A Palm Beach County official reportedly contacted legal counsel to inquire about canceling the lease for Trump International Golf Club in unincorporated West Palm Beach.
Howard Falcon, the country’s chief assistant attorney, confirmed to the Palm Beach Post that a county official had contacted him about canceling the land contract for which the president pays the county $88,338 a month in rent.
Falcon told the paper that the idea probably would not be a lawful action. “My initial reaction is it would be a stretch,” he said.
A lawyer for the Trump organization agreed and told the paper that there is “no basis for canceling the lease” because there is no “bad boy” clause in the contract allowing the county to cancel the lease if Trump misbehaves in public.
The president frequently appears at Trump International Golf Club when he is staying at his Mar-a-Lago estate. He also uses the sport to entertain foreign dignitaries, members of Congress, and famous personalities.
Trump owns several other Florida properties, including the Trump National Doral in Miami-Dade County and Trump National Golf Club in Jupiter.
The Palm Beach County official’s inquiry came on the heels of New York Mayor Bill de Blasio’s decision to sever ties to the president’s businesses.
“I’m here to announce that the city of New York is severing all contracts with the Trump Organization,” de Blasio told MSNBC on Wednesday.
As in the case with ending the Palm Beach contract, the Trump organization insisted that the City of New York had no legal right to simply cancel his New York contracts out of hand.
“The City of New York has no legal right to end our contracts, and if they elect to proceed, they will owe The Trump Organization over 30 million dollars,” the Trump spokesperson said in response to the mayor’s proclamation. “This is nothing more than political discrimination, an attempt to infringe on the First Amendment, and we plan to fight vigorously.”
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