Civilians from Mar-a-Lago drive US policy on military veterans: Report

Joe Skipper | Reuters

President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach is seen from West Palm Beach, Florida, U.S., as Trump prepared to return to Washington after a weekend at the estate, March 5, 2017.

An “informal council” of three people who have neither served in the U.S. military nor hold government positions was found to exert “sweeping influence” on policies concerning America’s military veterans, ProPublica reported on Tuesday.

The three are Marvel Entertainment Chairman Isaac “Ike” Perlmutter, a Palm Beach doctor named Bruce Moskowitz and lawyer Marc Sherman, according to ProPublica. The report said it was based on “hundreds of documents obtained through the Freedom of Information Act and interviews with former administration officials.”

All three men are members of Mar-a-Lago, U.S. President Donald Trump’s private club in Palm Beach, Florida, according to the report. The trio spoke with officials from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs daily and reviewed “all manner of policy and personnel decisions,” ProPublica said.

Perlmutter also talks to Trump regularly on the phone and is the first person the president calls on issues concerning veterans, the news outlet reported.

The White House, the VA, Marvel Entertainment and Sherman didn’t immediately reply to CNBC’s emails seeking comment. CNBC couldn’t reach Moskowitz for comment through a publicly listed phone number.

Perlmutter, Moskowitz and Sherman told ProPublica — through a crisis-communication consultant — that they offered help and advice on a voluntary basis. They insisted they have no authority over the department’s decisions, the report said.

White House spokeswoman Lindsay Walters told ProPublica the three “have no direct influence over the Department of Veterans Affairs,” while VA spokesman Curt Cashour said “a broad range of input from individuals both inside and outside VA has helped us immensely over the last year and a half.”

For more on Perlmutter, Moskowitz and Sherman, read the full report by ProPublica.