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Former First Lady Melania Trump reportedly received a massive payment for her appearance at a political event—which many have commented is "unusual" for the wife of a presidential aspirant.
Knewz.com has learned that Melania was cut a six-figure paycheck for speaking at a fundraiser organized by the conservative LGBTQ rights group Log Cabin Republicans in April 2024.
The information has come to light in former President Donald Trump's latest financial disclosure form, where the $237,500 payment made to Melania was listed as a "speaking engagement."
However, the identity of who actually made the payment is still a mystery, according to reports.
Log Cabin Republicans has revealed that the organization did not make the payment to Melania for the April fundraiser, and the source of the payment is not listed in the disclosed financial record.
It has been pointed out that ahead of another fundraiser for the conservative human rights group in July, at least one request was made to a donor regarding a similar payment to the former First Lady.
According to reports, the request was made by Ric Grenell, the former United States ambassador to Germany and a known ally of Trump.
Since the Republican Presidential campaign has not yet disclosed the financial records for the period, it is unknown if Melania was paid for the "speaking engagement" in July.
Virginia Canter, the chief ethics counsel at Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics, has commented that the decision to not disclose the name of the individual who made the payment to Melania in April – since Log Cabin Republicans has already stated that the money did not come from them – could land the Republican campaign in hot water for a potential ethics violation.
Canter also stated that a presidential candidate's wife getting paid to appear at a political fundraiser is "unusual" and "ethically questionable" in itself.
"It seems pretty self-serving. From my own general observation, I’m not used to seeing that," she commented.
Regarding the potential ethics violation, Canter said in a statement, "You could indicate that payment was for a speaking engagement for the Log Cabin Republicans, but you also need to report who the source of the payment was, otherwise you can’t assess for the conflicts of interest, and it wouldn’t be in compliance with the rules."
"It should have properly been reported so that the source of the income is listed for the honorarium," she added.
It has been further reported that Melania received a $250,000 payment for another Log Cabin Republicans event in December 2022, the month her husband announced his re-election bid.
Records have shown that she received two more payments of the same – or a higher – amount for speaking at an event in Florida and California respectively in the same month.
Notably, the event in California was organized by Fix California, an organization founded by former U.S. ambassador Grenell.
It has also been reported that Melania received a payment of $155,000 from the Trump-aligned super PAC Make America Great Again, Again for speaking at an event in Palm Beach, Florida, in December 2021.
It is worth noting that the events for which she reportedly got paid six-figure sums were the only events she attended on her husband's campaign trail this year. Otherwise, Melania has largely been a scarce presence in the former President's re-election campaign, according to reports.
Notably, fired Trump aide Anthony Scaramucci – who was part of the former President's communications director for only 11 days – had claimed earlier in September that Melania "hates" the Republican presidential hopeful and is "rooting for" challenger Kamala Harris to win.