Exclusive: Trump campaign kept paying Kayleigh McEnany after White House hiring

[highplainsdem]

Source: Salon

White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany received $12,000 in payroll payments from the Trump campaign after her official appointment to a position in the Trump administration, as federal election filings examined by Salon show. That would be a clear ethical breach, and could indicate violations of the laws governing campaign finance and payments to political appointees.

The campaign reported the payments on April 16 and May 1, in the amount of McEnany's regular $6,000 biweekly salary, and filed the disbursements as "payroll" expenses. Another filing, viewable here, shows the campaign reimbursed McEnany for $524.57 in travel expenses on May 26.

Prior to joining the administration, McEnany served as spokeswoman for the Trump campaign. The White House released a statement officially naming McEnany as its press secretary on April 8. Though she did not give her first official briefing until May 1, she had already released official statements and spoken on behalf of the White House in media interviews. McEnany confirmed to Salon in a phone interview that April 13 was her official start date at the White House.

"The campaign overpaid me, and I immediately paid them back," McEnany said, claiming that "every penny has been paid back in the overlap."

-snip-

Read more: https://www.salon.com/2020/07/27/exclusive-trump-campaign-kept-paying-kayleigh-mcenany-after-white-house-hiring/

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Salon asked McEnany for proof of this, and she didn't provide any.

Trump campaign spox Tim Murtaugh first insisted on an off the record conversation, and then, when they wouldn't agree to that, sent Salon a statement that he did not back up (and which blamed a separate "payroll provider" though the payment was made directly by the campaign).

The article points out that if McEnany had reimbursed the campaign right away, then the payments to her probably wouldn't have shown up on the FEC filing at all, a month later. The FEC records show the payments but no reimbursement.

The article goes into detail about why this payment would have been illegal.

[George II]

1. Show us the cancelled check. If she paid them back it would have shown up in the filing anyway.

[riversedge]

12. #1

[AleksS]

2. Haven't they done this sort of thing before?

“I paid them back when I got caught, so there’s no crime!”

Wasn’t that one of Donnie’s excuses for one of his crimes?

Funny how that doesn’t work for anyone else...

[Laelth]

3. She said she wouldn't lie.

That should have been our clue. She lies ALL THE TIME.

-Laelth

[sfstaxprep]

4. Grifters Being Grifters nt

I'm sure there will be some repercussions for this. LOL!

[Cracklin Charlie]

5. There would be a receipt of the payback.

Nobody pays 12K without a receipt.

Produce it or face arrest, grifter.

[babylonsister]

6. Sounds paid whoreish to me. nt

[truthisfreedom]

7. Yadda yadda. Non-stop ethical violations. Who is going to hold the administration accountable?

Just get him the hell out. And his entire clown car.

[hamsterjill]

9. +1000

We all know nothing will be done about this. The cards are stacked to protect the guilty.

Less than a hundred days now...

[Midnight Writer]

8. Quick! Call the Attorney General right away! He has to be notified of this!

[mdbl]

10. ROFL

It's not really funny but it made me laugh anyway, thanks

[lagomorph777]

11. MAGAninny is the perfect Trump employee.

Perfectly grifty.