Melania Trump has not been seen much on the campaign trail this year. She received a six-figure salary for one of the few times she has attended a political event, which is a very unusual move for a candidate’s spouse.

According to former President Donald Trump’s most recent financial disclosure form, the former first lady appeared at two Log Cabin Republicans political fundraisers this year and was paid $237,500 for one of them in April. The payment was categorized as a “speaking engagement.”

According to Trump’s most recent disclosure form, the Log Cabin Republicans paid Melania Trump for the April fundraiser. But it’s unclear who cut the bill: Charles Moran, president of the Log Cabin Republicans, told CNN earlier this month that the group did not pay for her to appear, and the disclosure form provided no additional information regarding the source of the cash.

Melania Trump Was Paid For A Rare Appearance At A Political Event. It’s Not Clear Who Cut The Unusual Six-Figure Check

Ahead of the conservative LGBTQ group’s next gala in July, a source said at least one donor was asked for a similar payment. It’s unclear whether Melania Trump was eventually compensated. The campaign has yet to release its financial disclosure for that period. According to CNN, Ric Grenell, a Trump friend and former ambassador to Germany, made the plea on Melania Trump’s behalf. According to sources, Grenell has also aided the former first lady with other business enterprises.

Campaign finance and government ethics experts argue that paying a presidential candidate’s spouse to speak at political fundraisers during an election is rare, ethically problematic, and should, at the very least, be properly disclosed in disclosure forms.

“It appears to be quite self-serving. Virginia Canter, the principal ethics counsel at Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics, stated that she is surprised to see this.

If the organisation did not make the payment to Melania Trump, Canter believes the former president’s financial disclosure form may have violated ethics laws because it should have named the sponsor who paid Melania Trump rather than merely where she spoke.

“You could indicate that payment was for a speaking engagement for the Log Cabin Republicans, but you also need to report who the source of the payment was, otherwise you can’t assess for the conflicts of interest, and it wouldn’t be in compliance with the rules,” she told me. “It should have properly been reported so that the source of the income is listed for the honorarium.”

Melania Trump supporters who attended Log Cabin Republican events and were unaware she was paid for at least one of them defended her, claiming it is her right to choose how she spends her time and to get compensated for it. According to a source close to Melania Trump, she has determined that “my best and highest use is where I am,” and that “she’s a priceless, timeless asset” for Donald Trump.

A spokesman for Melania Trump declined to respond to CNN’s questions.

Melania Trump was also paid $250,000 for speaking at a Log Cabin Republican event in December 2022, one of three payments of $250,000 or more she received that month, shortly after the former president announced his candidacy for reelection, according to Donald Trump’s prior year financial disclosure form. One of the events was held in Florida, while the other was for Grenell’s California-based nonprofit, Fix California. Grenell did not reply to repeated requests for comment.

The former first lady was also paid $155,000 by a Trump-aligned super PAC, Make America Great Again, Again, for a speech she gave in Palm Beach, Florida, in December 2021, before Trump became a contender.

She has previously been at Log Cabin Republican events; in 2021, she was the guest of honour at the group’s annual Spirit of Lincoln Gala.

Melania Trump’s fundraising visits highlight her limited involvement in the campaign this year. In addition to the two Log Cabin Republican engagements, she’s appeared alongside her husband at a fundraiser organised by billionaire investor John Paulson in Palm Beach and made a brief appearance at the Republican National Convention, albeit she did not talk as much as in 2016. There is no evidence that she was paid for her appearance at Paulson’s benefit.

“She’s been so disconnected from this campaign and so absent that I could see her saying, ‘If I put in my time, I’ll get paid for it,'” said Stephanie Grisham, a former Trump White House press secretary and top adviser to Melania Trump who has become a critic of the former president. “Even when we were in the White House, she was always so concerned about people making money off of her because she felt it was money she should be earning.”

According to Grisham, Melania Trump instructed her staff in 2018 to direct a White House gift shop to stop selling Melania Trump memorabilia, such as bobbleheads, without permission.

“She was outraged.” “She didn’t like that they were making money off of her,” Grisham added.

According to Donald Trump’s financial records, the former first lady made more than $330,000 last year from a license agreement for the sale of digital trading cards, or NFTs. Her website sells jewellery and collectibles.

In addition, the former first lady will release a memoir next month and go on a promotional tour independent from the campaign. In a series of short videos promoting her book X, she made rare remarks about her husband’s attempted assassination in Butler, Pennsylvania, the 2020 election results, and her career as a nude model.

“I can’t help but wonder, why didn’t law enforcement officials arrest the shooter before the speech?” she asked in one of the recordings, referring to the gunman who shot and injured Trump at a rally on July 13 before being apprehended by the Secret Service.

Melania Trump is not the first member of the Trump family to receive compensation while in the political spotlight. Kimberly Guilfoyle earned a $60,000 speaking fee for presenting her fiancé, Donald Trump Jr., at the “Stop the Steal” protest on January 6, 2021, ahead of the revolt at the US Capitol. Her speech lasted less than three minutes.

Former government officials have been known to charge speaking and appearance fees for events other than political fundraisers.

Melania Trump Was Paid For A Rare Appearance At A Political Event. It’s Not Clear Who Cut The Unusual Six-Figure Check

From 2001 to 2016, former President Bill Clinton and former First Lady Hillary Clinton earned almost $153 million in paid speeches. Former President Barack Obama reportedly earned $400,000 from a single speech at a Wall Street health conference in 2017, drawing condemnation from members of his own party at the time. Joe and Jill Biden earned a total of $15.6 million in the two years following his resignation as vice president and before commencing his presidential candidacy, mostly from book agreements and speaking appearances.

However, spokespeople for Jill Biden, Michelle Obama, Hillary Clinton, Laura Bush, and Bill Clinton claim they were not compensated for any fundraising appearances during a political campaign.

Hunter Biden, the president’s son, was investigated after selling pieces of artwork priced at $85,000 each at a Manhattan art gallery last spring while his father was running for reelection.

By all accounts, this year’s Log Cabin Republican fundraisers were a success. Grenell said on X in July that the former first lady “opened her NYC penthouse tonight to raise money” for the organisation.

“It’s the first campaign event ever held at the Trump residence,” he said. “And we raised $1.4 million in a single night.” Our goal is to secure 50% of the LGBT vote for Donald Trump.”

Politico reports that the organisation launched its “Road to Victory” effort to target voters in battleground states during Melania Trump’s speech at Mar-a-Lago in April.

SOURCE | CNN