CNN: Defense Dept. Charged Nearly $140,000 at Trump Branded Properties
Defense Department employees charged just over $138,000 at Trump branded properties in the first eight months of Donald Trump's presidency, according to a CNN review of hundreds of records.
Charges on the department-issued Visa cards, which span from Honolulu to Washington, DC, are the most recent evidence that taxpayer money flows to Trump's company, once again emboldening critics who say these payments violate ethical norms and possibly the US Constitution.
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The former head of the Office of Government Ethics, Walter Shaub, told CNN that, during his time in office, he made "very specific recommendations" the President stop visiting properties owned by his company and announce White House officials would not visit those properties.
"You see him holding financial interests -- that leaves us unable to know whether decisions are motivated by policy aims or by personal financial interests," Shaub said.
At the time, the White House said Shaub did not raise the issues when he was in office.