President Donald Trump hates fake news, but he appointed an official to the Department Of Housing and Urban Development who allegedly faked her credentials. Moreover, Lynne Patton, the head of the department’s Region II, has no experience in housing at all.
Her only credential is being a Trump family friend and planner. The New York Daily News reported the new appointee claimed in her LinkedIn profile she has a Juris Doctorate degree in 2000 from Quinnipiac University School of Law in Connecticut. Besides the degree, she wrote an N/A note, but she did not explain it.
Jim Benson, the registrar of the university where Patton claimed she has a doctorate degree, said Patton attended only two semesters in the law school. She did not finish her law degree, Benson said on Thursday. She also listed Yale University, however, HUD officials have no explanation why Patton claimed she attended Yale.
Eric Trump’s wedding planner
While Patton could not back up her claimed academic credentials, when it comes to closeness to the Trump family, she has sufficient proof. As a Trump family friend since 2009, Patton is responsible for arranging golf tournaments at golf courses owned by the real estate billionaire.
She was the planner at the wedding of Eric Trump to Lara Yunaska in November 2014.
Patton was also active in Trump’s presidential campaign as a liaison to the family. As the Trump family’s event planner, Patton is responsible for organizing, executing, and assisting with upscale events such as celebrity golf tournaments, according to her LinkedIn profile. In addition to those duties, Patton handles acquiring celebrity talent for the different marketing projects and philanthropic events of the Trump's.
Billions of taxpayer dollars
With Patton’s appointment on Wednesday as head of the department’s Region II, she will oversee the distribution of billions of taxpayer money. Region II includes New Jersey and New York. The job handles distribution of cash to public housing authorities, including rental vouchers and block grants which fund senior citizen programs and housing inspections.
She does have some experience running the Eric Trump Foundation, the charity being investigated by state Attorney General Eric Schneiderman. The charity is accused of funneling some of the money raised in charity golf tournaments as payments to golf courses owned by the president.
Patton joins other Trump loyal followers who have become controversial after their appointment to key government posts. The list includes senior adviser Kellyanne Conway who is allegedly suspected of leaking stories to The Washington Post reporters. The other one is Dan Scavino Jr., the social media director of Trump and former golf caddie chided by the Office of Special Counsel for calling Rep. Justin Amash a liability.
