Registration on Donald Trump’s jet’s is expired

Over the past several months, Donald Trump has crisscrossed the country, making dozens of campaign stops in places like Sioux City, Iowa, and Jackson, Miss., often in his sleek Cessna jet. There is just one hitch: The plane’s registration is expired.

Records kept with the Federal Aviation Administration show the aircraft’s registration lapsed Jan. 31. Laura J. Brown, a spokeswoman for the FAA, confirmed that the plane’s registration was not in good standing and said the owner had not renewed it.

With few exceptions, aircraft must be registered in order to fly. Trump’s plane could be grounded for several days, weeks, or even months, while the issue is sorted out. In the event of an accident, the company that insures the plane could use the expired registration as a reason to decline any claims.

The FAA could also fine or assess other penalties against the owner, the operator, or both. Though it is unlikely that the agency would seek the maximum penalty, flying with no registration could result in a civil penalty of up to $27,500, a criminal fine of up to $250,000, and imprisonment for up to three years, officials with the agency said.

Trump, obviously, can still fly; most candidates typically charter a private plane. He also has four other registered aircraft: a Boeing 757 and three Sikorsky helicopters. The Boeing, which has Trump’s surname emblazoned in big letters on the outside, has been used as a backdrop at a number of his rallies.

But the aircraft weighs more than 100,000 pounds, and with great weight comes limitations: It cannot land at many smaller airports.

As a result, Trump often presses the 1997 Cessna 750 Citation X, which was designed to seat eight people, into action.

Dozens of flights were made after Jan. 31, when the registration expired.

The registration for Trump’s four other aircraft are current, records show.

Flying privately is not cheap. The Trump campaign has paid a company that Trump owns more than $3 million for campaign-related travel since he announced his candidacy.

The price to register an aircraft, however, does come cheap: It costs only $5, and the registration is valid for three years.

NEW YORK TIMES

GOP lining its coffers for Cleveland convention

Republicans may be bracing for chaos in Cleveland, but there’s one aspect of the party’s quadrennial nominating convention that appears on track: fund-raising.

GOP officials said the two committees charged with raising money for the festivities are already close to meeting their goals, with $67.8 million in contributions secured to date. The two Democratic committees, by comparison, have lined up $43.6 million so far.

Both totals include pledges, so it remains to be seen how much the final tallies will be in the end. But Republicans have had more early success tapping wealthy donors, who can now give $100,200 apiece every year to new convention accounts authorized by a budget bill passed in late 2014.

The expanded party fundraising was sought by both Republican and Democratic party leaders after federal funding for the conventions was eliminated by a bipartisan bill that redirected the money into pediatric cancer research. In 2012, the federal grant totaled about $18 million for each convention — money each party now needs to raise on its own to produce its official program.

So far, the Republican National Committee has collected nearly $12 million for its convention committee, while the Democratic National Committee has raised $3.6 million, according to officials.

Separately, the host committee putting on the festivities for the GOP gathering in Cleveland has secured $56 million in donations and pledges. That’s as much as the Tampa host committee raised in all for the 2012 Republican National Convention.

Emily Lauer, a spokeswoman for the Cleveland host committee, said officials are confident they will hit their goal of raising $64 million before July, thanks to support of local and national benefactors.

‘‘There is tremendous pride associated with hosting this historic event at a time that coincides with Cleveland’s continuing renaissance,’’ she said.

Meanwhile, the Philadelphia host committee producing the events for the Democratic National Convention has ‘‘north of $40 million’’ in donations and pledges, according to spokeswoman Anna Adams-Sarthou.

‘‘We are making great progress, and we feel very good about where we are,’’ she said.

WASHINGTON POST

Poll reveals which candidate voters dislike the least

WASHINGTON — By any measure, the three people most likely to appear on the November general election ballot are, in order, Hillary Clinton, Donald Trump, and Ted Cruz.

And yet, according to new numbers from an NBC-Wall Street Journal national poll released Monday night, at least six in 10 Americans say that they can’t see themselves supporting any of that trio.

Clinton’s numbers are the ‘‘best’’ on the question, with 58 percent of people surveyed saying they don’t see themselves supporting her in the general election. Forty-one percent, meanwhile, said they could see themselves backing her.
Regarding Cruz, 61 percent of people say they can’t imagine backing him, while a whopping 68 percent say the same of Trump.

The only candidate running for president who has more people saying they could support him than saying they wouldn’t? Bernie Sanders, who is at 49 percent support/48 percent can’t support in the NBC-WSJ poll.

WASHINGTON POST