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Then-President Donald Trump arrives for a New Year’s party at Mar-a-Lago in 2017.
AFP via Getty Images
A nonprofit that supports Navy SEALs and their families paid then-President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club $80,000 to host the group’s biennial fundraiser in 2019, according to IRS filings.
The Palm Beach Navy Seal Evening of Tribute made a deposit of $40,000 to Trump’s private club in 2018 and again in 2019. In April 2019, Mar-a-Lago hosted the Evening of Tribute, which benefited the Navy SEAL Foundation and a SEAL museum.
Trump retained a 100% interest in his private Palm Beach club when he became president, meaning he stood to profit when a military-support group paid one of his businesses. (He was not at Mar-a-Lago on the date of this fundraiser.)
At the Evening of Tribute, a defense contractor “provided airborne assets” during a demo, according to photos shared on social media. And at least two other Mar-a-Lago guests posed with the SEALs’ weapons.
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The Navy SEAL Foundation supports the Naval Special Warfare community via workforce training, emergency funding and assistance for families who’ve lost a loved one.
The Palm Beach Navy Seal Evening of Tribute did not immediately respond to an inquiry.
A spokesperson for the Navy SEAL Foundation, Sara Berry, has said the biannual event occurred at Mar-a-Lago since at least 2015 (that is, before the club’s owner became commander-in-chief). The 2022 Evening of Tribute though will take place up the road, at The Breakers.
Guests at Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago pose with Navy SEALs’ weapons at the The Palm Beach Navy Seal Evening of Tribute in April 2019.
INSTAGRAM/DOMINIK HRBATY
I took an unusual route to get here. In a past life, I worked as a travel and food writer, which is how I got the assignment in 2016 to cover the grand opening of the
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I took an unusual route to get here. In a past life, I worked as a travel and food writer, which is how I got the assignment in 2016 to cover the grand opening of the Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C., just a couple miles from my home. When Trump won the election and refused to divest his business, I stayed on the story, starting a newsletter called 1100 Pennsylvania (named after the hotel’s address) and contributed to Vanity Fair, Politico and NBC News. I’m still interested in Trump, but I’ve broadened my focus to follow the money connected to other politicians as well—both Republicans and Democrats.