According to a new report from USA Today, the political fund created to fuel former President Donald Trump’s claims of widespread voter fraud paid $60,000 to a stylist for former First Lady Melania Trump.
Federal Election Commission (FEC) records show that the Trump-backed political action committee Save America paid Hervé Pierre Braillard $60,000. The payments were reportedly divided into four installments paid between April 7 and June 24.
Although the payments were said to have been made for “strategic consultancy”, it appears unclear what the payments were actually made for.
USA Today notes that the FEC has specific rules regarding the purchase of clothing with campaign financing.
“The Federal Election Commission does not allow candidate committees, which are formed to raise money for a particular candidate, to spend money on personal items, including clothing,” the newspaper reported. “But Save America is not a candidate committee, it’s a leadership PAC, originally designed for politicians to raise and give money to other candidates. They have fewer restrictions and have been criticized as slush funds”.
A number of political pundits have weighed in with their opinion on the five-figure payout. Many also insist that the purchase raises questions.
“If you’re going to a political function and you’re trying to buy a new dress or a new tuxedo, that’s usually something the FEC would say campaign funds shouldn’t be used for,” said Michael Beckel, of who serves as the Issue’s research director. One, a bipartisan political reform group.
“So it really raises questions about whether leadership funds are being used to pay for something like a new dress or new clothing that campaign funds cannot legally be used for,” he said.
Braillard, who goes by the name Hervé Pierre, also discussed his fashion role during a previous interview with the New York Times. His remarks have been resurfaced because the role he was recently paid for may not match the one for which the pay was determined.
“I do a little bit of styling with (Melania Trump) but it’s not really my forte,” Braillard told the NY Times in 2017. “What I’m interested in in this relationship is not just finding nice clothes — a lot of people can do that. It’s more about this woman’s legacy. Everyone has a different reaction to what she’s wearing.”
Ann Ravel, a former member of the Federal Election Commission, also expressed concern about the evolution of PACs and why real regulation is needed.
“For so long, the purpose of leadership PACs, even when they were created, was to please and help other congressmen or other political candidates, but that seems to have pretty much passed,” Ravel said.
She added, “There is a desperate need for regulation.”
