NEW: Jared Kushner personally signed off on arrangements to hide payments to top campaign officials like chief strategist Jason Miller and campaign manager Bill Stepien. Me @Salon https://t.co/3f5dZKuT2g
— Roger Sollenberger (@SollenbergerRC) December 22, 2020
My old man used to say, “Those guys get their suits tailored with rubber pockets, so they can steal soup.”
… Federal Election Commission records show that the Trump campaign has made no salary payments to chief strategist Jason Miller, who came on board in June, or to campaign manager Bill Stepien, who joined the campaign in late 2018 and took over the top job from Brad Parscale in July. Kushner agreed to both arrangements, and personally directed the payments to Miller, the person involved said…
Instead, the campaign has paid these top-tier advisers through intermediaries — some of which are still unknown.
For instance, according to the source, after salary negotiations with Miller, Kushner directed the campaign to route the top strategist’s $35,000 monthly payment through Jamestown Associates, a media and production firm where Miller once worked, and which the campaign contracts for video production. Miller, who is currently contesting child-support payments in court, requested the anonymous arrangement for the $420,000 annual rate, for unclear reasons. Communications, court documents and FEC filings reviewed by Salon make clear that the money was paid to by way of Jamestown. President Trump himself was aware of the deal, a person involved said.
To this point, the campaign has not told government that it has paid Miller anything. Instead, it has stated that all payments to Jamestown are for “video production,” without mentioning Miller’s name or strategy work. Furthermore, Miller’s official role means that he has often directed how and when the campaign uses Jamestown Associates, the company that technically pays him…
Getting paid off the books to screw over your baby mamas will no doubt resonate with a certain portion of Trump’s (Very) Base, but it remains legally… dubious.
Trump Crime Cartel Open Thread: The Son-In-Law & His CroniesPost + Comments (150)