Melania Trump demanded a quarter-million to speak to gay Republicans. No one knows who paid her.

First Lady of the United States Melania Trump delivers remarks at the 2019 International Women of Courage Awards ceremony at the U.S. Department of State in Washington, D.C., on March 7, 2019
Photo: Wikimedia Commons

Questions are swirling around the source of a nearly-quarter million dollar speaking fee former First Lady Melania Trump received for appearing at a campaign event hosted by the Log Cabin Republicans, the gay GOP group, in April.

The Trump campaign’s latest financial disclosure indicates Mrs. Trump was paid $237,500 for a “speaking engagement” at the event held at the former president’s Mar-a-Lago club, but the source of the payment was not disclosed.

“It seems pretty self-serving,” Virginia Canter, the chief ethics counsel at Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics, told CNN. “From my own general observation, I’m not used to seeing that.”

“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,” Cantor said. “It should have properly been reported so that the source of the income is listed for the honorarium.”

Defenders of the First Lady, who claim they were unaware she was paid for the appearance, say it’s up to her how and where she spends her time in support of her husband’s third presidential bid. One source described Melania Trump’s thinking as, “’My best and highest use is where I am,’” adding that “she’s a priceless, timeless asset” for her husband.

That explanation doesn’t address the source of the payment.

Campaign finance records indicate that…

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