House probes Trump business use of golf resorts

WASHINGTON: The powerful House Oversight Committee announced Friday it was investigating why Vice President Mike Pence decided to stay at President Donald Trump´s golf resort during an official visit to Ireland.

Pence stayed at Trump´s Doonbeg resort last weekend, a distant 185 miles (300 kilometers) from Dublin, where he met with top Irish officials. Pence´s spokesman said they decided to stay at the Trump International Golf Links in Doonbeg at the “suggestion” of the president, rather than using a Dublin hotel, which would have likely been much cheaper, transportation-wise. Democrat Oversight Committee Chairman Elijah Cummings said it appeared that Trump was profiting personally on the vice president´s trip, given all the government funds spent at the resort to house his sizable entourage.

“The committee does not believe that US taxpayer funds should be used to personally enrich President Trump, his family, and his companies,” Cummings said in a statement. Cummings said the bill for the trip could be “significant,” given the estimated $3.6 million of taxpayer money spent when Trump stayed at the Doonbeg resort in June. It was the second probe opened in the past two weeks of the White House´s official use of the president´s properties. On August 28, the House Judiciary Committee announced it would investigate Trump´s stated plan to use his Trump National Doral Miami golf club to host the G7 summit next year. Lawmakers have repeatedly alleged that the Trump Organization, the billionaire president´s real estate group, is reaping significant profits from his time in the White House.