House Oversight Committee Chairman Elijah Cummings sent letters to White House officials on Thursday asking for more information regarding Vice President Mike Pence’s recent stay at Trump’s property in Ireland.
The letters, obtained by the Washington Examiner, were sent to U.S. Secret Service Director James Murray, Trump Organization Chief Financial Officer Allen Weisselberg, Acting White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney, and Pence’s Chief of Staff Marc Short.
“The Committee is seeking information about Vice President Mike Pence’s stay earlier this week at the Trump International Golf Links and Hotel in Doonbeg, Ireland — 180 miles away from the Vice President’s official meetings with Irish officials in Dublin,” Cummings’ letter states. “The Committee does not believe that U.S. taxpayer funds should be used to personally enrich President Trump, his family, and his companies.”
Short first told reporters Trump suggested, not ordered, Pence to stay at his resort. When asked about the hotel stay, Pence cited his family ties to the country for staying in Doonbeg.
The letter further states the Oversight Committee is “seeking information on whether these expenses may have violated the Domestic Emoluments Clause of the Constitution.”
“Chairman Cummings is obsessed with investigating the President, but seeing no results. He already tried, and failed, to investigate the President’s stay at Trump Turnberry. So what does he do next? Try again — this time by investigating the Vice President,” a source close to the White House told the Washington Examiner. “It’s getting ridiculous. Chairman Cummings should focus on cleaning up the City of Baltimore, instead of worrying about hotels in Ireland.”
When Trump stayed at the Trump Turnberry in Scotland last July, which Democrats also criticized, the State Department Inspector General found since the resort was located just outside Glasgow, “the rates offered here are very favorable to the Government. The Trump Turnberry is therefore determined to offer a fair and reasonable rate to the Government.”
