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Donald Trump faces being BANNED from a major Texas city after ignoring a letter demanding he settle a huge debt

1 month ago 8

Donald Trump could be banned from one of Texas' biggest cities after failing to pay a nearly $600,000 debt to police and other first responders tasked with protecting him, DailyMail.com can reveal. 

The ex-president still owes a staggering $569,204.63 to the crucial border city of El Paso for using the services of police, ambulance and firefighters which were requested by the Secret Service for a campaign rally at the County Coliseum on February 11, 2019. 

City spokeswoman Laura Cruz-Acosta told DailyMail.com the Trump campaign has so far ignored payment requests and even incurred a 21 percent late charge of $98,787.58. 

El Paso taxpayers have instead picked up the tab for the first responders, she confirmed.  

It led Texas' sixth largest city to resort to calling in lawyers and even consider suing Trump. However now they have instead been pressuring his campaign team to repay the debt. 

Donald Trump could be banned from one of Texas' biggest cities after failing to pay a $600,000 debt to police and other first responders tasked with protecting him

El Paso originally invoiced the Trump campaign after a February 2019 event. After several attempts to get paid, the city added a late fee and hired a law firm to get the money owed

'I’m hopeful they’ll pay. I’m hopeful they’ll do what’s right. People that don’t pay their bills — that’s a character integrity issue,' Mayor Dee Margo said in 2019 of Trump's debt. 

The Trump campaign did not respond to requests for comment from DailyMail.com about the outstanding money owed to the city and others in America.

El Paso authorities even wrote to the then president warning him they may take the unprecedented step of banning the 45th president from entering the city.

The letter above is one of several pieces of communication shared with DailyMail.com by the City of El Paso showing multiple attempts to collect the debt 

The letter states the city 'may choose to not enter into a contract with an individual that is indebted to the city for more than $100.' 

The border city has hosted every sitting US president since Ronald Reagan, who often choose it as a backdrop to speak about immigration. 

Trump is the only politician of either party to leave a debt for the use of first responder services. 

'We’re on unprecedented territory by having to collect an outstanding invoice from a sitting president,' City Attorney Karla Nieman told Texas Tribune when the city first hired attorneys in 2020.

The city did charge native son and Democrat Beto O'Rourke $21,021 for a counter rally he held the same day as Trump's border rally - which was paid by deadline, according to the local paper.

Trump frequently casts himself as pro-police, making law enforcement the focus of one entire night at the July Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, called 'Make America Safe Once Again.'

'Donald Trump is the best friend we will ever have,' Randy Sutton, a former police lieutenant who spoke at the convention, said of Trump.

Representatives for Donald Trump, pictured above in El Paso during his rally in February 11, 2019,  did not respond to a request for comment about the money owed to cops in El Paso and other police departments across the country

El Paso police officers escort Trump supporters through a crowd in 2019

Dorchester County, near Charleston, South Carolina, is the latest community to claim Trump has unpaid bills, with the ex-president owning police and local taxpayers there $26,071.22

Despite this, El Paso is far from the only city seeking backpay for its cops. 

Most recently, Dorchester County in South Carolina has joined the list of communities that claim Trump owes them money. 

Trump spoke to supporters at a Sportsman Boats near Charleston on September 25. 

Cops owed money by Trump for security

El Paso, Texas -  $569,204.63

Minneapolis, Minnesota - $542,733

Albuquerque, New Mexico - $211,175 

Battle Creek, Michigan - $93,000 

Tucson, Arizona - $81,837 

Spokane, Washington - $65,124.69 

Mesa, Arizona - $64,467 

Eau Claire, Wisconsin - $47,398 

Billings, Montana - $45,900 

Green Bay, Wisconsin - $42,380 

Costal Carolina University - $37,410 

Erie, Pennsylvania - $35,129 

Wildwood, N.J. - $33,900 

Dorchester County S.C. - $26,071 

Lebanon, Ohio - $16,191

Missoula County, Montana - $13,000 

Burlington, Vermont - $8,464

The Trump campaign has not paid the $26,071.22 despite several attempts by the county to collect, a county spokeswoman confirmed to DailyMail.com.

Non-payment for police provided to him at private events extends beyond local governments. 

Coastal Carolina University wants Trump to pony up $37,410 for security provided during a February 10 rally. 

As of May 15, the bill was unpaid, the university confirmed to the South Carolina Daily Gazette

In Montana, the Billings police chief recently confirmed it is waiting for $45,900 for a 2018 Trump visit, KFOX reported.

Green Bay, Wisconsin is demanding payment for two Trump visits: $9,380 for a 2016 rally and $33,000 for one in March.

'That kind of money could be the difference between hiring another police officer or not,' former Wisconsin state Rep. Amanda Stuck, D, told the Center for Public Integrity

The organization found nine other cities where Trump owes money for police.

All together, the amounts total $1,933,383.

Albuquerque went so far as to report Trump's $211,175 debt to a collection agency, something the mayor claimed was the normal process.

'We got no response...and then automatically, it does go to an agency that helps try and collect debts, and so that’s those annoying phone calls you get that say, you know, you owe money to so-and-so like now, Trump is getting those,' Mayor Tim Keller told a local outlet.

And these are just the cities that have come forward about unpaid bills. It's possible Trump's debt is even larger.

'Many cities that hosted Trump rallies chose not to bill his campaign for police and public safety costs, explaining they have policies against doing so or didn’t bother because of Trump’s history of nonpayment,' the investigative group said.

Nashville took the approach of forcing Trump to pre-pay for cop services and sign a contract if he wanted to come to town.

Trump is unlikely to ever pay what he owes, as he once bragged about his handling of debt.

'I’m the king of debt. I’m great with debt. Nobody knows debt better than me,' he said during a 2016 interview with CBS.

'I’ve made a fortune by using debt, and if things don’t work out, I renegotiate the debt. You go back and you say, "Guess what, the economy just crashed. I'm going to give you back half."'

His campaign has either taken the position of completely ignoring cities that try to get paid or it has issued almost an identical statement in several instances.

'It is the U.S. Secret Service, not the campaign, which coordinates with local law enforcement. The campaign itself does not contract with local governments for police involvement,' the statements all say.

While it's true that Secret Service coordinates with local police for security, the agency has no budget to pay local police, nor does it handle billing.

That is strictly the responsibility of political campaigns.

In 2019, Trump went to war with the City of Minneapolis after it invoiced him for $530,000 for a campaign event he'd planned at Target Center.

On Twitter, Trump attacked Mayor Jacob Frey for sending his re-election organization a $530,000 bill in October 2019.

'Someone please tell the Radical Left Mayor of Minneapolis that he can’t price out Free Speech,' the tweet read.

President Donald Trump gestures to supporters as he arrives at Minneapolis Saint Paul International Airport, Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2020

'Probably illegal! I stand strongly & proudly with the great Police Officers and Law Enforcement of Minneapolis and the Great State of Minnesota! See you Thursday Night!'

Minneapolis originally billed Target Center, where the MAGA rally was scheduled days before the event.

The Target Center passed the bill on to the Trump campaign, saying they needed to take care of it it or Trump wouldn't be able to use the venue.

The campaign threatened to sue the Target Center for breach of contract.

'Consistent with our original agreement with the venue, the Trump campaign has not agreed to pay any additional funds,' Trump campaign manager Brad Parscale told NBC.

The event went on, and Minneapolis spent two years trying to get reimbursed before it finally got $100,000 back, but not from Trump.

The Target Center paid up.

'Not all services were reimbursable because of the City’s role in protecting free speech and the right for the public to gather; therefore, not all expenses were recoverable,' the city told DailyMail.com in a statement.

'The City did not have a contractual relationship with the Trump campaign but does with Target Center management which paid the city $100,000 for City services used during the event.'

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