Appearing Thursday on Newsmax TV, conservative radio icon and New York Times best selling author Michael Savage threatened legal action if the Biden administration moves forward with removing him as a member of the Presidio Trust — an organization which oversees the preservation of San Francisco’s national park area at the Golden Gate Bridge.
A transcript is as follows:
ROB SCHMITT: Last year, former President Trump appointed Michael Savage to the board of directors of the Presidio Trust. It’s an organization overseeing the preservation of San Francisco’s national park area at the Golden Gate Bridge. It’s a very beautiful place, even though San Fransisco is falling apart. While there are three other Trump-appointees on this board, Savage says he’s been singled out and we’re trying to figure out what this is. It’s a very bizarre story.
MICHAEL SAVAGE: I want to start with how important a trust board member is to the citizens of the United States. This is 1,200 pristine acres, people like me stand in the way of developers. That’s what we’re there for, to make sure they are not turned over to people who want to make a profit. It’s a public trust that must be protected by ardent conservationists, not by political hacks. So, that is why the board consists of independent individuals, independent of all political influence. We are the equivalent, in a way, of the Supreme Court. The president could appoint us, but the president cannot fire us. The reason is, is that we are therefore independent of political influence. This came out of the blue: resign or we’re going to fire you by the end of the day.
My lawyer looked into the Presidio Trust bylaws, and the Congressional Act of 1996 establishing it says there’s no one, including the current president, who has the power to terminate an appointed board member. It is not part of the federal government. The trust is an organization owned by the government with its own by-laws governing how a board member is appointed or removed. The only way for one’s own removal is through resignation. I will not resign and if they do throw me off the board for no reason whatsoever. We are going to seek an injunction. My attorney Daniel Horowitz has already notified them.