former president Donald Trump charged the Secret Service more than $40,000 this spring for rooms that Trump’s own protective detail used while guarding him at his Mar-a-Lago Club, according to federal spending records.
The records show that Trump’s club charged the Secret Service $396.15 every night starting Jan. 20, the day he left the White House and moved full time into his Palm Beach, Fla., club.
Those charges, ultimately paid by taxpayers, continued until at least April 30, the spending records show, for a total of $40,011.15. The charges were for a single room used as a workspace by Secret Service agents, according to one person familiar with the payments.
The Secret Service released spending records up to April 30. Trump stayed at Mar-a-Lago more than a week beyond that before moving his Bedminster, N.J., club for the summer. It was unclear whether he continued to charge the Secret Service into May.
Records documenting the charges were released by the Secret Service in response to a public-records request from The Washington Post. They are the first evidence that Trump has continued a controversial and lucrative practice — charging rent to his own protectors — into his post-presidency.
While he was president, Trump’s properties charged the U.S. government more than $2.5 million, often so that Secret Service agents could use rooms near him.
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Trump’s decision to charge the Secret Service rent appears unusual — both for a sitting president and now for a former one.
Former presidents get Secret Service protection for life. But last year The Washington Post spoke to historians and representatives for recent presidents, and could not find another example of a president charging the Secret Service rent on this scale.
The closest parallel to Trump was the man who succeeded him: Joe Biden. While he was protected as vice president, Biden charged the Secret Service $2,200 per month to use a cottage on his property in Delaware. In total, Biden received $171,600 between 2011 and 2017.
Biden has not charged the Secret Service rent since becoming president in January, a White House spokesman said.
Historians said they were surprised Trump was still charging the Secret Service, considering that ex-presidents are entitled to an array of other taxpayer-funded benefits, including paid staff and a $219,000-per-year pension.
more:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-secret-service-charges/2021/05/20/d328eb5c-9d36-11eb-b7a8-014b14aeb9e4_story.html
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