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Fundraisers atTrumpProperties Trigger Ethics Concerns

Patsy Widakuswara

   WHITE HOUSE - U.S. President DonaldTrumpis raising money for his
   re-election campaign at a record pace, with hundreds of millions of
   dollars already in the bank. But his massive haul is again focusing
   attention on his practice of holding fundraising events at his own
   properties.

   Trump, who declared his 2020 re-election bid the day he took office,
   attended a joint fundraiser for himself and House Republicans on
   Tuesday evening at theTrumpInternational Hotel in Washington. The
   gathering reportedly raised $13 million for a committee that supports
   Republicans in upcoming congressional elections.

   The event, held just blocks from the White House, was the second one
   this week. The president reportedly raked in millions of dollars from a
   fundraiser in Chicago atTrumpInternational Hotel and Tower on Monday.

   These events are part ofTrump's highly effective fundraising strategy,
   which has raised more money than that of any other sitting president in
   history by this point in the campaign. In the third quarter of 2019
   alone, theTrump2020 campaign and the Republican National Committee said
   they had raised $125 million, with $158 million combined cash on hand.

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