Trump's Press Secretary Reveals a Little Too Much

Kayleigh McEnany put some private information on display
By Neal Colgrass,  Newser Staff
Posted May 23, 2020 9:30 AM CDT
Kayleigh McEnany Reveals a Little More Than Expected
White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany speaks with reporters about the coronavirus in the James Brady Briefing Room of the White House, Friday, May 22, 2020, in Washington.   (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

President Trump's press secretary revealed a little more than she bargained for Friday while displaying a check written by her boss, NBC News reports. Kayleigh McEnany was announcing which government agency will be the lucky recipient of Trump's $100,000 quarterly salary: "Here is the check," she said while holding up the president's check to the US Department of Health and Human Services. The donation will help "support the efforts being undertaken to confront, contain and combat the coronavirus," she added, per the New York Times. But the check—which included Trump's signature and Mar-a-Lago address—also revealed his bank account and routing numbers.

For the average person, that's a no-no. "It's not a best practice to share that information publicly," says Eva Velasquez, who heads the Identity Theft Resource Center. "If you don't have protections in place, there are sophisticated schemes and ways someone could access those funds knowing the account and routing number and the individual person it belongs to." A White House rep pushed back, saying Trump's salary went to fighting the coronavirus—"but leave it to the media to find a shameful reason not to simply report the facts." Trump donates his entire $400,000 presidential salary in accordance with a 2016 pledge to forgo the money, per Business Insider. (More President Trump stories.)

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