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Catching up with Don Jr's Fox & Friends interview, when he was asked if Trump Org was profiting from his father's presidency. His deflection from a simple Q was striking. And it reminded me of my dealings with Trump Org execs last year. Thread ... mediaite.com/tv/fox-friends…
In July '18, I caught wind of the US State Dept making payments to Turnberry's parent firm in the UK worth more than £50,000. It was to cover rooms during Trump's weekend stay at the resort during his visit to the UK: scotsman.com/news/politics/…
I contacted the Trump Org in NY to ask about the payments, some six hours before my deadline. The deadline came and went. There was no response. So I ran the story, making that clear.
Then, an hour and a half after my deadline, I received this statement: "For United States government patronage, our hotels charge room rates only at cost and we do not profit from these stays."
It was sent by George Sorial, a lawyer who's worked closely with Trump in Scotland, and who was, at the time, the Trump Org's chief compliance counsel - a position designed to demarcate Trump's business from his presidency and prevent potential conflicts between the two.
That same evening, as the story gained traction, Eric Trump repeated the "at cost" line on Twitter, subtweeting me into the bargain.
AFAIK my July '18 story marked the first airing of the 'at cost' explanation, and the Trump Org have told me the same several times since when I've written about further State Dept payments to Turnberry. This is from earlier this year: scotsman.com/news/politics/…
But what struck me then, and still does now, is why it took the Trump Org so long to announce the 'at cost' arrangement with US Gov patronage. Surely it could've revealed that proactively in Jan '17 when Trump "isolated" himself (but didn't divest) from his businesses?
And what's odder is I haven't seen the "at cost" line mentioned by the Trump Org in US media reports of US Gov patronage at his hotels in DC etc. Have I just missed them, or is Turnberry the exception?
