Subject: DAILY UPDATE - 5/13/16
From: "Sullivan, Erin" <[email-masked]>
To: "Sullivan, Erin" <[email-masked]>
Date: Fri, 13 May 2016 10:29:24 -0700

2016 DAILY UPDATE - 5/13/16

ROUNDUP

UPDATE

DONALD TRUMP ROUNDUP

TRUMP USED PSEUDONYMS "JOHN MILLER" AND "JOHN BARRON" TO BRAG ABOUT HIMSELF TO PRESS: "A recording obtained by The Washington Post captures what New York reporters and editors who covered Trump's early career experienced in the 1970s, '80s and '90s: calls from Trump's Manhattan office that resulted in conversations with 'John Miller' or 'John Barron' - public-relations men who sound precisely like Trump himself - who indeed are Trump, masquerading as an unusually helpful and boastful advocate for himself, according to the journalists and several of Trump's top aides." [Washington Post, 5/13/16<https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/donald-trump-alter-ego-barron/2016/05/12/02ac99ec-16fe-11e6-aa55-670cabef46e0_story.html>]

NO, TRUMP HAS NOT SOFTENED ON HIS MUSLIM BAN: "'Glad he's walking it back,' Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) tweeted on Thursday. Except that Trump has not actually walked anything back. The presumptive Republican nominee still wants to ban nearly all members of the world's fastest-growing religion from entering the United States in an effort to prevent terrorist attacks. As Trump first said in December, such a ban would be temporary and last only until U.S. authorities 'find out what's going on.' He also said then that the ban will not apply to U.S. citizens, and that there would be exceptions for world leaders, athletes and others." [Washington Post, 5/13/16<https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/no-donald-trump-has-not-softened-his-stance-on-banning-muslims/2016/05/12/6ec8d514-185c-11e6-aa55-670cabef46e0_story.html>]

JAMIE BAKER SPURNS TRUMP'S BRAND OF FOREIGN POLICY: "'We've got a lot of problems today, but you'd have a hell of a lot more if that were the case,' Baker, who was secretary of state in President George H.W. Bush's administration, said without mentioning Trump by name. 'NATO has been the foundation of peace and stability in Europe. The more countries that obtain nuclear weapons the more instability there will be in the world.'" [Bloomberg, 5/12/16<http://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2016-05-12/trump-foreign-policy-spurned-by-veteran-republican-adviser-baker>]

SAM CLOVIS IMPLIES SWEEPING CHANGES TO THE VA VIA "SOME FORM OF PRIVATIZATION": "While short on details, the presumptive GOP presidential nominee would likely push VA health care toward privatization and might move for it to become more of an insurance provider like Medicare rather than an integrated hospital system, said Sam Clovis, Mr. Trump's chief policy adviser, in an interview. 'We want quality care top to bottom,' Mr. Clovis said in an interview. 'If that means we have some form of privatization or some form of Medicare, we don't see anything wrong with that.'" [Wall Street Journal, 5/12/16<http://www.wsj.com/articles/donald-trump-adviser-signals-plan-to-change-veterans-health-care-1463064129>]

ENDORSEMENT TRACKER - SHELDON ADELSON: "I am endorsing Trump's bid for president and strongly encourage my fellow Republicans - especially our Republican elected officials, party loyalists and operatives, and those who provide important financial backing - to do the same. The alternative to Trump being sworn in as the nation's 45th president is frightening." [Sheldon Adelson, Washington Post, 5/13/16<https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/sheldon-adelson-i-endorse-donald-trump-for-president/2016/05/12/ea89d7f0-17a0-11e6-aa55-670cabef46e0_story.html?hpid=hp_no-name_opinion-card-b%3Ahomepage%2Fstory>]

BACK TO THE TOP

TRUMP DAILY UPDATE

Eric Trump: "I Have More Hispanics Come Up To Me Telling Me, 'Listen, I Can't Wait For Your Father To Be President. He's Going To Bring Jobs Back To The United States. He's Going To End The Nonsense." "Eric Trump says Hispanics approach him on the trail to express their desire for his father to be president. Donald Trump, according to the latest Gallup poll, is viewed unfavorably by 77% of Hispanics in the United States. 'People often talk about Hispanics,' Eric Trump said Monday on Irish radio's RTE Radio1's Drivetime. 'You know, I have more Hispanics come up to me telling me, 'listen, I can't wait for your father to be president. He's gonna bring jobs back to the United States. He's gonna end the nonsense. He's gonna create good trade deals. He's gonna create better education. He's gonna create a better family structure. '' 'I see so little of the divisiveness, which is interesting. You watch it on TV, but you see so little of it out in the field.'" [BuzzFeed, 5/12/16<https://www.buzzfeed.com/andrewkaczynski/eric-trump-hispanics-tell-me-they-cant-wait-for-my-dad-to-be?utm_term=.iuvOr7OL8z#.xjwjmEjRox>; Drivetime, RTE Radio 1, 5/12/16]

At The Prompting Of The Anti-Defamation League, Trump Denounced David Duke's Anti-Semitic Remarks: "Antisemitism Has No Place Our Society, Which Needs To Be United, Not Divided." "Jonathan Greenblatt, the chief executive of the Anti-Defamation League, said in a statement that 'David Duke's latest remarks - smearing Jews and Jewish Republicans specifically - are as unsurprising as they are hateful.' 'The onus is now on Donald Trump to make unequivocally clear he rejects those sentiments and that there is no room for Duke and anti-Semitism in his campaign and in society,' he said. 'Mr. Trump can and should speak up now. If not, his silence will speak volumes.' Later Thursday, Mr. Trump said in a statement that he 'totally disavows' Mr. Duke's remarks. 'Antisemitism has no place our society, which needs to be united, not divided,' said Mr. Trump, who has been accused of using overtly racial appeals to motivate his largely white, working-class political base. The Anti-Defamation League has criticized Mr. Trump before, and has redirected his previous donations to the group because of his remarks about Muslims and others. Mr. Trump has often cited his ties to the Jewish community, noting, for instance, that his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, is an Orthodox Jew, and that his daughter, Ivanka, converted to Judaism." [New York Times, 5/5/16<http://www.nytimes.com/politics/first-draft/2016/05/05/donald-trump-is-pressured-to-reject-david-dukes-remarks-on-jewish-extremists/>]

The Zionist Organization Of America Praised Trump For His Support For Continued Construction Of Israeli Settlements In The West Bank. "Donald Trump on Thursday earned high praise from the Zionist Organization of America (ZOA), a group that hosted Ted Cruz and Michelle Bachmann at its annual dinner, for expressing support for continued construction in Israeli settlements in the West Bank. In an interview with DailyMail.com on Monday, Trump was asked whether he would call on Israel to halt new construction in the settlements in order to bring the Palestinians to the negotiating table. 'No, I don't think there should be a pause,' Trump said. 'I think Israel really have to keep going. They have to keep moving forward.'" [Jewish Insider, 5/5/16<http://jewishinsider.com/7759/zoa-praises-trump-for-supporting-israels-continued-settlement-activity/>]

Muslim Ban

HEADLINE: "No, Donald Trump Has Not Softened His Stance On Banning Muslims." [Washington Post, 5/12/16<https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/no-donald-trump-has-not-softened-his-stance-on-banning-muslims/2016/05/12/6ec8d514-185c-11e6-aa55-670cabef46e0_story.html>]

Trump Said He Was Putting Together A Commission Headed By Rudy Giuliani To Study Muslim Immigration And Immigration Generally. QUESTION: "You said we'll stop Muslim immigration until we find out what the hell is going on, you said. And then you said -- you walked back the other day and said, listen, that was a suggestion. But you're going to put together a commission headed by Rudy Giuliani. Would you like to expand on that?" TRUMP: "Yeah. It was a suggestion. Look, anything I say right now, I'm not the president. Everything is a suggestion, no matter what you say it's a suggestion. I feel strongly we have to do something about when you look at radical Islamic terrorism, we have a president that as you folks know very well, we have a president that won't use the term for the world trade center he won't use the term. And we have to do something. You're not going to do something about it until you know what the problem is. I have spoken to Rudy Giuliani. We're going to put together a group. We're going to look at the problem. We're going to study the problem. It's a temporary ban. I feel very strongly that we have to find out what the problem is. When you look at San Bernardino, when you look at Paris, when you look at all of these horrible, horrible acts of hatred, this is pure hatred. We have to find out and get to the bottom of the problem before we can solve it." QUESTION: "So Donald Trump who's on this panel? How big is it? What is the task exactly? To look at Muslim immigration, Muslim Americans?' TRUMP: "To look at Muslim immigration and also immigration generally." [Fox & Friends, Fox News, 5/13/16]

Trump: "Look, Anything I Say Right Now, I'm Not The President. Everything Is A Suggestion, No Matter What You Say It's A Suggestion." QUESTION: "You said we'll stop Muslim immigration until we find out what the hell is going on, you said. And then you said -- you walked back the other day and said, listen, that was a suggestion. But you're going to put together a commission headed by Rudy Giuliani. Would you like to expand on that?" TRUMP: "Yeah. It was a suggestion. Look, anything I say right now, I'm not the president. Everything is a suggestion, no matter what you say it's a suggestion." [Fox & Friends, Fox News, 5/13/16]

Tax Returns

Trump Said Voters Did Not Have The Right To See His Tax Returns Before Deciding To Vote For Him. STEPHANOPOULOS: "I just have a bottom line question for you. Yes or no, do you believe voters have a right to see your tax returns before they make a final decision?" TRUMP: "I don't think they do. But I do say this, I will really gladly give them -- not going to learn anything but it's under routine audit. When the audit ends I'll present them. That should be before the election. I hope it's before the election. But when the audit ends I've had even journalists say that." [Good Morning America, ABC, 5/13/16]

Trump: "There Have Been Many Presidents That Have Not Shown Their Tax Returns... Before 1976 Most People Didn't Do. It Used To Be A Secret Thing." TRUMP: "Well, because at the time it didn't make any difference to me. Now it does. If you take a look at the picture that we sent you with a tax returns probably ten feet high when you stack them on top and lengthy and complex and built a massive business and want to make sure that everything is perfect. It's a routine audit and get through it first and that's what I'll do. There have been many presidents that have not shown their tax returns." STEPHANOPOULOS: "Every single nominee before 1976--" TRUMP:  "Before 1976 most people didn't do. It used to be a secret thing. I don't want it secret, but I do want it finished." [Good Morning America, ABC, 5/13/16]

Trump: "I Do Not Have Swiss Bank Accounts. I Don't Have Offshore -- I Really Have A Very, Very Clean Company." STEPHANOPOULOS:  "Before that Richard Nixon released his returns but to get to your point on the one hand you show that tack and on the other hand you say people can't learn anything. They can learn a lot. They can learn your sources of income. They can learn whether you have any foreign sources of income or any Swiss bank accounts or other offshore accounts. Do you?" TRUMP: "I tell you, I do not. I do not have Swiss bank accounts. I don't have offshore -- I really have a very, very clean company and believe me, if I didn't, it would have been reported by 200 groups because there's nobody that has more reporting or more scrutiny than I have. I have given my financials, they're extraordinary. And we would have read if they weren't. Believe me when I release my financial, George and sent them down to federal elections, there was a feeding frenzy by the media and they reported, wow, that is a great company and I have built a great, great company and by the way, when you look at numbers, when you look at incomes, when you look at all of the things or most of the things you talked about that's reported on the financials." [Good Morning America, ABC, 5/13/16]

Trump: "It's None Of Your Business" What My Tax Rate Is. TRUMP: "I tell you, I do not. I do not have Swiss bank accounts. I don't have offshore -- I really have a very, very clean company and believe me, if I didn't, it would have been reported by 200 groups because there's nobody that has more reporting or more scrutiny than I have. I have given my financials, they're extraordinary. And we would have read if they weren't. Believe me when I release my financial, George and sent them down to federal elections, there was a feeding frenzy by the media and they reported, wow, that is a great company and I have built a great, great company and by the way, when you look at numbers, when you look at incomes, when you look at all of the things or most of the things you talked about that's reported on the financials." STEPHANOPOULOS: "It's not reported on the financials. What they don't know also is your tax rate. They don't show whether you paid a low--" TRUMP:  "I try to pay as little tax as possible and have said that for the last two years, I fight very hard because this country wastes our money. They take our tax money and throw it down the drain. They spend $4 trillion in the Middle East and we can't fix a road or a bridge and I fight very hard. I consider it an expense because, frankly, our country doesn't know what they're doing with our money or tax money and that's part of the problem so I fight very hard to pay as little tax as possible." STEPHANOPOULOS: "What is your tax rate? " TRUMP: "It's none of your business. You'll see it when I release but I fight very hard to pay as little tax as possible." [Good Morning America, ABC, 5/13/16]

Trump Claimed Plenty Of Hillary Clinton's Emails Were Still Missing, So He Did Not Have To Release His Tax Returns As He Had Promised To Tie To The Release Of Clinton's Emails. STEPHANOPOULOS: "What is your tax rate? " TRUMP: "It's none of your business. You'll see it when I release but I fight very hard to pay as little tax as possible." STEPHANOPOULOS: "You know, we've talked about this several times over the last several years. I first asked about it in 2011. You said you would release your tax returns then thinking of running for president when president Obama releases his birth certificate. He did. Then you said when Secretary Clinton released her e-mails. She turned over all mails in her--" TRUMP: "There's plenty of missing. I read yesterday that there were plenty missing. I know you're a good friends of hers. She did not turn over her e-mails. There are a lot of e-mails missing." [Good Morning America, ABC, 5/13/16]

LGBT

Trump Said He Did Not Yet Have An Opinion On Whether Transgender Individuals Should Be Forced To Use The Bathroom Of The Gender On Their Birth Certificate. QUESTION: "I wanted to ask you this, the Obama administration is allowing the transgender students to choose their bathrooms and if the schools are not on board they could face federal funding and face lawsuits." TRUMP: "It's become a huge story and everybody has to be protected. If it's one person, but it's a tiny, tiny portion of the population. And it's become a massive story. I think there should be a state's issue and as many other things should be by the way. And the state should decide." QUESTION: "Do you think boys the way their gender-- they should use the bathroom of the gender they were born with?" TRUMP: "Right now, it's a new issue. Right now I don't have an opinion. But what I would like to do is I would like to see the states make that decision." [Fox & Friends, Fox News, 5/13/16]

Trump Said States Should Decide Whether Transgender Individuals Should Be Forced To Use The Bathroom Of The Gender On Their Birth Certificate: "I Would Like To See The States Make That Decision." QUESTION: "I wanted to ask you this, the Obama administration is allowing the transgender students to choose their bathrooms and if the schools are not on board they could face federal funding and face lawsuits." TRUMP: "I think it's a state's issue. It's become a huge story and everybody has to be protected. If it's one person-- but it's a tiny, tiny portion of the population. And it's become a massive story. I think there should be a state's issue and as many other things should be by the way. And the state should decide." QUESTION: "Do you think boys the way their gender-- they should use the bathroom of the gender they were born with?" TRUMP: "Right now, it's a new issue. Right now I don't have an opinion. But what I would like to do is I would like to see the states make that decision." [Fox & Friends, Fox News, 5/13/16]

Trump On Transgender Rights: "It's A Tiny, Tiny Portion Of The Population And It's Become A Massive Story." Question: "I wanted to ask you this, the Obama administration is allowing the transgender students to choose their bathrooms and if the schools are not on board they could face federal funding and face lawsuits." TRUMP: "It's become a huge story and everybody has to be protected, if it's one person. But it's a tiny, tiny portion of the population and it's become a massive story. I think there should be a state's issue and as many other things should be by the way. And the state should decide." QUESTION: "Do you think boys the way their gender-- they should use the bathroom of the gender they were born with?" TRUMP: "Right now, it's a new issue. Right now I don't have an opinion. But what I would like to do is I would like to see the states make that decision." [Fox & Friends, Fox News, 5/13/16]

Tax Policy

HEADLINE: "Donald Trump Won't Alter Tax Plan, Spokeswoman Says As Confusion Reigns." [New York Times, 5/12/16<http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/13/us/politics/donald-trump-wont-alter-tax-plan-spokeswoman-says-as-confusion-reigns.html?ref=politics&_r=1>]

Despite Disparities Between Trump's Published Tax Plan And His Rhetoric, His Spokeswoman Said He Had No Plans To Change It. "After days of confusion over Donald J. Trump's hints that he would change his tax plan to reduce its budget-busting cost and make it less generous to the rich, his spokeswoman on Thursday sought to clear things up: He plans no changes, Hope Hicks said, and advisers who say otherwise do not speak for him. One of those advisers, Stephen Moore of the Heritage Foundation, had his own response: 'I'm a little bummed out if his spokeswoman says they're not going to make any changes to the plan.' Mr. Trump set off the speculation a week ago, shortly after becoming the presumptive Republican nominee for president, when he told the business cable network CNBC that his months-old tax plan was just a starting point for a final deal. As for his plan's tilt toward the rich and corporations, Mr. Trump said, 'I am not necessarily a huge fan of that,' adding, 'I am so much more into the middle class, who have just been absolutely forgotten in our country.' Since then, he has vacillated on his intentions - repeatedly saying wealthy individuals and businesses would pay more taxes if he were president, and then clarifying that he means the richest taxpayers would pay more than under his original tax-cuts plan, but less than under current law." [New York Times, 5/12/16<http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/13/us/politics/donald-trump-wont-alter-tax-plan-spokeswoman-says-as-confusion-reigns.html?ref=politics&_r=1>]

April 2016: Kudlow And Moore Met With Trump To Propose Changes To His Tax Plan. "Compounding the confusion, Politico reported on Wednesday that two informal advisers - Larry Kudlow, a CNBC host, and Mr. Moore, an economic commentator - said they were helping Mr. Trump at his request and had proposed changes to slash the plan's cost from $10 trillion in its first decade to $3.8 trillion. They attributed the estimate to the conservative-leaning Tax Foundation... As for Mr. Kudlow and Mr. Moore, Ms. Hicks wrote, 'They do not speak for Mr. Trump or the campaign.' In an interview, Mr. Moore said he and Mr. Kudlow met with Mr. Trump a few weeks ago at his Trump Tower office to talk about Mr. Trump's tax plan, which he had outlined last winter. 'We just were asked to look at the plan and to try to make a few revisions to it so that it would be a little less costly,' Mr. Moore said. At Mr. Trump's direction, he said, he and Mr. Kudlow later passed along their proposed tweaks to Sam Clovis, the campaign policy director, who 'said he likes a lot of the ideas.'" [New York Times, 5/12/16<http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/13/us/politics/donald-trump-wont-alter-tax-plan-spokeswoman-says-as-confusion-reigns.html?ref=politics&_r=1>]

Republican Party Unity

5/12/16: Trump Met With 11 Republican Senators In Washington, DC. "Full list of Senators that met w/ Trump: McConnell, Cornyn, Thune, Barrasso, Blunt, Wicker, Hatch, Portman, Fischer, Capito, Sessions." [@SopanDeb, Twitter, 5/12/16<https://twitter.com/SopanDeb/status/730818944441954305>]

5/12/16: Senator Orrin Hatch Endorsed Donald Trump. "U.S. Senator Orrin Hatch of Utah, one of the Senate's most senior Republicans, said on Thursday that he was endorsing presumptive presidential nominee Donald Trump. 'I totally endorse him,' Hatch told reporters after he and other Senate Republican leaders met with the billionaire businessman and reality television star." [Reuters, 5/12/16<http://www.reuters.com/article/usa-election-hatch-idUSKCN0Y32KS>]

Senator Deb Fischer Endorsed Donald Trump. "Sen. Deb Fischer, R-Neb., threw her support Thursday behind Donald Trump as the presumptive Republican presidential nominee. Fischer was among a group of top GOP senators who met with the businessman on Capitol Hill. After the meeting she was asked by reporters if she was ready to endorse Trump. She replied that she already had. 'I've endorsed the nominee and he will be the nominee,' Fischer said." [Omaha World-Herald, 5/12/16]

Trump Reached Out To Lindsey Graham And Had A 15 Minute Call About National Security. "In a statement on Thursday afternoon, Graham noted that Trump 'is reaching out to many people, throughout the party and the country, to solicit their advice and opinions,' which he called 'a wise move on his part.' The conversation, which lasted about 15 minutes according to the statement, 'centered on the national security threats facing the United States.' 'gave him my assessment about where we stand in the fight against [the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria] and the long-term danger posed by the Iranian nuclear deal. He asked good questions,' Graham said." [The Hill, 5/12/16<http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/presidential-races/279734-trump-called-sen-graham-to-discuss-national-security>]

Trump Claimed "Senator Lindsey Graham Called Me Yesterday, Very Much To My Surprise." TRUMP: "Senator Lindsey Graham called me yesterday, very much to my surprise, and we had a very interesting talk about national security, and more!" [@realDonaldTrump, Twitter, 5/12/16<https://twitter.com/realdonaldtrump/status/730948897435176961>]

Trump Said The Big Issue Discussed In His Meetings With Paul Ryan And Congressional Republicans Was Supreme Court Justices. HANNITY: "Maybe it's me and maybe I'm a little cynical here. What does he want to know, that -- why is this so hard for him to say, yes, I agree with him on all of those issues right there, and Hillary Clinton is on the other side? I don't understand why that's so hard." TRUMP: "Well, I think a big thing today was the judges, you know, the justices, the Supreme Court. And I think that they felt very good about it. I had this idea a couple of months ago because I was getting a little bit of pushback from some great people and some great friends of mine that are in Congress, and they were telling me that, you know, How can we feel a little bit better? And I came up with this idea that I would come up with a list of really, really terrific acceptable judges, conservative, and I'll put that list forward, and that'll be a list from which I'll choose or at least a list -- at a minimum, a list from which I'll sort of use as a guide. And I'll tell you, that went a long way. People really liked that idea a lot." [Hannity, Fox News, 5/12/16]

Media

Trump Accused Jeff Bezos Of Using The Washington Post "As A Tool Of Political Power" Against Him And Other Politicians To Maintain Amazons Tax And Business Advantages: "He's Using The Washington Post For Power So That The Politicians In Washington Don't Tax Amazon Like They Should Be Taxed."  TRUMP: "Yes. It's interesting that you say that because every hour, we're getting calls from reporters from The Washington Post asking ridiculous questions. And I will tell you, this is owned as a toy by Jeff Bezos, who controls Amazon. Amazon is getting away with murder tax-wise. He's using The Washington Post for power so that the politicians in Washington don't tax Amazon like they should be taxed. He's getting absolutely away. He's worried about me and he -- I think he said to somebody. It was in some article, where he thinks I would go after him for anti-trust because he's got a huge anti-trust problem because he's controlling so much. Amazon is controlling so much of what they're doing. And what they've done is he bought this paper for practically nothing, and he's using that as a tool of political power against me and against other people. And I'll tell you what. We can't let him get away with it. So he's got about 20, 25. I just heard they're taking these really bad stories. I mean, they're, you know, wrong. I don't even say bad. They're wrong. And in many cases, they have no proper information. And they're putting them together. They're slopping them together and they're going to do a book. And the book is going to be all false stuff because the stories are so wrong. And the reporters, I mean, one after another -- so what they're doing is he's using that as a political instrument to try and stop anti- trust, which he thinks I believe he's anti-trust, in other words, what he's got is a monopoly. And he wants to make sure I don't get in." [Hannity, Fox News, 5/12/16]

Trump: "Amazon Is Getting Away With Murder Tax-Wise." TRUMP: "Yes. It's interesting that you say that because every hour, we're getting calls from reporters from The Washington Post asking ridiculous questions. And I will tell you, this is owned as a toy by Jeff Bezos, who controls Amazon. Amazon is getting away with murder tax-wise. He's using The Washington Post for power so that the politicians in Washington don't tax Amazon like they should be taxed." [Hannity, Fox News, 5/12/16]

Trump Claimed The Washington Post Was Writing False Stories About Him And "Slopping Them Together" Into A Book Because Washington Post Owner, Jeff Bezos, Was Worried Trump Would Go After Bezos And Amazon For Anti-Trust. TRUMP: "Yes. It's interesting that you say that because every hour, we're getting calls from reporters from The Washington Post asking ridiculous questions. And I will tell you, this is owned as a toy by Jeff Bezos, who controls Amazon. Amazon is getting away with murder tax-wise. He's using The Washington Post for power so that the politicians in Washington don't tax Amazon like they should be taxed. He's getting absolutely away. He's worried about me and he -- I think he said to somebody. It was in some article, where he thinks I would go after him for anti-trust because he's got a huge anti-trust problem because he's controlling so much. Amazon is controlling so much of what they're doing. And what they've done is he bought this paper for practically nothing, and he's using that as a tool of political power against me and against other people. And I'll tell you what. We can't let him get away with it. So he's got about 20, 25. I just heard they're taking these really bad stories. I mean, they're, you know, wrong. I don't even say bad. They're wrong. And in many cases, they have no proper information. And they're putting them together. They're slopping them together and they're going to do a book. And the book is going to be all false stuff because the stories are so wrong. And the reporters, I mean, one after another -- so what they're doing is he's using that as a political instrument to try and stop anti- trust, which he thinks I believe he's anti-trust, in other words, what he's got is a monopoly. And he wants to make sure I don't get in." [Hannity, Fox News, 5/12/16]

HEADLINE: "The Spokesman Who Knows Trump Best: Himself." [Washington Post, 5/13/16<https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/donald-trump-alter-ego-barron/2016/05/12/02ac99ec-16fe-11e6-aa55-670cabef46e0_story.html>]

HEADLINE: "Donald Trump Masqueraded As A Spokesman To Brag About Himself." [Washington Post, 5/13/16<https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/donald-trump-alter-ego-barron/2016/05/12/02ac99ec-16fe-11e6-aa55-670cabef46e0_story.html>]

In The 1970s To 1990s, Trump Masqueraded As "John Miller" Or "John Barron" Pretending To Be Trump's Spokesman. "A recording obtained by The Washington Post captures what New York reporters and editors who covered Trump's early career experienced in the 1970s, '80s and '90s: calls from Trump's Manhattan office that resulted in conversations with 'John Miller' or 'John Barron' - public-relations men who sound precisely like Trump himself - who indeed are Trump, masquerading as an unusually helpful and boastful advocate for himself, according to the journalists and several of Trump's top aides. In 1991, Sue Carswell, a reporter at People magazine, called Trump's office seeking an interview with the developer. She had just been assigned to cover the soap opera surrounding the end of Trump's 12-year marriage to Ivana, his budding relationship with the model Marla Maples and his rumored affairs with any number of celebrities who regularly appeared on the gossip pages of the New York newspapers. Within five minutes, Carswell got a return call from Trump's publicist, a man named John Miller, who immediately jumped into a startlingly frank and detailed explanation of why Trump dumped Maples for the Italian model Carla Bruni. 'He really didn't want to make a commitment,' Miller said. 'He's coming out of a marriage, and he's starting to do tremendously well financially.'" [Washington Post, 5/13/16<https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/donald-trump-alter-ego-barron/2016/05/12/02ac99ec-16fe-11e6-aa55-670cabef46e0_story.html>]

Trump Spoke To Reporters Pretending to Be A Public-Relations Man So He Could Boast About Himself And His Romantic Life. "A recording obtained by The Washington Post captures what New York reporters and editors who covered Trump's early career experienced in the 1970s, '80s and '90s: calls from Trump's Manhattan office that resulted in conversations with 'John Miller' or 'John Barron' - public-relations men who sound precisely like Trump himself - who indeed are Trump, masquerading as an unusually helpful and boastful advocate for himself, according to the journalists and several of Trump's top aides. In 1991, Sue Carswell, a reporter at People magazine, called Trump's office seeking an interview with the developer. She had just been assigned to cover the soap opera surrounding the end of Trump's 12-year marriage to Ivana, his budding relationship with the model Marla Maples and his rumored affairs with any number of celebrities who regularly appeared on the gossip pages of the New York newspapers. Within five minutes, Carswell got a return call from Trump's publicist, a man named John Miller, who immediately jumped into a startlingly frank and detailed explanation of why Trump dumped Maples for the Italian model Carla Bruni. 'He really didn't want to make a commitment,' Miller said. 'He's coming out of a marriage, and he's starting to do tremendously well financially'... Miller turned out to be a remarkably forthcoming source - a spokesman with rare insight into the private thoughts and feelings of his client." [Washington Post, 5/13/16<https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/donald-trump-alter-ego-barron/2016/05/12/02ac99ec-16fe-11e6-aa55-670cabef46e0_story.html>]

1990: Trump Admitted Using The Names "John Miller" To Call Reporters. "In 1990, Trump testified in a court case that 'I believe on occasion I used that name.' He did not respond to a request for comment for this article. In a phone call to NBC's 'Today' program Friday morning, Trump denied that he was John Miller. 'No, I don't think it - I don't know anything about it. You're telling me about it for the first time and it doesn't sound like my voice at all,' he said. "I have many, many people that are trying to imitate my voice and then you can imagine that, and this sounds like one of the scams, one of the many scams - doesn't sound like me.' Later, he was more definitive: 'It was not me on the phone. And it doesn't sound like me on the phone, I will tell you that, and it was not me on the phone. And when was this? Twenty-five years ago?' Trump has never been terribly adamant about denying that he often made calls to reporters posing as someone else. From his earliest years in business, he occasionally called reporters using the name 'John Barron.'" [Washington Post, 5/13/16<https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/donald-trump-alter-ego-barron/2016/05/12/02ac99ec-16fe-11e6-aa55-670cabef46e0_story.html>]

5/13/16: Trump Denied He Was The John Miller In A 1991 Interview Recording With The Washington Post. "In 1990, Trump testified in a court case that 'I believe on occasion I used that name.' He did not respond to a request for comment for this article. In a phone call to NBC's 'Today' program Friday morning, Trump denied that he was John Miller. 'No, I don't think it - I don't know anything about it. You're telling me about it for the first time and it doesn't sound like my voice at all,' he said. 'I have many, many people that are trying to imitate my voice and then you can imagine that, and this sounds like one of the scams, one of the many scams - doesn't sound like me.' Later, he was more definitive: 'It was not me on the phone. And it doesn't sound like me on the phone, I will tell you that, and it was not me on the phone. And when was this? Twenty-five years ago?' Trump has never been terribly adamant about denying that he often made calls to reporters posing as someone else. From his earliest years in business, he occasionally called reporters using the name 'John Barron.'" [Washington Post, 5/13/16<https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/donald-trump-alter-ego-barron/2016/05/12/02ac99ec-16fe-11e6-aa55-670cabef46e0_story.html>]

Hillary Clinton

Trump Said Hillary Clinton Was "Not A Closer" Because She Had Not Secured The Democratic Nomination: "She's Not A Closer Here. She Wasn't A Closer Last Time. She's Not A Closer With The Chinese For Trade Deals. She's Not Going To Be A Closer With ISIS." HANNITY: "Nearly half of Bernie Sanders West Virginia voters say they will vote for you instead of Hillary. Hillary has warned her donors -- literally, they sent out an e-mail the other night saying even if Bernie runs the table on the remaining states, the corrupt system of superdelegates gives it to Hillary. So she's doing very, very poorly here. I'll give you an example. Back in 2008, when she ran in West Virginia, she had 240,000 votes. She got less than 85,000. What do you make of how she can't close out this nomination on her side?" TRUMP: "She's not a closer here. She wasn't a closer last time. She's not a closer with the Chinese for trade deals. She's not going to be a closer with ISIS. She destroyed -- she really hurt us with Libya. That's Benghazi. Not only that, ISIS has the oil. Now. They've gone and taken the oil. Libya was her baby, and that was a disaster. I mean, what she's done has been a disaster. She's not a closer. You know, the bottom line, whether it's the election or whether it's the election against Obama, you know, in terms of the primaries, she's just not a closer. This is not a woman that would be -- that should be president. We have so much work to do. I don't think she has the energy to be president. I don't think she can do it." [Hannity, Fox News, 5/12/16]

Trump: "This Is Not A Woman That Would Be -- That Should Be President. We Have So Much Work To Do. I Don't Think She Has The Energy To Be President. I Don't Think She Can Do It." [Hannity, Fox News, 5/12/16]

Trump: Hillary Clinton "Is Like A Job-Killing Machine." TRUMP: "You look at what's happened to West Virginia with the miners, where Hillary Clinton says she wants to put the miners and the mines out of business. And I say just the opposite, we're going to put the miners back to work and we're going to open up the mines. It is just insane what's going on. She's like a job-killing machine. She is horrible in terms of the economy, horrible. Don't forget it was her husband who signed NAFTA, which was probably the greatest in terms of a disaster, the greatest disaster we've ever had economically for jobs." [Hannity, Fox News, 5/12/16]

Minimum Wage

Trump Said He Would Give The Determination On The Minimum Wage To The States, And Make States Compete Against Each Other. HANNITY: "Let's talk -- some issues came up this week about -- in the last week-and-a-half, some ambiguity on issues of minimum wage, raising taxes, whether or not you were softening your stance about bringing refugees into the country. So let's clarify. Minimum wage." TRUMP: "OK, let me just tell you, the only thing I am talking about a little bit is I want -- I like the idea of the states looking at minimum wage because if they don't -- you know, New York is totally different than if you go to Alabama or Arkansas, so many places that I love. They voted for me. I love them all. And -- but you're talking about a whole different, you know, cost of living. So what's good for New York is not necessarily good for someplace else. New York is very expensive to live in, and I could see having more in New York and less in other places. And yet your standard of living might be better in Alabama or, as I said, Arkansas and other places than it would be in New York, even though New York would have a higher minimum wage. So I really like giving it to states to determine. Plus, they have to compete with each other among, you know, other things, but they have to compete with each other. So I like the concept of giving it to states. And in some states, where it's more expensive, maybe they do have to lift the minimum wage, and in others, they don't have to do it. And those people live very well. So that's the way it is. Now, they also have to compete with each other in business. So I really like the idea because it's so different -- you know, it's a big country -- it's so different and the cost of living is so different, I like letting the states set the minimum wage." [Hannity, Fox News, 5/12/16]

Trump: "You Know, It's A Big Country -- It's So Different And The Cost Of Living Is So Different, I Like Letting The States Set The Minimum Wage." TRUMP: "So I really like giving it to states to determine. Plus, they have to compete with each other among, you know, other things, but they have to compete with each other. So I like the concept of giving it to states. And in some states, where it's more expensive, maybe they do have to lift the minimum wage, and in others, they don't have to do it. And those people live very well. So that's the way it is. Now, they also have to compete with each other in business. So I really like the idea because it's so different -- you know, it's a big country -- it's so different and the cost of living is so different, I like letting the states set the minimum wage." [Hannity, Fox News, 5/12/16]

Running Mate

Trump To Sean Hannity About His Vice Presidential Shortlist: "I Can Tell You You'll Like Most Of Them. I'm Not Sure About All Of Them, But You'll Like Most Of Them. But I Think The End Result Is You'll Like The Final Pick, Which Is The Only One That Counts." HANNITY: "There was a report this week you've narrowed it down to five or six people. Is that true." TRUMP: "Yes, I would say that's true. That's true." HANNITY: "And you're going to give me an exclusive news-breaking hint right here. Anything you can tell us about that?" TRUMP: "Well, I can tell you you'll like most of them. I'm not sure about all of them, but you'll like most of them. But I think the end result is you'll like the final pick, which is the only one that counts. And you know, we're going to have some interesting days and nights ahead because it's really tough. I mean, it's a tough decision. You have some that are really, really strong in some areas. We want to get somebody that's really good in all areas. And I think we have a few that are really excellent and that people are going to like and really respect as people." [Hannity, Fox News, 5/12/16]

Supreme Court

Trump Said His List Of Potential Supreme Court Appointees Would Be "At A Minimum, A List From Which I'll Sort Of Use As A Guide." TRUMP: "Well, I think a big thing today was the judges, you know, the justices, the Supreme Court. And I think that they felt very good about it. I had this idea a couple of months ago because I was getting a little bit of pushback from some great people and some great friends of mine that are in Congress, and they were telling me that, you know, How can we feel a little bit better? And I came up with this idea that I would come up with a list of really, really terrific acceptable judges, conservative, and I'll put that list forward, and that'll be a list from which I'll choose or at least a list -- at a minimum, a list from which I'll sort of use as a guide. And I'll tell you, that went a long way. People really liked that idea a lot." [Hannity, Fox News, 5/12/16]

Butler

HEADLINE: "Donald Trump's Longtime Butler Called For President Obama To Be Killed." [Time, 5/12/16<http://time.com/4328302/donald-trump-butler-historian-president-obama/>]

Trump's Longtime Butler, Anthony Seneca, Called For President Obama To Be Killed. "In virulent Facebook posts, Donald Trump's longtime butler Anthony Senecal repeatedly called for President Obama to be killed, claiming repeatedly over many months the president is a Muslim and not an American citizen. Senecal, who is 74 and now the unofficial historian at Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate, said in Facebook posts that Obama should be executed. He confirmed to Mother Jones that he authored the posts. 'To all my friends on FB, just a short note to you on our pus headed 'president' !!!! This character who I refer to as zero (0) should have been taken out by our military and shot as an enemy agent in his first term !!!!!" Senecal said in one post on Wednesday, which was visible only to his Facebook friends but was published by Mother Jones. 'Instead he still remains in office doing every thing he can to gut the America we all know and love !!!!!' In other posts, Senecal called for a 'second American revolution,' reflected Trump's birther arguments in 2011 and referred to Obama a 'Kenyan fraud.'" [Time, 5/12/16<http://time.com/4328302/donald-trump-butler-historian-president-obama/>]

Senecal Was Trump's Personal Butler For 17 Years And Continues To Give Tours At Mar-A-Lago After Retiring In 2009. "Senecal was Trump's personal butler for 17 years and closely followed the real estate magnate's tastes and proclivities. In a New York Times profile, Senecal said Trump likes his steak well-done and does his own hair. Senecal retired as Trump's butler in 2009 but he told Mother Jones he continues to give tours at the Mar-a-Lago estate." [Time, 5/12/16<http://time.com/4328302/donald-trump-butler-historian-president-obama/>]

Trump Spokeswoman On Trump's Longtime Butler: "Tony Senecal Does Not Work At Mar-A-Lago And Hasn't In Many Years. We Totally Disavow And Condemn These Horrible Statements." "Trump spox re: butler: 'Tony Senecal does not work at mar-a-Lago and hasn't in many years. We totally disavow and condemn these horrible statements.'" [@ajjaffe, Twitter, 5/12/16<https://twitter.com/ajjaffe/status/730862186566979584>]

HEADLINE: "Donald Trump's Former Butler Calls For Obama's Death; Secret Service To Investigate." [New York Times, 5/12/16<http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/13/us/politics/donald-trumps-longtime-butler-calls-for-violence-against-obama-secret-service-to-investigate.html?smid=tw-share&_r=0>]

The Secret Service Said It Would Investigate Donald Trump's Longtime Butler, Anthony Senecal, Over A Series Of Racist Facebook Posts Calling For President Obama To Be Killed. "The Secret Service said it would investigate Donald J. Trump's longtime butler over Facebook posts laced with vulgarities and epithets calling for President Obama to be killed. The racially tinged posts by the butler, Anthony Senecal, were unearthed by Mother Jones on Thursday, and referred to Mr. Obama as a 'Kenyan fraud' who should be hanged for treason. 'With the last breath I draw I will help rid this America of the scum infested in its government,' Mr. Senecal wrote last May, saying that the president should be dragged from the 'white mosque' and hanged 'from the portico - count me in !!!!!' In a statement Thursday, the Secret Service said it was 'aware of this matter and will conduct the appropriate investigation.'" [New York Times, 5/12/16<http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/13/us/politics/donald-trumps-longtime-butler-calls-for-violence-against-obama-secret-service-to-investigate.html?smid=tw-share&_r=0>]

Anthony Senecal Worked For Trump For Almost 30 Years, And Trump Kept Senecal On As An Unofficial Historian At Mar-A-Lago After Senecal Tried To Retire In 2009. "Mr. Senecal had worked almost 30 years for Mr. Trump, and was the subject of a profile in The New York Times in March. He spoke of knowing Mr. Trump's sleeping pattens, his culinary preferences and just the right ways to cheer him up when he was in a sour mood, once hiring a bugler to play 'Hail to the Chief.' When he tried to retire in 2009, Mr. Trump deemed him irreplaceable and kept him on as an unofficial historian at the Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, the article said. But in her statement, Ms. Hicks said, 'Tony Senecal has not worked at Mar-a-Lago for years.'" [New York Times, 5/12/16<http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/13/us/politics/donald-trumps-longtime-butler-calls-for-violence-against-obama-secret-service-to-investigate.html?smid=tw-share&_r=0>]

Business

HEADLINE: "Trump And The Artifice Of The Deal." [Politico Magazine, 5/12/16<http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2016/05/donald-trump-2016-father-artifice-of-the-deal-213888?o=0>]

Trump Touted The Grand Hyatt As Evidence Of Self-Made Success Even Though The Deal Was Only Done With The Help Of His Father.  "The point of Trump's speech at the Republican gala was not to tout the present state of the Grand Hyatt, which he no longer owns, but to buff the legend he peddles of himself as an underdog success story-as a self-made tycoon who disproved the haters and remade the Manhattan skyline in his image. 'When I did the building, everybody said, 'Don't do it, it can't be done, never gonna happen,''  Trump said. 'My father, who was in Brooklyn and Queens ... was so against me coming into Manhattan. And then this became so successful, and he said, 'Wow.' 'Of course, in New York, real estate is politics. And few real estate deals in New York history were as laden with back-room negotiations as the one that permitted the renovation of a hulking commuter hotel into a luxe four-star affair. Wedged between the Beaux Arts Grand Central Terminal and the art deco Chrysler Building, the Grand Hyatt stands as a curious and very Trumpian amalgam: a turn-of-the-century brick building blanketed by sheets of mirrored, '80s-era glass. It could have been airlifted from Dallas. 'When he wanted to glaze the building, I put up a big battle-I was more interested in preserving the building,' the project's architect, Ralph Steinglass, told me recently. 'Trump sold [Hyatt] on the fact that he would be able to refashion the building, really recreate it into a bright, shiny object.' In truth, Fred C. Trump wasn't an obstacle to the deal. He was the main reason the deal got done at all." [Politico Magazine, 5/12/16<http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2016/05/donald-trump-2016-father-artifice-of-the-deal-213888?o=0>]

Donald Trump Never Would Have Gotten His Career Off The Ground Without The Cash And Connections Of His Father, Fred C. Trump. "In truth, Fred C. Trump wasn't an obstacle to the deal. He was the main reason the deal got done at all. Fred Trump has surfaced periodically as a point of political contention. Donald's erstwhile Republican opponents accused him of inheriting upward of $200 million. This overinflated figure is about as misleading as Trump's claim that all he ever received from dad was a 'small' million-dollar loan. In determining Fred Trump's influence on his son's success, though, the exact numerical figure is at best a distraction. The Grand Hyatt represented Donald's entry into Manhattan, and to pull it off, Donald relied not only on his father's cash, but his connections-and this is not a Trumpian exaggeration-to some of the most powerful politicians, lawyers and bankers in New York. A decade later, when Donald's boardwalk empire in Atlantic City was underwater and the Grand Hyatt was looking un-Grand, Donald again needed Fred's resources to bail him out. The inside story of the Grand Hyatt doesn't showcase the vaunted business sense Trump credits with leading him to the threshold of the GOP presidential nomination. Rather, it reveals the crucial role Fred Trump played in getting his son's career off the ground, and keeping it airborne. Without Fred's help, there would be no Hyatt. And without the Hyatt, there would be no Trump Tower, no casinos, no golf courses, no career." [Politico Magazine, 5/12/16<http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2016/05/donald-trump-2016-father-artifice-of-the-deal-213888?o=0>]

Fred C. Trump's Real Estate Career Was Entirely Contingent On Government Subsidies From The Federal Housing Authority. "Fred Trump was a builder of middle-class, outer-borough homes, and nearly every major project he developed-from single-family houses in East Flatbush to Trump Village in Coney Island-was subsidized by tax dollars. Without the Federal Housing Authority, Trump family biographer Gwenda Blair wrote, 'Fred Trump would have been running a supermarket.' Fred Trump's biggest contracts came from the federal government, but his political clout was more pronounced at home. He lunched with a downtown Brooklyn power-crowd known as the 'Knights of the Round Table' and was a VIP at the Madison Democratic Club, the nerve-center of Brooklyn politics. Early on, he became close with legendary real estate lawyer and political fixer Bunny Lindenbaum, along with Lindenbaum's best friend, a machine pol named Abe Beame, who in 1974 would become mayor of New York. Both would prove instrumental in his son's early career." [Politico Magazine, 5/12/16<http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2016/05/donald-trump-2016-father-artifice-of-the-deal-213888?o=0>]

Donald Trump's Early Real Estate Deals Were Made Possible By Tax Abatements, Secured With The Help Of His Father Fred. "In late 1973, needing the city's assistance with another property, Trump scheduled a meeting at City Hall that included his father and Beame. A few minutes into the meeting, according to Blair's biography, Beame put his arms around the Trumps and said, 'Whatever my friends Fred and Donald want in this town, they get.' A similar dynamic was at work several months later, when Donald began agitating for the Commodore property. Inspired in part by Donald's ambitions, Beame and Assembly Speaker Stanley Steingut-another old friend of Fred Trump's-pushed a bill in Albany that, conveniently, would have created 20-year tax abatements for commercial properties like the one Trump was trying to develop. When that bill stalled and ultimately died upstate, Donald Trump worked with a well-connected City Hall bureaucrat named Mike Bailkin to create an even more favorable deal for himself. Bailkin's ingenious idea was for the state-run Urban Development Corporation (UDC)-created in the 1960s by Governor Nelson Rockefeller to develop racially integrated housing by fiat-to buy the place from Trump for a nominal fee of a dollar, then lease it back to him tax-free for 40 years, saving him hundreds of millions of dollars." [Politico Magazine, 5/12/16<http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2016/05/donald-trump-2016-father-artifice-of-the-deal-213888?o=0>]

Donald Trump Was Only Able To Make The Hyatt Deal After His Father Promised To "Provide Financial Credibility."  "Trump, by inheriting several of his father's best people-longtime New York publicist Howard Rubenstein; Brooklyn lawyer Lindenbaum and his son Sandy, Lindenbaum's equal as a real estate savant-inherited his father's credibility. And Donald certainly cultivated a handful of key contacts himself-most notably Roy Cohn, the political fixer and notorious legal hit man for red-baiting Senator Joe McCarthy. Cohn represented the Trump Organization in a massive federal housing discrimination case, before helping broker the Hyatt deal with Beame, with whom he was also friendly. But nothing could match the persuasive power of Fred in the flesh. In 1975, after talks about the tax deal started to get serious, another meeting was called at which both Mayor Beame and Fred Trump would personally appear. According to Wayne Barrett's exhaustive book Trump: The Deals and the Downfall, Fred promised the group he would keep watch over the construction. More significantly, he pledged to 'provide financial credibility.'" [Politico Magazine, 5/12/16<http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2016/05/donald-trump-2016-father-artifice-of-the-deal-213888?o=0>]

Donald Trump's 1976 Construction Loan For The Grand Hyatt Was Guaranteed By His Father Fred, And Fred Trump Later Convinced His Friends At Chase Bank To Give Donald Additional Financing To Cover Cost Overruns. "By 1976, the $4-million-a-year abatement (it would grow progressively more valuable) was his. But even once he got the tax break, Trump still needed actual money to buy and renovate the thing. His financial broker went hunting for lenders on Wall Street and had come up empty. Fred Trump, once again, wound up doing the heavy lifting. There was of course the famous million-dollar loan. But there was also Fred's decades-old contact at Equitable Life Insurance, whose support Barrett reports was key to the firm's decision to help finance the project. And it was Fred Trump and Hyatt chief Jay Pritzker, not Donald, who guaranteed the project's $70 million construction loan. (Donald and the Pritzkers would co-own the hotel.) When the project ran over budget in the run-up to its 1980 opening, according to Gwenda Blair's biography, it was Fred who persuaded his pals at Chase Bank to give Donald a $35 million line of credit and a second mortgage worth $30 million. 'When it counted, which was when they went for the financing,' says Palmieri, 'his father turned up to be on the loans, which was really the vital part of the whole deal.' Donald may have conceived of the deal, but when it came to closing it, Ralph Steinglass told me, Donald 'had very little to do with pulling it off.'" [Politico Magazine, 5/12/16<http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2016/05/donald-trump-2016-father-artifice-of-the-deal-213888?o=0>]

Trump Was Unable To Afford Necessary Maintenance On The Grand Hyatt In The Wake Of His 1991 Bankruptcy And Financial Missteps In The Construction Of The Trump Taj Majal. "At the heart of the problem was Trump's cratering casino empire. After a series of financial missteps connected to the bloated $1 billion, junk-bond-funded construction of the Trump Taj Mahal, Trump's third and largest Atlantic City property, Trump declared bankruptcy in 1991 on several casinos and the Plaza Hotel in New York, which he also then owned. His net worth plunged into the red. In 1993, in the midst of their ongoing dispute over Trump's unpaid share of the growing maintenance bill for the Grand Hyatt, Donald sued the Pritzkers, alleging financial mismanagement. A year later, the Pritzkers sued back for $100 million. In their complaint, they alleged that Trump agreed in the late 1980s that repairs were necessary, before deciding they weren't because he was 'not in a financial position' to afford them. They were suing him for being broke, and, what's more, for purposely refusing to spiff up the hotel in order to extract financial concessions from them. Trump, for his part, found the whole ordeal unjust. 'When I was in my deepest problems," he said at the time, "they came to me and said, 'We want to renovate the hotel,' instead of holding off a little.'' In an ironic bookend to the saga, Trump managed to avert total financial collapse thanks, once again to Fred, who bought $3.5 million in chips from one of his son's casinos to help him make a bond payment, an illegal loan for which he had to pay a $30,000 fine. Eventually, Trump recovered, settled with the Pritzkers, and by 1995, had been bought out of the Grand Hyatt altogether. (The Pritzkers still own the hotel.)" [Politico Magazine, 5/12/16<http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2016/05/donald-trump-2016-father-artifice-of-the-deal-213888?o=0>]

Donald Trump Avoided Total Financial Collapse When His Father Bailed Out His Casino With An Illegal $3.5 Million Loan, Allowing Trump To Eventually Settle His Lawsuit With The Pritzkers Over His Neglected Maintenance Of The Grand Hyatt. "His net worth plunged into the red. In 1993, in the midst of their ongoing dispute over Trump's unpaid share of the growing maintenance bill for the Grand Hyatt, Donald sued the Pritzkers, alleging financial mismanagement. A year later, the Pritzkers sued back for $100 million. In their complaint, they alleged that Trump agreed in the late 1980s that repairs were necessary, before deciding they weren't because he was 'not in a financial position' to afford them. They were suing him for being broke, and, what's more, for purposely refusing to spiff up the hotel in order to extract financial concessions from them. Trump, for his part, found the whole ordeal unjust. 'When I was in my deepest problems,' he said at the time, "they came to me and said, 'We want to renovate the hotel,' instead of holding off a little.'' In an ironic bookend to the saga, Trump managed to avert total financial collapse thanks, once again to Fred, who bought $3.5 million in chips from one of his son's casinos to help him make a bond payment, an illegal loan for which he had to pay a $30,000 fine. Eventually, Trump recovered, settled with the Pritzkers, and by 1995, had been bought out of the Grand Hyatt altogether. (The Pritzkers still own the hotel.)" [Politico Magazine, 5/12/16<http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2016/05/donald-trump-2016-father-artifice-of-the-deal-213888?o=0>]

Campaign Finance

HEADLINE: "Newly Launched Super PAC Vows To Raise Millions For Donald Trump." [ABC News, 5/12/16<http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/newly-launched-super-pac-vows-raise-millions-donald/story?id=39074969>]

Committee For American Sovereignty Expected To Raise Over $100 Million In Support Of Trump's Presidential Bid. "As presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump shifts his campaign to the general election, at least one super PAC is getting on board too. A brand new pro-Trump super PAC launched today, touting its ability to take on Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton through a major donor operation focused on funding voter registration programs, get-out-the-vote operations, and television and online media ad buys. Representatives for the group, called the Committee for American Sovereignty, say they expect to raise $20 million between now and the GOP convention in July and upwards of $100 million throughout the course of the campaign. Doug Watts, national executive director and spokesman for the group, who also served as a former adviser to Ben Carson, told ABC News that the group's mission is to combat the 'Clinton machine.' 'With the recent announcement that a pro-Hillary Clinton super PAC has already booked over $90 million in ad time in just seven states in June, it is clear we need to ramp up major donor fundraising efforts, unify Republicans, and take on the Clinton machine. We have already begun to raise significant funds in California and from supporters across the country,' Watts said." [ABC News, 5/12/16<http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/newly-launched-super-pac-vows-raise-millions-donald/story?id=39074969>]

Former Ben Carson Adviser Doug Watts Served As Executive Of Pro-Trump Super PAC Committee For American Sovereignty. "Doug Watts, national executive director and spokesman for the group, who also served as a former adviser to Ben Carson, told ABC News that the group's mission is to combat the 'Clinton machine.' 'With the recent announcement that a pro-Hillary Clinton super PAC has already booked over $90 million in ad time in just seven states in June, it is clear we need to ramp up major donor fundraising efforts, unify Republicans, and take on the Clinton machine. We have already begun to raise significant funds in California and from supporters across the country,' Watts said. The advisory committee to the Committee for American Sovereignty includes military leaders, the former chairman of Trump Resorts International and political activists from across the country." [ABC News, 5/12/16<http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/newly-launched-super-pac-vows-raise-millions-donald/story?id=39074969>]

Pro-Trump Super PAC, Committee For American Sovereignty, Was Supported By Former CA State Senator Tony Strickland, Venture Capitalist Ken Abramowitz, Investor Nick Loeb,  California Businessman Tim Yale, California GOP Chairman Shawn Steel, Eagle Forum Founder Phyllis Schlafly And Retired Navy Admiral James A. Lyons, Jr. "A group of veteran Republican party leaders and wealthy allies of Donald Trump are launching a new super PAC to bolster his efforts to win the White House, aiming to raise $20 million before the national convention in July. The new group, called the Committee for American Sovereignty, was started by a group of Trump supporters in California, including former state senator Tony Strickland, who will serve as the super PAC's chairman. GOP strategist Doug Watts, who most recently worked for retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson's presidential bid, has signed on to be the national executive director. Already, the organization has attracted a list of major donors and party fundraisers including venture capitalist Ken Abramowitz, investor Nick Loeb and California businessman Tim Yale. Other supporters include former California GOP chairman Shawn Steel, Eagle Forum founder Phyllis Schlafly and retired Navy Admiral James A. Lyons, Jr." [Washington Post, 5/12/16<https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2016/05/12/california-allies-roll-out-new-pro-trump-super-pac-with-aim-of-raising-20-million-by-july/?postshare=4191463086495719&tid=ss_tw>]

The Involvement Of Former Trump Hotel, Casino And Resorts Chairman, Nicholas Ribis Sr., In Committee For American Sovereignty, Was A Sign Of The Super PAC's Blessing By Trump's Inner Circle. "Perhaps most significant is the participation of Nicholas Ribis Sr., the former chairman of Trump Hotel, Casino and Resorts, which will likely be read as a sign that Trump's circle has blessed the undertaking. The roll-out of the group shows that Trump's new rhetoric about super PACs has been interpreted as a change in his posture toward such group. Throughout the primaries, he bashed his rivals for relying on super PACs for support." [Washington Post, 5/12/16<https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2016/05/12/california-allies-roll-out-new-pro-trump-super-pac-with-aim-of-raising-20-million-by-july/?postshare=4191463086495719&tid=ss_tw>]

HEADLINE: "Donald Trump's Money Man Schmoozes With Billionaire Donors." [Yahoo News, 5/12/16<http://finance.yahoo.com/news/this-guy-is-the-new-royalty-among-hedge-fund-honchos-162444227.html?soc_src=mail&soc_trk=ma>]

Trump Finance Chairman, Steve Mnuchin, Met With Potential Financial Industry Donors At The SALT Conference In Las Vegas. "Steve Mnuchin sat quietly at the end of a long table, in a dark suit with no tie, chatting quietly with a parade of financiers who stopped by. Mnuchin wasn't on the speaking agenda at SALT, but he suddenly had a more important gig - finance chairman for Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump's campaign. That new role may explain why Mnuchin was at SALT in the first place. Trump has mostly self-funded his campaign so far, with individual donors contributing about one-fourth of the $48 million Trump has spent. And Trump has had no super PAC able to raise unlimited funds from wealthy donors to spend on his behalf, or on negative advertising aimed at an opponent. But Trump will need way more money to run a competitive campaign in the general election - possibly $500 million to $1 billion. That's why Trump has said he'll accept outside financing - and appointed Mnuchin to oversee that. 'He's a very accomplished guy,' says Anthony Scaramucci, founder of Skybridge Capital, which organizes the SALT conference every year. 'He's an entrepreneur, built a fund, he was a partner at a big investment bank. This is the kind of guy you can recruit into a Trump administration.' Mnuchin is a former partner at Goldman Sachs (GS) who has run his own hedge fund, Dune Capital Management, since 2004. His father, Robert Mnuchin, was head of stock trading at Goldman, and is now a well-regarded art dealer. So the younger Mnuchin, while not as well-known as financial titans like Jamie Dimon or Bill Ackman or Ken Griffin, clearly knows his way around Wall Street." [Yahoo News, 5/12/16<http://finance.yahoo.com/news/this-guy-is-the-new-royalty-among-hedge-fund-honchos-162444227.html?soc_src=mail&soc_trk=ma>]

Trump Finance Team Member, Anthony Scaramucci: "You've got to get enough money to get the opportunity to win."  "Many in the finance industry are still puzzling over Trump, who has criticized hedge-fund managers for 'getting away with murder' on account of low tax rates, and proposed free-trade restrictions that could severely hurt the bottom line of many big companies. But there's no other candidate for big donors to give to, other than Hillary Clinton. And so far, big donors have given $400 million to Republican candidates who flamed out. There's more where that came from, and Trump will likely grab some Wall Street money - especially since he's now setting up his own super PAC. Scaramucci says he'll work with Mnuchin to set up the nationwide fundraising effort Trump will need to take on the Democratic nominee, most likely Clinton, state-by-state. 'You've got to get enough money to get the opportunity to win,' Scaramucci says. 'You need the money to power that up.' Scaramucci backed Scott Walker and Jeb Bush earlier in the campaign, but says Trump is his guy now. A bunch of his hedge-fun pals may be making the same transition." [Yahoo News, 5/12/16<http://finance.yahoo.com/news/this-guy-is-the-new-royalty-among-hedge-fund-honchos-162444227.html?soc_src=mail&soc_trk=ma>]