Donald Trump refusing to pay pollster three-quarters of a million dollars

WASHINGTON (Diya TV) — When the campaign of Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump hired pollster Tony Fabrizio last May, the move was viewed as a sign that the billionaire real estate mogul was finally prepared to solicit the help of seasoned operatives in his bid for the White House.

Fabrizio, who has advised GOP mainstays such as 1996 presidential nominee Bob Dole to Florida Gov. Rick Scott, has apparently come up short in his duties, according to Trump. His campaign’s latest Federal Election Commission report shows that it is disputing nearly $767,000 that Fabrizio’s firm says it is still owed for polling.

The Trump campaign refused to provide comment to Diya TV as to the details or a reason why the campaign is refusing to pay Fabrizio Lee, the name of the Fort Lauderdale, Fla.-based firm. “This is an administrative issue that we’re resolving internally,” said senior communications adviser Jason Miller.

Trump has been repeatedly accused of not paying vendors and contractors hired by his real estate company in the past, including painters, dish washers, real estate brokers and a music store that provided pianos for his Taj Mahal casino in Atlantic City. In response, Trump has maintained he always pays fairly and that he has withheld payments only when he was dissatisfied with someone’s services.

Fabrizio is the ally of Paul Manafort, Trump’s former campaign chairman and the man who convinced him at the beginning of spring that he could benefit from the hiring of a pollster. Manafort’s abrupt departure from the campaign in August and Trump’s hiring of pollster Kellyanne Conway to be his campaign manager raised questions about whether Fabrizio would stay on. There have also been multiple reports that Trump and his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, have rejected Fabrizio’s advice.

Despite the fact he was hired in May, the Trump campaign did not begin making any payments to Fabrizio until September, when he firm received nearly $700,000, according to the federal filings. Trump’s finance reports show that the campaign owes the firm an additional $55,300 on top of the $766,756.67 in debt that it is contesting.

Additionally, since last August, Trump has tapped four other polling firms to conduct voter surveys, including Conway’s, which has been paid $673,000 through Oct. 19, filings show.