The Wall Street Journal reports:
In the weeks before his inauguration, top officials on President Trump’s inaugural committee repeatedly sounded alarms about the budgets submitted by several vendors, according to correspondence, committee records and draft budgets reviewed by The Wall Street Journal. Some of the materials, which haven’t previously been reported, have been shared with federal prosecutors in New York.
Members of the committee also questioned payments made to a number of vendors and subcontractors with ties to Mr. Trump’s business, family, campaign and administration, correspondence reviewed by the Journal shows.
The Trump International Hotel at first sought $3.6 million for eight days of space and food, according to a December 2016 email. A firm owned by Brad Parscale, the campaign’s digital media director who is now Mr. Trump’s campaign manager for 2020, was paid nearly $2.7 million for a digital media buy focused on drawing crowds to the inauguration.