In case you forgot — even while in office, President Donald Trump maintains a financial stake in a globe-spanning web of hotel properties, among other interests. Following Vice President Mike Pence staying in one of those properties during a recent trip to Ireland instead of somewhere even a little closer to the locale for his meetings, which were some 180 miles away, the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee’s top Democrat is demanding information. In a direct letter to the vice president, Sen. Gary Peters (D-Mich.) noted that the circumstance of Pence’s recent two-night stay in Ireland “creates the risk that taxpayer funds are being used to directly profit the President,” and he’s therefore demanding information about the precise costs of the stay and about any cost analysis conducted before the trip.
Demanding the info by October 1, Peters wrote:
‘I write with concern that, at President Trump’s ‘suggestion,’ you decided to stay at the Trump International Golf Links & Hotel in the village of Doonbeg during your official visit to Ireland… This raises serious concerns about wasteful expenditures and possible conflicts of interest related to taxpayer-funded travel by this Administration.’
Addressing the vice president directly, Peters added that he found it “hard to believe that your office was unable to identify lodgings that could accommodate the security and logistical needs of your trip in the capital of Ireland.”
At one point, a top Pence aide had pointed the finger at a Trump suggestion as explanation for the vice president’s stay at the Doonbeg property, but now, Trump has denied making a suggestion and the vice president’s team’s explanation is that it — somehow — made “logical” sense to stay almost 200 miles away from where Pence would actually be meeting with local leaders.
Pence told reporters at one point:
‘I understand political attacks by Democrats, but if you have a chance to get to Doonbeg, you’ll find it’s a fairly small place, and the opportunity to stay at Trump National in Doonbeg, to accommodate the unique footprint that comes with our security detail and other personnel, made it logical.’
Peters is definitely not the only one to sound an alarm. Leading Democratic presidential primary candidate Elizabeth Warren (Mass.) told Secretary of State Mike Pompeo of the situation:
‘This transaction — another example of what appears to be open corruption in this administration — deepens my concerns about… the abuse of taxpayer funds to enrich the President and his family through their business interests.’
There’s also an apparent joint effort underway by the Democrat-led House Oversight and Judiciary Committees to get information about Pence’s stay at Trump Doonbeg.
It’s definitely not alone — just this past week, the news also broke that an Air Force Crew had made an unusual stop on an otherwise “routine” trip, stopping in at Trump’s financially troubled golf resort in Turnberry, Scotland, for a refueling effort. The Oversight panel, as led by Chairman Elijah Cummings (D-Md.), has also begun pushing for documents related to that suspicious expenditure. Again — Trump stands to personally profit from all of this, since his stake in his businesses remains in place.
Featured Image via screenshot
