A number of former Trump aides – including two who served in sensitive positions in the White House – have been paid roughly $15,000 per month by either the Trump campaign, the Republican National Committee or America First PAC, a political action committee dedicated to Trump’s re-election for various services described only briefly in filings.
Campaign or party coffers made monthly payments to former director of Oval Office operations Keith Schiller for “security services,” former personal assistant to the president John McEntee for “payroll,” former digital media director of the Trump campaign Brad Parscale for “digital consulting [and] management consulting” and former director of advertising for the Trump campaign Gary Coby for “media services [and] consulting.”
The parent company of the FECI rail line hasn't always been such an attractive investment for Scott and his wife. In 2014, the last time Scott disclosed the companies included in his blind trust, he did not list Fortress Investments, indicating the fund was acquired after Scott started actively backing the plan.
But the company's rail investment, All Aboard Florida, has been a project that Scott and his transportation team have given special attention to since before its inception, steering state money to assist the project as the Florida Department of Transportation and the Florida Development Finance Corporation provided regulatory assistance and funds.
Scott canceled a federally-financed high-speed rail project in February 2011, and sent the $2.4 billion in stimulus funds back to Washington.
The letter to the federal government rejecting the bullet train was drafted by Adam Hollingsworth, the member of Scott's transition team who, records show, also vetted Scott's candidates for secretary of Florida's Department of Transportation. He would later go to work for a sister company of All Aboard Florida at FECI.
Then, a year after Scott's rejection of the bullet train from Orlando to Tampa, he endorsed the rail project sought by Florida East Coast Industries to build a train the would operate at speeds of up to 110 mph from Miami to Orlando, about 60 mph slower than the bullet train Scott canceled. The governor also pledged at least $200 million in state money for a train depot at Orlando International Airport.
Although then-DOT secretary Ananth Prasad touted the project as "the nation's first privately financed, operated and maintained passenger rail system," the financing heavily involved taxpayers.
The corruptness of Scott has been neglected by FL Republicans. Before he was elected the first time, his company had paid the largest fine in US history for healthcare fraud. It's outrageous that he and others didn't go to jail over their multi-billion theft.