TEXAS JUDGE: TRUMP MUST PAY $570,000 DEBT BEFORE TOURING BORDER

When Donald Trump arrives in Texas for an appearance with GOP Gov. Greg Abbott to tour the state’s border, he should bring a check to pay off his campaign’s nearly $570,000 debt to the city of El Paso, a local judge said, Mary Papenfuss reported for HuffPost.

“We have been trying to reach out to get the $570,000 from when he had his campaign” rally two years ago, El Paso County Judge Ricardo Samaniego told local NBC affiliate KTSM-9 TV earlier this week.

If Abbott “helps us collect” the money Trump owes, “that would be real nice,” Samaniego added.

Trump racked up the hefty bill for his “Make America Great Again” rally on Feb. 11, 2019, at El Paso County Coliseum. Local authorities provided security, transportation, emergency, and traffic services, and the bill was due in April that year.

The Trump campaign hasn’t yet paid a dime. It owes the El Paso police department more than $381,000 alone. Michael Glassner, the CEO of Trump’s campaign, told ABC two years ago: “We are reviewing” the bill.

“It shows a lack of concern for the community and the tax-paying voters of El Paso,” city Rep. Alexsandra Annello told the El Paso Times as Trump let the debt twist in the wind.

Trump has “put a financial burden on this community,” she complained.

Former Texas Rep. Beto O’Rourke launched his own presidential campaign in El Paso the same day as the 2019 Trump rally.

The Democrat settled his bill with the city three months later. El Paso originally charged the Trump campaign $470,417, but late fees to cover lawyers and a private collection firm to recoup the loss have boosted the current bill to close to $570,000.

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