Exclusive:Donald Trump's Scottish resorts paid more than £20,000 by Secret Service for son Eric's trip
Ethics watchdogs condemn payments to US president Donald Trump’s firms.
Donald Trump's Scottish resorts received more than £20,000 from the US government for accommodation for Secret Service agents assigned to protect his son, Eric, during a visit to Scotland earlier this year.
Secret Service spending records obtained by The Scotsman via US Freedom of Information legislation show the US president’s Turnberry property was paid the lion’s share of the money for the trip by his second son, with the Trump family’s inaugural property in Aberdeenshire receiving a four-figure payment.
The documents provide the first official confirmation that Mr Trump’s Scottish companies are continuing to receive US federal government funds during his second term.
Ethics watchdogs accused Mr Trump of personally profiting from his son’s protection. However, the Trump Organisation said it did not profit from US government officials staying at its properties, with rates charged “strictly at cost” and often “significantly below market value”.
Eric, an executive vice-president of the Trump Organisation, visited Scotland between March 12 and 15. The 41 year-old met with First Minister John Swinney in Edinburgh and posted pictures on Instagram of his trip to his family’s Aberdeenshire property.
The documents show that Trump Turnberry received two payments from the Secret Service - one for around $14,800 (£11,000), the other for an estimated $16,000 (£11,900). Trump International Scotland received around $2,000 (£1,490).
The US Department for Homeland Security did not disclose how many Secret Service personnel stayed at the properties, or the nightly rates paid. Its previous disclosures to this newspaper show it sought approval for payments exceeding US government-sanctioned rates.
Accommodation worth $12,500 (£9,300) at Aberdeen’s Residence Inn was part of the bill, with thousands spent on a K-9 sweep - a specialised security measure by the Secret Service’s canine unit. The cost to the agency for the four-day trip was around $115,400 (£85,840)
Jordan Libowitz, from Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, a US ethics watchdog, said: “When Eric Trump visits his father's golf course in Scotland, not only is he trying to help his father's business, he's directly profiting him by billing the Secret Service for his protection. If it weren't bad enough that average Americans were stuck with a six-figure tab for the business trip, President Trump personally profited from his son's protection.”
Chioma Chukwu, executive director of American Oversight, another US ethics watchdog, said: “This is a continuation of the same pattern of self-dealing we extensively documented during Donald Trump’s first term. It is an egregious abuse when public funds are diverted to enrich the president’s family business, and it underscores the ongoing ethical concerns about the Trump Organisation’s willingness to profit from public service.”
A Trump Organisation spokeswoman said: “The Trump Organisation does not make a single dime of profit from government officials staying at our properties. Any suggestion otherwise is not only false, it’s deliberately misleading.
“The rates charged to government personnel are provided strictly at cost - often significantly below market value. In fact, in most cases, taxpayers would be paying more if those officials stayed anywhere else. We're bound by federal law from offering our services for free - otherwise, we’d gladly host them at no charge.”
The White House referred enquiries about the payments to the Trump Organisation.
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