By Eric Umansky, ProPublica, and Ilya Marritz, WNYC
On this week’s episode, we take listener questions — and ask some ourselves.
Listeners have been sending us lots of questions about President Donald Trump and his businesses. So we sat down with one of the best in the business to answer them. The Washington Post’s David Fahrenthold has been digging into Trump for nearly two years. And he’s involved readers from the get-go.
Among the questions Fahrenthold takes on: How much money has the government spent on Trump properties? How much does it cost taxpayers and does Trump profit when he visits Mar-a-Lago? And who is Trump literally indebted to?
Fahrenthold also has his own question for listeners.
He’s now digging into Trump’s debts. One loan has particularly piqued his interest: Trump has disclosed an at least $50 million loan from something called Chicago Unit Acquisition LLC. It turns out Trump also owns that entity. Now there can be a perfectly good explanation for why Trump would lend money to himself. But he should then also disclose the loan as an asset. Trump didn’t.
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Fahrenthold wants to know more about Chicago Unit Acquisition LLC. (To get started, check out this good Mother Jones story.) You can email Fahrenthold directly, or of course reach us through our tip line. We’ll pass along the message, promise.
We also have our own request: Did you have any involvement in Washington, D.C.’s most expensive party ever? Yes, we’re digging into President Trump’s inauguration. Perhaps you worked at it? Or attended the Candlelight Dinner? We want to hear from you!
You can contact us via Signal, WhatsApp or voicemail at 347-244-2134. Here’s moreabout how you can contact us securely.
You can always email us at tips@trumpincpodcast.org.
And finally, you can use the postal service:
Trump Inc at ProPublica
155 Ave of the Americas, 13th Floor
New York, NY 10013
”Trump, Inc.” is a production of WNYC Studios and ProPublica. Support our work by visiting donate.propublica.org or by becoming a supporting member of WNYC. Subscribe here or wherever you get your podcasts.