Photo: Getty; Shutterstock
Amid his legal woes this past spring,Donald Trumplived as usual at his members-only Palm Beach club, Mar-a-Lago. And according to a political source, he found company in Republican firebrandKari Lake, who was spotted frequently at the club in recent months.
Lake — a former news anchor wholost her bid for Arizona governorand, like Trump,claimed that the election was riggedagainst her — spent a significant portion of her time at Mar-a-Lago during its open season, the source tells PEOPLE. (In the summer months, the property generally clears out and even Trump heads to his golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey.)
“Kari Lake is there all the time,” the source tells PEOPLE. “There’s a suite there that she practically lives in.”
Mar-a-Lago.
The source adds that Trump makes most of his public Mar-a-Lago appearances “on the weekends,” when, after dinner, he’s said to “turn the music up” using a playlist he curates himself.
Meanwhile Trump’s wife,Melania Trump, stays further from the spotlight, usually enjoying dinner with her husband on Saturday nights at the club and otherwisekeeping to herself.
A senior adviser for Lake responded to the source’s quotes, calling the alleged details “ridiculous” in a statement to PEOPLE.
“Kari Lake often speaks at events all over the country in support of America First candidates and organizations; and when she does have the honor of being invited to speak at the beautiful Mar-a-Lago, she overnights at Hilton properties in Palm Beach with her loving husband of 25 years,” the statement added.
Kari Lake.Justin Sullivan/Getty
Lake’s reported appearances at Mar-a-Lago come months after Trump officially announcedhis 2024 campaign for presidentin November, and after sources told PEOPLE that Lake has been vying for the role of his running mate. Insiders say Trump “may be considering” as this could be one of the reasons she has been spotted having meetings at Mar-a-Lago so often.
“She is working the deal. She wants something bigger, fast, to compensate for her loss in Arizona,” one source previously said.
Meanwhile Trump is mired in several legal battles — most notably, an ongoing case in whichhe has been accused of dozens of federal criminal offensesrelating to his handling of classified government documents.
Earlier this month, the former president was accused of 37 criminal offenses: 31 counts of willful retention of national defense information (a violation ofthe Espionage Act); one count of conspiracy to obstruct justice; one count of withholding a document or record; one count of corruptly concealing a document or record; one count of concealing a document in a federal investigation; one count of scheme to conceal; and one count of false statements and representations.
Documents stored in a bathroom at Mar-a-Lago.US DISTRICT COURT SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF FLORIDA HANDOUT/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
US DISTRICT COURT SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF FLORIDA HANDOUT/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
In an unsealed indictment, prosecutors allege Trump retained over 100 classified documents with some of the most sensitive topics originating from seven intelligence agencies, including the CIA, NSA and Department of Defense.
According to the indictment, documents were stored in “a ballroom,a bathroom and shower, an office space, [Trump’s] bedroom, and a storage room,” all at Mar-a-Lago.
With his indictment, Trump became the first U.S. president to be charged in a federal investigation (the former president was arraigned earlier this year in aseparate criminal investigationat the state level).
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source: people.com
