How the former Maine governor became a boy in the Trump Emoluments poster

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Cillizza: This story seems to have taken a long time. Describe the process – from the birth of the idea until its publication.

Thistle: The idea sprang up when we noticed shortly after the election of President Trump that LePage was traveling frequently to Washington, DC. We first requested travel receipts for LePage's trip in March 2017. His administration did not produce any of the requested documents, except a copy of his daily calendar, which was not very informative, apart from the presentation of several private meetings in Washington.

Cillizza: None of these disks were released while LePage was in office. Coincidence?

Thistle: We actually got information from the state police during his tenure. The state police are in the service of the governor's executive protection unit and the officers follow him. Although they were heavily redacted, these records included room service receipts for the restaurant located inside the Trump International Hotel. We were able to refer to other fees such as room charges and valet service fees. They corresponded to the standard fee of a penny for the hotel. The LePage office then confirmed that they had stayed at the hotel but that they still have not issued receipts. Our first story about this took place in July 2017, but we did not know at that time the extent of the visits to Trump International. The successor administration of LePage has handed over 2,000 pages of receipts after the departure of LePage.

Cillizza: Put the $ 170,000 spent by LePage in their context. Is it unusual?

Thistle: The $ 170,000 represents the amount the LePage office has spent on all out-of-state travel in the last two years of its last term, mainly in 2017 and 2018. This compares with approximately $ 45,000 spent by the previous governor traveling his last two years in power. LePage spent about $ 22,000 at the Trump Hotel, meals and accommodations. The previous governor spent about 9,000 USD for accommodation outside the state.

Cillizza: Did LePage or anyone around him ever explain why he had chosen to stay so often at the Trump Hotel?

Thistle: They never explained why so often, but they said they got the best rate for the region and it was better than any other price from comparable competitors – which was not true in reality. LePage did not respond to our requests for explanation, but repeated this explanation on Maine radio on Monday.

Cillizza: Finish this sentence: "Paul LePage has spent so much taxpayer money at the Trump Hotel because _________." Now, explains.

Thistle"Paul LePage has spent so much taxpayer money at the Trump Hotel because he could."

He was not disturbed by the reports on the stay or by the ongoing prosecution of federal emoluments. He and his staff continued to book rooms until the end of 2018. This also took place after LePage called the federal judge who allowed the prosecution to make "fool". Apparently, he saw nothing wrong with staying at the hotel unlike the Maine taxpayers.

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