From the moment Donald Trump’s presidency began with an inauguration that benefitted him financially, it was a grift, a way to make money off the American people unwitting enough to fall for the scam. Donald Trump, Jr. has already been shown to have lied in depositions regarding the inaugural committee’s use of charitable funds; now, documents show that Ivanka Trump did the same.
SCOOP: Ivanka Trump's sworn testimony in the inauguration scandal case is contradicted by documents filed in the case and by material obtained by @MotherJones. Did she testify falsely? https://t.co/y52Gurtejp
— David Corn (@DavidCornDC) June 28, 2021
The misuse of charitable funds isn’t exactly out of character for the Trump family. After all, the ex-president and his three adult children, Donald Jr., Eric, and Ivanka, are legally forbidden to manage charitable funds by the state of New York after it was discovered that they used “The Trump Foundation” as a personal piggy bank. When it was discovered that the Trump inaugural funds were used to pay for goods and services from the Trump Organization at vastly inflated prices, Ivanka was called in for a deposition during which she claimed that she played no role at all in the inaugural planning. As it turns out, that’s not remotely true.
According to a breaking story from Mother Jones:
‘The inauguration probe was launched last year by Karl Racine, the attorney general of Washington, DC. He has alleged that Trump’s inauguration committee misused charitable funds to enrich the Trump family…In short, the attorney general accused the Trump gang of major grifting, and he is seeking to recover the money paid to the Trump Hotel so those funds can be used for real charitable purposes.’
“The world’s about to learn how Trump’s inner circle—with Trump’s full knowledge—took advantage of the presidential inauguration,” said Stephanie Winston Wolkoff https://t.co/xc4Z8HCWU8
— The Daily Beast (@thedailybeast) June 28, 2021
Stephanie Wilson Wolkoff, a former friend of Melania Trump’s who was tapped to plan the inaugural events, has since written a tell-all book after she was set up as the fall guy once the inaugural grift became known to investigators, says that Ivanka was in fact involved in every stage of planning, giving feedback, nixing plans she didn’t like, connecting key players together, and standing as the person whose approval was needed to move forward with any plan. Despite this, the eldest Trump daughter insisted in court documents that she had no involvement in the planning other than the offhand bit of feedback requested of her.
‘During a December 1 deposition—in which she swore to tell the truth—Ivanka Trump, the eldest daughter of Donald Trump who was an executive at the Trump Organization before becoming a White House adviser to her father, was asked if she had any “involvement in the process of planning the inauguration.” She replied, “I really didn’t have an involvement.” Ivanka testified that if her “opinion was solicited” regarding an inauguration event, she “would give feedback to my father or to anyone who asked my perspective or opinion.” And that was as far as her participation went.’
I testified that I found Ivanka's involvement in the PIC "improper" and "out of the ordinary." These are the facts and people must know the truth. She is Dishonest, Deceitful, and Duplicitous. That is a fact.
— Stephanie Winston Wolkoff (@SWinstonWolkoff) June 28, 2021
One example of the grift came when the inaugural funds were used to pay for event space and lodging for guests at Trump’s D.C. hotel. Although Wilson Wolkoff says that she raised red flags about the price, inflated to twice their normal rates in order to benefit the Trump’s bottom line, Ivanka and others dismissed the warnings and moved forward anyway.
‘The first cost estimates were high, and Ivanka Trump interceded to obtain a better rate. But Winston Wolkoff believed this new estimate—$700,000 for meeting and banquet rooms reserved for four days—was still twice the market rate. On December 17, 2016, she emailed Gates, Ivanka Trump, and others to express her concern. “Please take into consideration,” she warned, that the PIC’s spending would eventually be audited and this deal with the Trump Hotel would “become public knowledge.”’
'Major grifting': Ivanka Trump allegedly gave false testimony in inauguration scandal case https://t.co/jA7F4tWRs1
— AlterNet (@AlterNet) June 28, 2021
