Donald Trump Jr's hunting trip to Mongolia cost more than $75,000 in taxpayer money
- Donald Trump Jr.'s eight-day trip to Mongolia last year, during which he hunted a rare breed of sheep, cost taxpayers more than $75,000 in Secret Service protection, according to documents obtained by a government watchdog group.
- Sources close to Trump Jr. told CNN and USA Today that taxpayers only paid for Secret Service detail, and Trump Jr. paid for the rest of the trip.
- Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), the government watchdog group that obtained the documents, say officials previously said that the trip cost taxpayers $17,000.
Donald Trump Jr.'s hunting trip in Mongolia last August cost taxpayers more than $75,000 in Secret Service protection, according to documents obtained by the government watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW).
Documents on the trip's cost were obtained through a Freedom of Information Act filing by Crew, a nonpartisan nonprofit organization.
It showed Trump Jr.'s eight-day trip, during which he hunted a rare breed of sheep, cost $76,859.36. A previous FOIA from CREW showed the trip had cost $17,000.
"These Secret Service payments show how much taxpayer money directly funded Don Jr.'s trip, and show that the cost was much steeper than the agency originally admitted," CREW said in its report. "As a son of the president, Donald Trump Jr. is entitled to Secret Service protection and should be protected, but taxpayers deserve to know how much they are paying to facilitate his trophy hunting and interactions with major political donors and foreign leaders."
Sources close to Trump Jr. told CNN and USA Today that the president's son paid for the entire trip other than the Secret Service detail he traveled with.
ProPublica reported in December that Trump Jr. "received special treatment" during the trip. He met with Mongolian President Khaltmaagiin Battulga during his visit, according to the Washington Post, and took time to hunt an argali sheep after obtaining what ProPublica called a "coveted and rare permit."
Argali sheep, which can be more than six feet long and have giant curving horns, are on the US Fish and Wildlife Service's threatened species list.
CREW said in its report that it is "still investigating other aspects of the trip, including whether the State Department was involved, and whether Don Jr. was granted a permit from the Interior Department to bring back the sheep carcass."
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