Who is paying for Donald Trump’s new White House ballroom?

As construction begins on US President Donald Trump's new $250m (£187m) White House ballroom, mystery continues to swirl around the identities of the wealthy donors and corporations paying for it.

Groundbreaking for the ornate 90,000 sqm project. ft (8,360 sq. m.) began Monday as excavators and construction workers demolished parts of the east wing.

The US president said he would personally pay for much of its construction and suggested that some as-yet anonymous donors were willing to spend more than $20 million to complete the project.

The funding model has raised concerns among some legal experts, who say it could amount to a fee for access to the administration.

“I view this huge ballroom as an ethical nightmare,” Richard Painter, former chief ethics lawyer in the Bush White House between 2005 and 2007, told the BBC.

“They are using access to the White House to raise money. I don’t like it,” he added. “All these corporations want something from the government.”

The dinner for potential donors, held at the White House on October 15, was attended by top executives from prominent American companies, including Blackstone, OpenAI, Microsoft, Coinbase, Palantir, Lockheed Martin, Microsoft, Amazon and Google.

Also in attendance were Woody Johnson, owner of the NFL's New York Jets, and Shari and Edward Glazer, who along with their siblings own the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Manchester United.

The pledge form, seen by CBS News, the BBC's US partner, suggests donors may be entitled to “recognition” of their contributions. While plans are still being finalized, this recognition could potentially take the form of names etched into the structure.

The White House initially said the giant structure would house 650 people. Trump said this week it would be able to accommodate 999 people.

So far, only one participant has been revealed.

Court documents show YouTube will pay $22 million for the project as part of a settlement with Trump in his lawsuit to suspend his account following the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot.

But it's unclear how many of the others in attendance pledged to donate or how much. The official list has not yet been released, although White House officials say they plan to make it public.

Documents obtained by CBS indicate that the donations will be handled by the National Mall Foundation, a nonprofit that works with the National Park Service to raise funds for projects on the Mall and the White House.

At an event for potential donors, Trump said many of those in attendance were “very, very generous” and said some asked whether $25 million was an appropriate donation.

“I said, 'I'll take it,'” Trump said.

The White House insists there is nothing illegal about the fundraiser and that the ballroom will be used by future administrations. According to him, the reconstruction will not cost US taxpayers a cent.

Martin Mongiello, a former White House chef and Camp David general manager who served in seven administrations, told the BBC that the money paid for the ballroom “will ultimately pay for itself and save costs.”

The tents, which are sometimes set up outside for events he called “elbow-to-elbow” and “embarrassing,” often cost $1 million or more, not including other additional costs associated with hosting large-scale events.

But Mr Painter suggested it could be seen as a “pay-to-play scheme” that has plagued previous administrations of both political parties in the White House.

In the 1990s, for example, then-President Bill Clinton came under scrutiny for allegedly selling overnight stays in the Lincoln Bedroom in exchange for campaign donations.

Most recently, Trump sought corporate sponsors for the annual White House Easter egg roll in April, which some say could mean companies will compete for the president's attention.

Trump and administration officials have said the new ballroom was a necessary renovation given the lack of large venues for state dinners and other events. The White House often uses a tent on the South Lawn to honor foreign leaders and a broader list of guests at the state dinner.

But the scale of the new ballroom, Mr. Painter added, creates a “huge temptation” to use the space for political fundraising, something that hasn't happened before, even though presidents of both parties have invited supporters to events.

“Limited space 1761088380 means not everyone gets an invitation to the White House,” he said. “In my opinion, this is good… [current] size limits pay-to-play play, at least on White House premises.”

However, it is unlikely to prove a violation.

“You can't prove a quid pro quo,” Mr. Painter said. “But I think the Trump administration is pushing the envelope here.”