over the years, donald j. trump or his businesses have been accused of stiffing carpenters, dishwashers and lawyers, leaving a trail of lawsuits and grudges in his wake. now he is in a billing dispute with one of his own campaign aides. mr. trump<u+2019>s most recent filing with the federal election commission indicates that his campaign has disputed a bill for $766,756 from a vendor, the well-regarded republican pollster tony fabrizio. the amount is listed as a <u+201c>contested debt<u+201d> in the oct. 27 filing. under f.e.c. rules, contested debt refers to <u+201c>a bona fide disagreement between the creditor and the committee as to the existence of a debt or the amount owed by the committee.<u+201d> mr. fabrizio, who records show was paid another $623,629 in september by the trump campaign, did not reply to an email seeking comment. a campaign spokesman, jason miller, said the debt was <u+201c>an administrative issue that we<u+2019>re resolving internally.<u+201d> he declined to elaborate. the dispute was reported by the washington post . candidates frequently run up debts during campaigns. it is less common for them to dispute what they owe, though not unheard-of. in his most recent filing in october, for example, rand paul, the kentucky senator and former republican presidential candidate, reported $22,750 in disputed debt to optimizely, a web services firm. ben carson<u+2019>s campaign listed disputed debt to parker air for travel expenses in april; that dispute was resolved for a lesser amount in may. mr. fabrizio was hired in the spring as mr. trump found himself in a protracted primary fight for the republican nomination. a veteran pollster, he was an ally of paul manafort, the ousted trump campaign chief, with whom mr. fabrizio worked on then-senator bob dole<u+2019>s 1996 presidential campaign. mr. fabrizio also has worked for mr. trump<u+2019>s businesses over the years. but he is known for presenting bad news to clients in unvarnished fashion, something that mr. trump has not always handled well during the presidential campaign. among other things, he participated in a meeting in august in which advisers urged mr. trump to maintain his focus and stop engaging in self-defeating fights. a republican with knowledge of the dispute said mr. fabrizio<u+2019>s bills were under review by jared kushner, mr. trump<u+2019>s son-in-law. mr. kushner holds no official title with the campaign, but he assumed oversight of the budget during the summer. mr. trump has a long history of billing disputes with contractors on his real estate ventures, lawyers who have represented him in court and even lobbyists . in many such cases, when former vendors have publicly cried foul or threatened lawsuits, mr. trump has struck back, claiming that the work performed was not as good as promised. in atlantic city, where mr. trump<u+2019>s casinos were roiled by financial problems and bankruptcies , some contractors said they went unpaid, putting their businesses in peril. a usa today review of court cases, liens and other government files found hundreds of examples where mr. trump was accused of not paying his bills. find out what you need to know about the 2016 presidential race today, and get politics news updates via facebook , twitter and the first draft newsletter .
latest unpaid trump vendor is his own pollster, filing shows
nicholas confessore maggie haberman