Trump Watched UFC Fight In NYC In 2019, It Reportedly Cost Taxpayers Whopping $250000

Donald Trump’s spur-of-the-moment decision to attend a mixed martial arts fight in New York in 2019 might not be appreciated by taxpayers.

The decision cost taxpayers over $250,000, as the Secret Service had to make arrangements to provide security for the president on a particularly busy weekend in the city, revealed federal records.

According to the records, which were obtained by the New York Daily News, the Secret Service had only a one-week heads up on Trump’s one-night stay in Manhattan for an Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) event on Nov. 2, 2019.

The late notice seems to have caused a logistical headache for the Secret Service as it had to look for accommodation for several agents protecting Trump on the same weekend as the New York City Marathon. The records show that Secret Service accommodations cost about $224,212, with agents staying at expensive hotels like the Royalton and the Intercontinental. Rooms at the Marriott Marquis in Times Square cost as high as $44,402.

An internal Secret Service email correspondence revealed that many hotel rooms were booked at the last minute. “Things could change some. I don’t have any information about hotels yet,” a Secret Service sergeant wrote to colleagues on Oct. 30, 2019, which was just three days before Trump’s arrival.

According to receipts, $22,005.51 in taxpayer cash was used on travel expenses for the agents. Secret Service spent an additional $6,350 on “tents” to set up near Trump Tower, where the former president was staying the night after the UFC fight. The grand total for Trump’s trip came to about $252,567.51, revealed the records.

Meanwhile, Manhattan prosecutors pursuing a criminal case against Trump, his company and its executives have reportedly told at least one witness to prepare for grand jury testimony.

The district attorney's office, led by Cyrus Vance Jr., has been investigating Trump, his real estate company and the company's executives on various fronts like examining the former President's tax returns and questioning perks the company gave its staff members.

According to CNN, prosecutors have also been looking into the finances of Trump Organization CFO Allen Weisselberg, along with benefits received from the company by him and his son Barry.

On Tuesday it was reported that the grand jury Vance's office has convened a special grand jury. "It's very rare for there to be a special grand jury empaneled in Manhattan supreme court and for that jury not to consider charges at some point," said Daniel Alonso, a former prosecutor who was chief assistant district attorney in the Manhattan district attorney's office under Vance.

Adam S. Kaufmann, who worked as chief of the office's investigative division, said: "it really suggests they've reached a point in their investigation where the district attorney believes there's evidence of a crime. You don't empanel a special grand jury unless you think you have a viable case."