It pays to be with one of Donald Trump’s adult sons, a new report claims.
The Huffington Post reported that Trump’s re-election campaign has been secretly paying Donald Trump Jr.’s girlfriend and Eric Trump’s wife a total of $180,000 per year each through a private company owned by the president’s campaign manager. The report cited top Republicans with knowledge of the payments who said that Lara Trump, Eric’s wife, and Kimberly Guilfoyle, Donald Jr.’s girlfriend, have been receiving $15,000 per month through campaign manager Brad Parscale’s company, an arrangement that allows the campaign to avoid public reporting on it.
When reached for comment on the payments by The Huffington Post , Parscale did not deny the payments but said that he had the right to dole out the payments as he sees fit.
“I can pay them however I want to pay them,” Parscale said, declining further comment.
But the Republican sources quoted in the report said that Parscale’s payment arrangement allowed the campaign to get around the Federal Election Commission, which requires that all payments be disclosed. One of those sources, former Mitt Romney campaign aide Stuart Stevens, accused the Trump campaign of laundering money through Parscale to pay the significant others.
“That’s why Parscale has the job. He’s a money launderer, not a campaign manager,” Stevens said.
The report noted that Lara Trump had been hired to make appearances and give media interviews on behalf of Donald Trump, and leads “Women for Trump” events. Guilfoyle has also appeared alongside her husband at campaign events and chairs the joint fundraising committee Trump Victory.
This is not the first time that a report has accused Parscale of making payments to the significant others of Eric and Donald Jr. in order to avoid FEC reporting. A March report from The New York Times claimed that the campaign manager was using his company to dole out payments to the family members. The report added that there was some tension between Parscale and Guilfoyle, who reportedly confronted the Trump campaign manager about why her checks were always late.
“Two people who witnessed the encounter said a contrite Mr. Parscale promised that the problem would be sorted out promptly by his wife, Candice Parscale, who handles the books on many of his ventures,” the report claimed.
After leading the Trump campaign’s Facebook ad blitz in 2020, Parscale was given a promotion to campaign manager but has come under fire for allegations of improper spending to pay off those close to the president.
