Former LePage aide reimburses state for Trump hotel stay

AUGUSTA, Maine – A former adviser to Maine Republican Gov. Paul LePage is reimbursing the state $925.16 for spending two nights at the Trump International Hotel in Washington last year.

Aaron Chadbourne told state Treasurer Terry Haynes in a letter that his recollection is that the Trump hotel offered the best rate for a last-minute booking for LePage’s group.

The Sun Journal reports that Chadbourne believes his stay was appropriate, but that he wants to “reduce another needless distraction and remove myself from the pettiness that now envelops our politics.”

The visit in May 2017 was at least the second time the governor and staff stayed at the hotel.

An earlier stay in 2017 was cited in a federal lawsuit as an example of possible unconstitutional mixing of Trump’s business interests and official work.