Mar-a-Lago sent White House a $1,000 liquor bill after aides helped themselves to bar: report

Staff at President Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Fla., reportedly billed the White House about $1,000 after aides helped themselves to drinks at one of the resort’s bars while Secret Service asked the bartender to leave.

A ProPublica investigation published Wednesday found that a group including at least two former White House aides, then-chief strategist Stephen Bannon and then-deputy chief of staff Joe Hagin, on an April 2017 trip met at a private bar on the resort’s premises before Secret Service agents ushered the bartender away for them to drink in private.

{mosads}After the group left, staff at the Trump Organization property tallied up the alcoholic drinks consumed, which totaled just over $800, according to ProPublica. A 20 percent service charge pushed the final bill to $1,076.

The two men have since left the Trump administration. When contacted by ProPublica, Hagin reportedly did not respond to requests for comment and Bannon denied drinking at Mar-a-Lago and said he did not recall the episode. An email obtained by ProPublica from Brooke Watson, Mar-a-Lago’s catering director, confirmed the aides by name as being in attendance.

A receipt of the final purchase shows a total of 54 drinks shared among the group, including Patron tequila, Woodford Reserve bourbon and Chopin vodka, plus a service charge of $167.60. The White House did not immediately return a request for comment from The Hill on whether or not the two were asked to reimburse taxpayers for the expenses.

The president’s businesses have been the source of controversy since he took office, with his critics saying they represent conflicts of interest as both domestic and foreign groups have the opportunity to financially enrich the president directly, violating the Emoluments Clause of the Constitution.

A federal judge this week rejected the president’s request to dismiss a lawsuit brought by Democrats alleging that he has violated the Emoluments Clause, finding the suit to be constitutional and allowing it to go forward.