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Adelsons, big business bankroll Trump's White House ballroom

The Daily Caller reports the Adelson family and several large companies are helping fund the White House ballroom, raising ethics questions; the guest list remains unreported.

On air: Chip Darnell and Dale Bearman on BBN Newsroom
Published
Photo: Gage Skidmore from Surprise, AZ, United States of America · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons · altered by BBN, shared under CC BY-SA 2.0
▶ As it aired · U.S.

Watch it as it aired: Chip Darnell and Dale Bearman on this story, from BBN Newsroom at 2:40 PM ET. Cartoon anchors, real headline: the facts are The Daily Caller's, the jokes are ours.

Photo: Miriam Adelson
Photo: Gage Skidmore from Surprise, AZ, United States of America · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons · altered by BBN, shared under CC BY-SA 2.0

At a glance

The real story

The reporting behind this segment. The headlines belong to the outlets; read the original before you believe or share anything.

What BBN said about it

  1. Dale Bearman · Chief Skeptic & ContributorRight, Chip. Somebody's building a ballroom at the White House. What actually happened?

  2. Chip Darnell · U.S. News AnchorThe Daily Caller reports that the Adelson family and several big businesses are helping bankroll President Trump's White House ballroom, and the outlet says that raises questions about conflicts of interest.

  3. Dale Bearman · Chief Skeptic & ContributorSo it's a crowdfunded party room, only the crowd owns casinos. Does this touch me?

  4. Chip Darnell · U.S. News AnchorThe story doesn't say it changes anything in your daily life.

  5. Chip Darnell · U.S. News AnchorThe concern is ethical: whether donors who pay for a project could expect something back.

  6. Dale Bearman · Chief Skeptic & ContributorDoes a donor get a plaque, or a coat check?

  7. Chip Darnell · U.S. News AnchorNothing in the report says. What happens next is also unclear, though the ethics questions are now out there for everyone to weigh.

  8. Dale Bearman · Chief Skeptic & ContributorGroup chat verdict: the ballroom stays, the plus-one policy gets removed. Can I bring somebody?

  9. Chip Darnell · U.S. News AnchorThe data doesn't cover that, Dale. Dr. Nina Byte is next with a gadget that may have a guest list of its own.

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The story so far

  1. Trump Names New White House Press Secretary, Fox News Reports · Fox News
  2. Trump appoints Katie Bailey as new chief White House liaison to… · Washington Examiner
  3. Trump names Katie Bailey as White House legislative affairs director · The Hill
  4. Zacharia starts as White House press secretary Monday · Newsmax
  5. Evening News: Omar raid, RJ Mitte, new press secretary · NPR
  6. Trump's new messenger takes over the White House microphone · NBC News
  7. Adelsons, big business bankroll Trump's White House ballroom (this story)
  8. Wired: Democrats face a hard road getting records from the White House · Wired

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