Trump Lied About Secret Service Wanting His Hotel

From the Washington DC watchdog group CREW:

Yet again, the president used the Secret Service as an excuse for his profiteering, and yet again Secret Service records suggest he’s not telling the truth. In February, President Trump traveled to the West Coast for a multi-day trip through four states. But instead of staying locally, President Trump traveled each evening to the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas, likely costing taxpayers an extra million dollars.

When he was asked about the wasteful and costly travel, President Trump blamed the Secret Service. “Largely, the schedule is set by the Secret Service. We do what they want us to,” he said. CREW sought records via Freedom of Information Act request that would verify this claim. Earlier this week, CREW received an email from the Department of Homeland Security saying no such records exist.

Last year, Trump aggressively asserted that the Secret Service chose his Doral resort as their prefered location for the 2020 G-7 Summit after months of looking at other options. In November, CREW received records that undermined Trump’s claim and illustrated that in reality, Doral was only added to the list of considered sites at the last minute and was viewed by the Secret Service as presenting challenges.