So, get this: Six weeks before Donald Trump’s inauguration, Melania Trump’s longtime homegirl, and current senior adviser, Stephanie Winston Wolkoff started a company that received the largest payout from Trump’s inauguration committee.
According to the New York Times, Wolkoff created WIS Media Partners of Marina del Rey, Calif., just six weeks before the president was to take office and was paid close to $26 million by the 58th Presidential Inaugural Committee, a nonprofit group chaired by longtime Trump friend Tom Barrack.
The Times notes that Wolkoff received $25,843,509 for “event production services,” according to mandatory tax documents filed by the group.
After the inauguration, Wolkoff took a reportedly nonpaid position as a senior adviser to the first lady. Melania Trump “had no involvement” in planning the inauguration, her spokeswoman, Stephanie Grisham, told CNN Thursday, and had “no knowledge of how funds were spent.”
“Stephanie Wolkoff is a special government employee with the Office of the first lady,” she added. “She volunteers her time and receives no salary for her efforts.”
CNN notes that there’s a good chance that the majority of the money awarded to Wolkoff’s company went to pay vendors and event coordinators, but the report did note that Wolkoff cleared a cool $1.62 million for her efforts.
Wolkoff did not respond to CNN’s request for comment.