The Daily Beast Latest Articles | Trump’s Secret Agreement for His Tacky Ballroom Revealed by Leigh Kimmins
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The Washington Post reports that President Donald Trump approved a secretive, multimillion‑dollar White House ballroom renovation, knowing two months in advance that the East Wing would be demolished but not disclosing the plan publicly; construction began in September and a contract was signed in early October just before demolition started. Public Citizen sued to obtain the contract after the National Park Service and Interior Department ignored records requests, and a judge called the arrangement a “Rube Goldberg contraption” designed to evade congressional oversight. The agreement exempts the president, White House officials, and executive agencies from conflict‑of‑interest reviews, allowing dozens of major donors—including Amazon, Lockheed Martin, Palantir, and Google—to contribute anonymously despite holding billions in federal contracts. Critics such as Senators Elizabeth Warren and Richard Blumenthal, law professor Kathleen Clark, and former congressional contractor Charles Tiefer say the anonymity and procedural loopholes are intended to hide improper influence, while the White House claims the “historic beautification” project is being funded entirely by private donations—estimated at $300 million—and costs no taxpayer money. An appeals court has allowed construction to continue while litigation proceeds.
Read more: https://www.thedailybeast.com/trumps-secret-agreement-for-his-tacky-ballroom-revealed/
#DonaldTrump #ElizabethWarren #RichardBlumenthal #LockheedMartin #PublicCitizen #CharlesTiefer #KathleenClark #JonGolinger #DavisIngle #RubeGoldberg
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