'Shady salesman' Lutnick under fire for inflating Trump Gold Card numbers: insider
Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick has been grilled by a White House insider for allegedly lying about Trump Gold Card statistics.
President Donald Trump announced the Trump Gold Card earlier this year. Trump first discussed the notion in February to sell the exclusive visas for $5 million a piece to give “very high-level people” a “route to citizenship.”
At the time, Trump and Commerce Secretary Lutnick claimed the gold card visas would replace the EB-5 visa that grants citizenship to foreign nationals who invest in U.S. businesses, according to the report.
A donation to the Department of Commerce of $1 million is required for individuals, while a $2 million donation is required for a corporation or a donation made on behalf of another person. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick had claimed in June that there was a waiting list of over 70,000 people.
This figure, along with other economic claims made by Lutnick in relation to the Trump Gold Card, has been ridiculed by a White House insider speaking to PunchUp.
Reporter Tom Latchem wrote, "A PunchUp source close to the White House was brutal: 'Every number he’s given about Trump’s Gold Card is bigger than the one before, and none of them are real… Based on what we know, he’s acting more like a shady salesman instead of cabinet sec.
"'Congress needs to crack down and find out where all the money is.' PunchUp contacted the Commerce Department’s media office to ask four straightforward questions: Why has only one of 70,000 been approved? What happened to the rest of the money? Was the 70,000 figure ever accurate? And who actually is the one person who has been approved for a Trump Gold Card?"
A "tax exemption" card named Trump Platinum Card is also available on the official website for Gold Card applications. The Platinum Card is listed as "coming soon".
Application times have been cited as taking just "weeks" according to the trumpcard.gov website. It reads, "Once an applicant’s processing fee and application are received, the process should take weeks. The applicant will need to attend a visa interview and submit any additional documents in a timely manner."