President Donald Trump will have to pay the Scottish government’s legal fees after a lengthy court dispute over a wind power development project near his golf resort that ended in a victory for Scotland in 2015.
Judges in Scotland ruled last week that the Trump International Golf Club Scotland Ltd must pay the legal costs of the court case, which began when Trump sued the government while he was running for president.
The president sought to stop the construction of 11 wind turbines on land next to his golf course in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, arguing that the project would be esthetically unappealing.
The case eventually made its way to the U.K. Supreme Court in 2015, which rejected Trump’s case, allowing the Scottish government to move ahead with the project.
Trump appeared to be referencing the case on Saturday — while breaking the Constitution’s emoluments clause, which forbids a president from using the position and power of the office for personal financial gain — when he quote-tweeted a photo shared by the Trump Organization of his Aberdeen golf course.
“Very proud of perhaps the greatest golf course anywhere in the world,” he said. “Also, furthers U.K. relationship!”
Very proud of perhaps the greatest golf course anywhere in the world. Also, furthers U.K. relationship! https://t.co/3xTzzJH6Iq — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 2, 2019
The Atlantic’s David Frum pointed out on Twitter Sunday morning that Trump seemed to be “threatening the UK government with harm to the US-UK relationship if he is forced to pay the Scottish government’s legal costs in litigation Trump started & lost.”
Ethics experts and watchdogs also criticized Trump’s tweet. Former director of the U.S. Office of Government Ethics said Saturday, “This is Trump’s most explicit commingling of personal interests and public office to date.”
This is Trump’s most explicit commingling of personal interests and public office to date. This is the tone from the top that leads his appointees to violate ethics rules. This is shameless, corrupt and repugnant presidential profiteering. This is an invitation to graft. https://t.co/3Gce7RGEYW — Walter Shaub (@waltshaub) March 2, 2019
The Citizen for Ethics organization, which currently has an ongoing lawsuit against Trump for illegally receiving payments from foreign governments said on Twitter that the “president is using an official statement as an ad for his business…”
-SaC on March 4th, 2019 at 02:29 UTC »
Ever seen the video of him trying to argue against the wind farms to a Scottish Parliamentary committee where he declares his very existence to be enough evidence of his expertise in tourism?
The video is on this page.
Transcript from the committee appeal against the wind farms video:-
Trump: I am an expert on tourism. If you...dot your landscape with these horrible, horrible structures, you will do tremendous damage-
Member Of Scottish Parliament (MSP): (interrupting) My question is, where is the clinical evidence - not an opinion, an empirical assessment; where is your clinical evidence?
Trump: Well, first of all, I am the evidence. I think I'm more of an expert-
(laughter from those in the room)
Trump: - I...you know what, I think I'm a lot more of an expert than the people you'd like me to hire, who are doing it to make a paycheck-
MSP: -If you won't-
Trump: -But I am an expert in tourism.
EDIT: Decided to amalgamate a few sources here on his opposition to wind energy from 2012 to now:
Three claims from one rally debunked here - namely:
Living near wind turbines is enough to make someone go crazy over a couple of years
Wind turbines each kill ‘thousands’ of birds per year
No wind means no power
Direct quote from the rally in Indiana:
The ‘no wind no power’ theory is contradicted by his own energy department:
From a rally in West Virginia:
Here’s a video of this.
Back in 2012, he was tweeting wondering ‘How many bald eagles did wind turbines kill today? They are an environmental & aesthetic disaster.
After being elected, he was interviewed by the New York Times in which he made a number of interesting (and false) claims:-
pperca on March 4th, 2019 at 00:37 UTC »
Good luck collecting. Trump is notorious for not paying his bills.
swanky_serpentine on March 4th, 2019 at 00:30 UTC »
Don't worry, he's got a charity with funds for this kind of thing.