Trump inaugural committee paid $26 million to friend of first lady Melania Trump

The committee responsible for organizing President Donald Trump's inaugural events paid a friend of first lady Melania Trump $26 million, part of more than $90 million the group spent on the festivities, according to a tax form filed to the IRS earlier this month and released Thursday.

Stephanie Winston Wolkoff, a New York society events planner, also serves as a senior advisor to the first lady, although she is not paid for her White House work. The inaugural committee reported paying $26 million to WIS Media Partners, a limited liability company that Wolkoff set up in late 2016.

The committee also paid $25 million to another event planning firm, Hargrove Inc., a Maryland-based company that produces trade shows and conventions. Other top vendors were Texas-based political consulting firm Cavalier Consulting, which made $4 million; New York party planner David Monn, who was paid $2.7 million; and Production Resources Group, a company that designs event scenery, which also received $2.7 million.

Event planners typically pay most of their fees to subcontractors such as florists, caterers and venues. A committee source told The New York Times that Wolkoff's share of her $26 million fee was $1.62 million.

A total of $5 million was given to charities, including $1 million dollars each to the Salvation Army, the American Red Cross, and Samaritan's Purse, intended to aid in relief efforts following Hurricane Harvey. A donation of $1.75 million was given to groups that preserve and refurbish the White House and the Naval Observatory, the vice president's official residence. The Smithsonian Institution received the remaining $250,000.

Trump's inaugural committee reported having raised $106 million, or twice what the inaugural committee for President Barack Obama's 2009 inauguration raised. Obama limited individual donations to $50,000, and corporate contributions to $250,000. Trump imposed no such limits.

Read full article here