The lawsuit argues that the transfer, if completed, would violate the emoluments clause of the U.S. Constitution, which prohibits the president from receiving financial benefits other than a public salary.
A group of Florida residents is suing to stop Miami Dade College from selling a property that is proposed site of the Trump Presidential Library.
According to CBS News, the downtown Miami location, next to Freedom Tower, was originally controlled by Mimia Dade College for future growth. However, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a conservative and outspoken ally of President Donald Trump, demanded that the college surrender the three-acre policy for construction of the library. The lawsuit argues that the transfer, if completed, would violate the emoluments clause of the U.S. Constitution, which prohibits the president from receiving financial benefits other than a public salary.
Attorneys for the plaintiffs note that, because the plans for the 47-story building include not only a library but a Trump-branded hotel, condos, and commercial offices for lease, the property constitutes a financial gift and is therefore illegal.
“This is not, by any stretch, a presidential library,” said Gerald Greenberg, a lawyer for the plaintiffs. “You know, I’ve been to a number of them. The Harry Truman Library in Independence, Missouri, doesn’t have a 47-story skyscraper. I happened to go last year to the George W. Bush Library in Texas. It’s a library and it’s a museum. Same with the Clintons, Obamas, the Reagans.”
“If this were just a library, we would not have this lawsuit, but they’ve made it crystal clear. This isn’t a library,” he told CBS Miami. “The president himself said, ‘I don’t do libraries and museums.’ He said he expects it to be a hotel. They released this well-documented and well-produced video showing what it’s going to be. It’s going to be a hotel. It’s going to be a commercial center.”
The lawsuit cites a series of comments made by Trump about the proposed library.
“It’s going to most likely be a hotel,” he said. “Could be an office, but it’s most likely going to be a hotel with a beautiful building underneath and a 747 Air Force One in the lobby, which is going to be a trick.”
Marvin Dunn, one of the plaintiffs in the case, said that the terms of the deal—especially for Miami-Dade College—are patently unfair.
“Miami-Dade College will get nothing back from this highly commercial pitch of the Trump family,” said Dunn, a historian. “That’s outrageous, absolutely outrageous.”
The lawsuit contends that a breach of the emoluments clause could encourage other states to engage in misconduct.
“As a result of Defendants’ conduct, other states have been forced into an arms race in which they must either compete with Florida to lavish gifts on the President or fear being unfairly disadvantaged—the precise scenario that the Domestic Emoluments Clause was adopted to prevent,” the lawsuit alleges.
The lawsuit asks the court to declare “null and void the land transaction that resulted in the Domestic Emoluments Clause violations and Plaintiffs’ harms.”
Sources
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Lawsuit challenges proposed Trump Presidential Library site in downtown Miami
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