Ex-Ethics Chief Breaks Down Why The Trump-Turnberry Story Is Such A ‘Big Deal’
The former head of the U.S. Office of Government Ethics used a lengthy Twitter thread to explain what he believes should be the real concern about U.S. military personnel staying at President Donald Trump’s Turnberry golf resort in Scotland.
Walter Shaub wrote Friday that the focus should not be on whether Trump had ordered anyone to stay there, which he doubted, or even on when anyone first stayed there. Instead, he said, it was to do with “the questions raised by these trips.”
“Has [Trump] created a culture where officials believe he wants people to stay at his properties?” asked Shaub, who served under former President Barack Obama and then Trump for six months until he resigned in July 2017.
“We can see how many of his appointees perceive an expectation to socialize after hours at Trump hotel (an activity that was not traditionally common at that level of the exec branch),” he noted.
“He dispatches his VP and appointees to speak to his paying customers. He tweeted that officials who stayed at Turnberry showed ‘good taste,’” Shaub continued. “He takes his appointees on his frequent trips to his luxury resorts. He touts those resorts frequently. He’s bidding on the G7 Summit.”
Shaub claimed it was “implausible” to say it was a coincidence that military personnel stays at Turnberry had risen since Trump took office, a development that is being investigated by both the Air Force and the House Oversight Committee.
It “degrades the ethical culture of government” and “damages our standing in the world and our effort to preach anticorruption efforts to developing countries,” he added.
“Bottom line: Turnberry is a big deal because it’s a symptom of a problem in an administration that is anything but transparent,” Shaub concluded.
Check out Shaub’s full thread here:
The concern with Turnberry isn't whether Trump ordered anyone to stay there. (I doubt he did.) Nor is it when anyone first stayed there. (Any place costing less than the per diem amount was permissible before he was President.) It's the questions raised by these trips: /1
— Walter Shaub (@waltshaub) September 14, 2019
1. Has he created a culture where officials believe he wants people to stay at his properties? We can see how many of his appointees perceive an expectation to socialize after hours at Trump hotel (an activity that was not traditionally common at that level of the exec branch)./2
— Walter Shaub (@waltshaub) September 14, 2019
He dispatches his VP and appointees to speak to his paying customers. He tweeted that officials who stayed at Turnberry showed "good taste." He takes his appointees on his frequent trips to his luxury resorts. He touts those resorts frequently. He's bidding on the G7 Summit./3
— Walter Shaub (@waltshaub) September 14, 2019
Diplomats, lobbyists, business officials, and politicians perceive a need to court him by funneling money to him through his resort. Given these circumstances, yes, it certainly seems he has created a culture where officials believe he wants them to stay at his resort. /4
— Walter Shaub (@waltshaub) September 14, 2019
2. Stays at Turnberry have dramatically increased during his presidency. Given the number of hotels in the region, the significant distance to his resort, and the cost of meals & incidentals there, any claim that this is a coincidence seems implausible. /5
— Walter Shaub (@waltshaub) September 14, 2019
3. It's not just Turnberry, it's Prestwick airport. The airport is lagging, and Turnberry is dependent on its success. Routing flights through Prestwick boosts his property. It's not relevant that DOD had a deal in place before — it's smart to have deals in place all over. /6
— Walter Shaub (@waltshaub) September 14, 2019
The relevant question is whether the trips increased and whether refueling costs at other locations would be less. Again, we have an ethical culture problem. Trump made a gratuitous detour to Turnberry last year that cost hundreds of thousands of dollars to tout the resort. /7
— Walter Shaub (@waltshaub) September 14, 2019
State Dept paid $13,000 this summer and won't tell us who stayed there or why. Pence traveled gratuitously to one of Trump's resorts far from the site of his meetings. Trump tweeted years ago that he'd boost Prestwick and partnered with them, but now denies any connection. /8
— Walter Shaub (@waltshaub) September 14, 2019
4. Prestwick is foreign govt-owned. It's a defense contractor affected by the performance of air crews' duties, i.e., a prohibited source for gifts. So the gifts these officials took may raise foreign emoluments or gift rule questions that can be avoided by staying elsewhere. /9
— Walter Shaub (@waltshaub) September 14, 2019
5. Now that Trump is President, our government officials staying at Turnberry raise a Domestic Emoluments Clause concern that could be easily avoided by staying elsewhere.
6. USAF's claim that it's the best value ignores all of these issues and seems factually implausible. /10— Walter Shaub (@waltshaub) September 14, 2019
7. The message sent by USAF staying at the Trump's resort degrades the ethical culture of govt—rules ban creating even the appearance of impropriety for a reason. It also damages our standing in the world and our effort to preach anticorruption efforts to developing countries./11
— Walter Shaub (@waltshaub) September 14, 2019
Ignoring these concerns, Trump's defenders think they've found an airtight defense, highlighting the timing of the original deal for refueling services—but that was noted in the original reporting—and the fact that Trump likely didn't order it—but there's no claim he did. /12
— Walter Shaub (@waltshaub) September 14, 2019
Bottom line: Turnberry is a big deal because it's a symptom of a problem in an administration that is anything but transparent. /13
— Walter Shaub (@waltshaub) September 14, 2019
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