John -
Donald Trump Jr. took a trip to Mongolia to trophy hunt an endangered sheep, costing American taxpayers nearly $60,000 more than the government previously disclosed.
In March, CREW received Secret Service documents in response to our records request that showed that Don Jr.’s protection for the August trip cost taxpayers $17,000. We sued, because it looked like the government had not done a complete search of their receipts. We were right—it turned out that the full bill was actually $76,859.36. Read more here.
The trip was already controversial for many reasons: he was retroactively awarded a permit to hunt the endangered argali sheep after he had already killed it, he had a private meeting with Mongolia’s president that we know nothing about, and he hunted alongside a major Republican donor. Now, the steep cost of the trip—and the fact that the total was originally withheld—should also raise eyebrows.
The Trump family is costing American taxpayers big. Share the story of Donald Trump Jr.’s expensive trophy hunt with your friends and family on Facebook, on Twitter, or by forwarding this email.
As the president’s son, Don Jr. is entitled to Secret Service protection and should be protected, but taxpayers need to know how much they are paying to facilitate his trophy hunting hobby and his interactions with political donors and foreign leaders.
We also know that the Trump family is taking 12 times as many protected trips as the Obama family did, which translates to roughly 1,000 more trips per year. While we know that many of those trips have been to promote or support Trump Organization business, there are thousands of trips that remain a mystery. If just one of Don Jr.’s trophy hunting trips cost taxpayers more than $75,000, it’s staggering to think how high the family’s total bill must be.
CREW is committed to shining a light on the Trump family’s corruption, the expense to taxpayers, and the real cost to our democracy. We will keep you updated as we learn more.
Thank you for standing with us,
Noah Bookbinder
Executive Director, CREW
