Trump fundraiser 'shut down' ahead of Miami Grand Prix

A Donald Trump fundraiser has been sent a cease-and-desist letter ahead of the Miami Grand Prix telling him that he is not permitted to use a paddock suite as part of a campaign.

Steven Witkoff, who is a close friend of Trump, bought a paddock club rooftop suite for the Miami Grand Prix.

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Witkoff recently testified in defense of the former president during a $350 million civil fraud judgement for financial misdeeds.

The organizers claim that it is a breach of contract for a suite to be used with ‘political purpose’ and if this was their intention – they will not be allowed to attend the event which runs between 3-5 May.

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The Washington Post claims that the Miami Grand Prix addressed the matter in a letter.

“It has come to our attention that you may be using your Paddock Club Rooftop Suite for a political purpose, namely raising money for a federal election at $250,000 per ticket, which clearly violates the Formula 1 Crypto.com Miami Grand Prix suite license agreement,”

“If this is true, we regret to inform you that your suite license will be revoked, you will not be allowed to attend the race at any time, and we will refund you in full.”

It is also reported that the operation was set up through a recently opened golf club, where members received a newsletter advertising the trip – albeit with no mention of Trump.

The secret service had supposedly reached out to officials to co-ordinate Trump’s attendance according to two Washington Post sources.

Witkoff denied the claims on Friday, stating that ‘This is something fake, for sure.’, before declining to comment further.

The suite terms outline that “advertising, promotional or commercial purposes (including without limitation, prizes, competitions, contests, or sweepstakes) without the prior written consent of Promoter and the F1 entities …” is not permitted.

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