Report: Trump Wanted To Fire Gates Over Republican Convention-Related Payment

CLEVELAND, OH - JULY 21: Republican nominee Donald Trump, Campaign Manager Paul Manafort, and his daughter Ivanka Trump do a walk thru at the Republican Convention, July 20, 2016 at the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleve... CLEVELAND, OH - JULY 21: Republican nominee Donald Trump, Campaign Manager Paul Manafort, and his daughter Ivanka Trump do a walk thru at the Republican Convention, July 20, 2016 at the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Brooks Kraft/ Getty Images) MORE LESS
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The torrent of sleaze allegations that have enveloped the Trump inaugural committee have extended to another event arranged by the President’s associates: the 2016 Republican National Convention.

According to a report in Bloomberg, Trump wanted to fire Rick Gates over a mysterious $700,000 allocation during the planning of the Republican National Convention.

Gates, a Paul Manafort protege who worked on the Trump campaign and for the inaugural committee, was never fired. The $700,000 — reportedly allocated for “a direct mail contract” — infuriated Trump, Bloomberg reported, to the point where he was “still seething about it” months later.

The issue also reportedly concerned White House Counsel Don McGahn.

Tom Green, an attorney for Gates, did not immediately return TPM’s request for comment. Jason Maloni, a Manafort spokesman, also did not immediately reply to a request for comment.

Read Bloomberg’s full report here.

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