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How the Trump hotel changed Washington's culture of influence
Retweeted by David Fahrenthold: https://twitter.com/Fahrenthold
I'm really proud of this story. It's about how one building has redefined how Washington works.
Link to tweet
...and how governmental authority has been abused for private gain. This story is worth a read.
Link to tweet
How the Trump hotel changed Washington’s culture of influence
The hotel’s managers press conservative, Republican and Christian groups to do business where they can rub shoulders with Trump’s Cabinet.
By Jonathan O'Connell Aug. 7, 2017
....
This is nothing Washington has ever seen. For the first time in presidential history, a profit-making venture touts the name of a U.S. president in its gold signage. And every cup of coffee served, every fundraiser scheduled, every filet mignon ordered feeds the revenue of the Trump family’s private business.
In conversations with The Washington Post, the hotel’s management described its strategy to capitalize on the president’s popularity. It markets the hotel to Republican and conservative groups that embrace Trump’s politics but takes care not to solicit business from fringe groups that would embarrass the president. Trump supporters in red “Make America Great Again” caps get a chance to rub elbows with White House officials against an American flag backdrop at the Benjamin Bar, where a signature concoction of winter wheat vodka, oysters and caviar goes for $100.
....
No one has yet calculated how much taxpayer money is being spent at the hotel. A Texas newspaper is seeking records of state expenditures at the hotel. In Maine, the Portland Press Herald dug into Republican Gov. Paul LePage’s spending at the hotel when in Washington for White House meetings. LePage’s spokesman defended the expenditures, telling the newspaper that the governor was meeting with federal officials “in an effort to benefit the Maine people.”
....
About this story
Unlike money spent lobbying the government or supporting a political campaign, there is no public record of who books business at Trump's D.C. hotel. Since his election, information has come out in dribs and drabs. So the Post made its own log -- as best it could -- by sending a reporter to the hotel every day for the month of May to try to identify the people and organizations patronizing his property.
Post staffers Amy Brittain, Shawn Boburg, Aaron Davis, Karoun Demirjian, Kayla Epstein, Matea Gold, Tom Hamburger, Drew Harwell, Abigail Hauslohner, Emily Heil, Rosalind S. Helderman, Jenna Johnson, Mary Jordan, Michelle Ye Hee Lee, Danielle Paquette, Abby Phillip, Jenna Portnoy, Steven Rich and Perry Stein contributed to this report.
Graphics by Darla Cameron and Aaron Steckelberg. Video by Claritza Jimenez, Osman Malik and Jonathan O'Connell. Design and development by Courtney Kan.
The hotel’s managers press conservative, Republican and Christian groups to do business where they can rub shoulders with Trump’s Cabinet.
By Jonathan O'Connell Aug. 7, 2017
....
This is nothing Washington has ever seen. For the first time in presidential history, a profit-making venture touts the name of a U.S. president in its gold signage. And every cup of coffee served, every fundraiser scheduled, every filet mignon ordered feeds the revenue of the Trump family’s private business.
In conversations with The Washington Post, the hotel’s management described its strategy to capitalize on the president’s popularity. It markets the hotel to Republican and conservative groups that embrace Trump’s politics but takes care not to solicit business from fringe groups that would embarrass the president. Trump supporters in red “Make America Great Again” caps get a chance to rub elbows with White House officials against an American flag backdrop at the Benjamin Bar, where a signature concoction of winter wheat vodka, oysters and caviar goes for $100.
....
No one has yet calculated how much taxpayer money is being spent at the hotel. A Texas newspaper is seeking records of state expenditures at the hotel. In Maine, the Portland Press Herald dug into Republican Gov. Paul LePage’s spending at the hotel when in Washington for White House meetings. LePage’s spokesman defended the expenditures, telling the newspaper that the governor was meeting with federal officials “in an effort to benefit the Maine people.”
....
About this story
Unlike money spent lobbying the government or supporting a political campaign, there is no public record of who books business at Trump's D.C. hotel. Since his election, information has come out in dribs and drabs. So the Post made its own log -- as best it could -- by sending a reporter to the hotel every day for the month of May to try to identify the people and organizations patronizing his property.
Post staffers Amy Brittain, Shawn Boburg, Aaron Davis, Karoun Demirjian, Kayla Epstein, Matea Gold, Tom Hamburger, Drew Harwell, Abigail Hauslohner, Emily Heil, Rosalind S. Helderman, Jenna Johnson, Mary Jordan, Michelle Ye Hee Lee, Danielle Paquette, Abby Phillip, Jenna Portnoy, Steven Rich and Perry Stein contributed to this report.
Graphics by Darla Cameron and Aaron Steckelberg. Video by Claritza Jimenez, Osman Malik and Jonathan O'Connell. Design and development by Courtney Kan.
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