Reisner Giveth & Taketh Away: Gay Hotelier Gets Refund for Cruz Donation

In the game of tag, the rule "no backsies" is used to ensure that what has been given cannot be given back. By not invoking this piece of playground etiquette last month during the now infamous "fireside chat" with anti-gay 2016 GOP presidential hopeful Ted Cruz, embattled gay hotelier Ian Reisner may have found a loophole to get him out of even hotter water with his critics in the gay community.

When the immediate backlash from the gay community hit following the news that Ian Reisner and Mati Weiderpass hosted Cruz for an event at their Manhattan penthouse in mid-April, the pair of gay hoteliers repeatedly insisted that the dinner was not a fund raiser.

"There were no checks given, it was nothing like that," Reisner told New York Magazine during an interview in which he also called the gay community "cheap" and "entitled."

As it turns out, Reisner's description of the event may not have been entirely true. The New York Times reports Friday that he himself wrote a check to the Cruz campaign around the time of the event for $2,700 -- the maximum allowed for a nominating contest.

It is unclear as to the timeline when donation was made and if indeed it happened during the "non-fund raising event."

"In the interest of transparency, I gave Senator Cruz a $2,700 check to show my support for his work on behalf of Israel," Reisner said in a statement he provided after the NYT learned of the donation from two people with direct knowledge of it. "When I realized his donation could be misconstrued as supporting his anti-gay marriage agenda, I asked for the money back. Senator Cruz's office gave the money back, and I have no intention of giving any money to any politicians who aren't in support of LGBT issues."

The NYT was unable to get a comment from the Cruz campaign about the donation refund, but notes that the donation and alleged refund will show up on Cruz's campaign filing when it becomes public in July.

Earlier this month, it was reported that in what many see as an act of penance to the gay community for co-hosting the Cruz event, Reisner made a $20,000 donation to the Fire Island Pines Property Owners Association PAC.