A private jet company founded by a major Republican donor received nearly $27 million in federal grants from a $2 trillion economic relief package intended to offset the blunt of coronavirus pandemic.
The company — Clay Lacy Aviation, which is headquartered in Van Nuys, Calif. — provides private charter and management services to “business and world leaders, Fortune 500 companies, government agencies, professional athletes, sports franchises, celebrities and dignitaries,” according to its website.
Its U.S. fleet reportedly numbers more than 100 business jets, worth more than $1 billion, and conducts charter operations in a number of locations including West Palm Beach, nearby Mar-a-Lago and Trump International Golf Club. The $27 million was a grant — and not a loan — so it does not have to be repaid.
The week after President Donald Trump accepted the Republican party nomination in July 2016, Clay Lacy Aviation donated $50,000 to Trump Victory, the joint fundraising vehicle shared between the Trump campaign and the Republican National Committee, according to FEC filings. Trump Victory transferred $2,700, the maximum amount, to the Trump campaign.
The funding directed to Clay Lacy falls […]
How did we become a banana republic so quickly, with a smirking dictator who does and says anything he wants, puts his corrupt and unqualified family and friends into power, fires anyone he doesn’t like, and sucks up the wealth of the country while Americans look on and do nothing? Neal Gabler said in 2017: “Tinhorn dictators do everything they can to dismantle a system of checks and balances. Trump has done everything in his power to do the same.” Three years later we see the triumph of Trump’s strategy.
https://billmoyers.com/story/america-banana-republic-government/