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The testimony of witnesses in the context of the trial has been underway for several weeks.
Tom Barrack, chairman of the inaugural committee, was removed from office on Nov. 17, according to the court record.
The attorney general’s office also assigned cases to Barrack, Ivanka Trump, first lady Melania Trump and Rick Gates, the former vice-chair of the inaugural committee, according to the dossier.
According to the lawsuit, Gates “personally handled” discussions with the Trump Hotel over the event space.
In December 2016, Gates wrote to Ivanka Trump that he was “a little worried about PIC’s optics [Presidential Inaugural Committee] paying Trump Hotel high fees and the media make a big deal out of it, ”according to the lawsuit.
According to the lawsuit, Gates agreed with the hotel’s general manager and members of the Trump family to pay $ 175,000 per day for the committee to reserve space for four days.
The committee’s own event organizer – Stephanie Winston Wolkoff – advised against the transaction, telling the committee and the Trump family the fees were at least twice the market rate, the lawsuit says.
Wolkoff “noted unease with the offer during an in-person meeting with President-elect Trump and Ivanka Trump,” DC Attorney General Karl Racine said. She also sent a follow-up email to Ivanka Trump and Gates to “express [her] concern, ”according to the Attorney General.
“The inaugural committee still accepted the contract”, alleges the lawsuit.
Wolkoff will be removed from office next week, according to people familiar with the matter.
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