A Friday report from Politico detailing how the U.S. Air Force is diverting resources to prop up President Donald Trump’s Turnberry resort in Scotland prompted Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to call for impeachment.

“The President is corrupt and must be impeached,” the New York Democrat tweeted Friday night in response to the story, which was broken by reporters Natasha Bertrand and Bryan Bender.

Politico details how the House Oversight Committee is investigating why a military flight to and from Kuwait stopped at the resort—and how that incident is part of a broader pattern of military spending in and around the Scottish resort.

The inquiry is part of a broader, previously unreported probe into U.S. military expenditures at and around the Trump property in Scotland. According to a letter the panel sent to the Pentagon in June, the military has spent $11 million on fuel at the Prestwick Airport—the closest airport to Trump Turnberry—since October 2017, fuel that would be cheaper if purchased at a U.S. military base. The letter also cites a Guardian report that the airport provided cut-rate rooms and free rounds of golf at Turnberry for U.S. military members.

Taken together, the incidents raise the possibility that the military has helped keep Trump’s Turnberry resort afloat—the property lost $4.5 million in 2017, but revenue went up $3 million in 2018.

Prestwick Airport has seen its own financial troubles as well and the Scottish government, which bought the airport in 2013, has expressed interest in selling it. The six-figure refueling stops from the U.S. military, however, are sure to raise questions, especially given the president’s 2014 comments that he would ensure Prestwick was “really successful” after selecting the airport as the hub for Turnberry.

In a letter from June requesting information, Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.), the House Oversight Committee chair, said the military spending demands answers.

“Given the President’s continued financial stake in his Scotland golf courses,” wrote Cummings, “these reports raise questions about the President’s potential receipt of U.S. or foreign government emoluments in violation of the U.S. Constitution and raise other serious conflict of interest concerns.”

While the oversight committee has asked the military for documents relating to the unusual expenses, thus far there’s been no response.

“The Defense Department has not produced a single document in this investigation,” a senior Democratic aide told Politico. “The committee will be forced to consider alternative steps if the Pentagon does not begin complying voluntarily in the coming days.”

 Your support matters…

Independent journalism is under threat and overshadowed by heavily funded mainstream media.

You can help level the playing field. Become a member.

Your tax-deductible contribution keeps us digging beneath the headlines to give you thought-provoking, investigative reporting and analysis that unearths what's really happening- without compromise.

Give today to support our courageous, independent journalists.

SUPPORT TRUTHDIG
In this Article:
#air force#alexandria ocasio-cortez#AOC#emoluments clause#scotland