At CPAC to day, as expected, Dr. Ben Carson announced that he was suspending his his campaign for the Republican nomination for President. Two days ago, Dr. Carson announced that he saw no viable path forward and would not be participating in the debate, but did not formally announce a suspension in his campaign. Carson anounced earlier today that he will serve as national chairman for My Faith Votes and pledged to continue to be involved in the election.
Trump skipped the debate in Iowa in January to hold a “fundraiser” for veterans after his public spat with Megyn Kelly and Fox News. His alternative event was controversial as he originally was looking to partner with the Wounded Warrior Project which had fallen under heavy scrutiny over its internal spending. As this site previously reported, on the DAY of the event Trump registered the domain DonaldTrump forVets.com and directed contributions to the Donald J. Trump Foundation with no specific veterans organizations listed as beneficiaries.
In fact, some veterans organizations specifically refused to participate declining to be a political prop for Trump. Trump claimed to have raised $6 million for veterans which included $1 million from himself. Here is the webpage that was tossed up on the day of the event. It is still up requesting donations and claims to have raised $1,670,000 online.
CNN investigative reporter Drew Hicks investigated the distribution of these funds. He was told by the Trump campaign that the information was available on their website. It is not. He went to the known beneficiaries and to date has only been able to track down $800,000 that has been distributed. This leaves $5.2 million unaccounted for. Where’s the money Donald? Is this how you’re going to take care of our vets?