The devolved parliament in Scotland has rejected calls to investigate the finances of former President Trump’s golf courses after the left-separatist Scottish National Party (SNP) and the Conservative Party joined forces to block the “political” investigation.
On Wednesday, MSPs voted down a Scottish Greens motion to launch a so-called ‘McMafia’ probe into the finances of The Trump Organization’s golf resorts in Scotland, but nevertheless, the investigation may still go ahead if pushed by prosecutors.
Stunningly, the motion was blocked by a bipartisan group comprised of Conservatives and members of the ruling SNP party.
The leftist SNP justice secretary, Humza Yousaf, said that launching an investigation into the former American leader from the Scottish parliament would represent an “abuse of power”, according to Scotland’s Daily Record.
An amendment tabled by Mr Yousaf — which was backed by both Conservative and SNP politicians — said that there “must not be political interference in the enforcement of the law”.
Yousaf went on to say that any Unexplained Wealth Order (UWO) investigations should be carried out by the Civil Recovery Unit, a branch of the Crown Office, the independent public prosecution service.
The rejected motion was introduced by Scottish Greens co-leader Patrick Harvie earlier this week. Harvie claimed that there are “serious concerns about how he financed the cash purchases of [Trump’s] Scottish golf courses”.
Following the defeat in the parliament, Harvie said: “Unfortunately, today’s debate confirmed the Scottish Government remains unwilling to investigate Trump’s golf courses.
“Scotland cannot be a country where anyone with the money can buy whatever land and property they want, no questions asked, and the Scottish Greens will continue to challenge vested interests that protect people like Trump rather than our communities.”
The leader of the Scottish Green Party went on to launch attacks on the character of President Trump, saying: “Even before Trump’s candidacy, or presidency, he was known around the world to be an untrustworthy, dishonest, racist, conspiracy theorist.”
“This was never someone we should have wanted to associate Scotland’s good name with,” Harvie exclaimed.
Prior to the debate, a statement from The Trump Organization, issued by executive vice president Eric Trump said: “At a critical time when politicians should be focused on saving lives and reopening businesses in Scotland, they are focused on advancing their personal agendas.
“Patrick Harvie is nothing more than a national embarrassment with his pathetic antics that only serve himself and his political agenda.
“If Harvie and the rest of the Scottish Government continue to treat overseas investors like this, it will deter future investors from conducting business in Scotland, ultimately crushing their economy, tourism and hospitality industries.”
The Trump Organization went on to say the company has “invested hundreds of millions of dollars into the Scottish economy” creating “thousands of jobs”.
The statement vowed to continue to invest in the country, saying they intend to keep on rebuilding the Trump Turnberry golf course into “one of the finest resorts anywhere in the world”.
Follow Kurt Zindulka on Twitter here @KurtZindulka
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.