TRUMP CORRUPTION INDEX

This Week in Trumpland Corruption: The President’s Personal Piggy Bank

This week saw revelations of the president’s use of taxpayer money to bankroll his businesses, plus a doomed scheme to vaccinate Santa

Photo illustration. Source: State Department

Is there enough graft, double-dealing, and self-interested chicanery in the Trump administration to publish this column every week? Only time — and Trump — will tell. (But we feel pretty confident.) Presenting this week’s installment of the Trump Corruption Index.

A Very Expensive Dinner

New reporting by the Washington Post reveals that President Trump’s personal businesses have brought in more $2.5 million from the U.S. government during his time in office. Among the most notable charges: a $7,000 30-person dinner featuring Chinese President Xi Jinping at Mar-a-Lago in April 2017; a $6,000 bill from Mar-a-Lago for floral arrangements from Trump’s meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in April 2018; and a $17,000 monthly charge to Secret Service between May and November for a cottage on Trump’s golf course grounds in Bedminster, New Jersey, where the Trump family likes to vacation. In addition, Trump’s campaign and fundraising committee has forked over $5.6 million to…