With East Wing gone, questions now turn to Trump’s ballroom donors

Ethics experts and Democrats say they are eager to know whether private donors behind the planned $300 million ballroom are poised to receive any benefits in return.

Tech companies and defense contractors such as Google, Lockheed Martin and Microsoft, as well as wealthy individuals such as longtime GOP donors Stephen A. Schwarzman and Isaac “Ike” Perlmutter, have collectively covered the cost for Trump’s project, according to a list the White House released Thursday. Many of the firms and individuals have business before the administration, such as seeking future federal contracts or eyeing potential acquisitions.

“It’s very concerning to see them on this list for a project where they don’t have any intrinsic interest,” said Claire Finkelstein, a law professor at the University of Pennsylvania who founded the school’s Center for Ethics and the Rule of Law. Finkelstein said she is eager to learn more about what the companies were told and the specifics of their arrangements. “You don’t want the administration to be a shakedown organization, having the ability to go to private corporations and demand that they turn over money for pet projects,” she said.

...

For full article, click here.

By:  Dan Diamond and Victoria Bisset
Source: Washington Post

• Print
• Email
• Tweet