How US airmen stayed at Trump hotel 40 times
Investigation lays bare Turnberry visits
CREWS from the US Air Force have stayed at President Donald Trump’s Turnberry resort 40 times in four years, it has emerged.
The overnight visits were revealed as part of an air force inquiry into spending.
It comes amid claims that Mr Trump’s loss-making resort in Ayrshire was illicitly receiving cash from America’s defence budget.
The Scottish Mail on Sunday told last week how the US Congress has launched an investigation into links between the US military, the Scottish Government-owned Prestwick Airport and Trump Turnberry.
The US Air Force review found that between 2015 and this year, there were 40 separate instances when crews flying into Prestwick checked in to Trump Turnberry – around ten times the number of stays previously identified.
In total, there were 659 US Air Force overnight stays in the vicinity of the airport during that time, – roughly 6 per cent of them at Turnberry. The resort was bought by Mr Trump for £50 million in 2014, before he became President.
Transport Secretary Michael Matheson told Holyrood last week that the hotel was booked by staff at the airport if other accommodation was full, or if the resort was specifically requested.
It is understood that the Mercure Hotel in Ayr is among the most popular options but Turnberry – which has undergone a £150 million upgrade since being bought by Mr Trump – had been asked for by air crews, in line with the protocol detailed by Mr Matheson.
The Transport Secretary said Prestwick operated at ‘arm’slength’ from the Scottish Government and has been used for military stopovers since the 1930s.
Mr Matheson added: ‘There is no commercial relationship between Prestwick and Turnberry. Prestwick does not benefit from commission or in any other way from booking Turnberry, and customers settle their own accounts directly with the hotel.’
The hotel figures covered only stays by the air force, not other branches of the US military.
The US House oversight committee is continuing to investigate defence department spending at Prestwick and Turnberry amid concerns over ‘serious conflicts of interest’ and potential violations of the foreign emoluments clause of the US Constitution. The inquiry is looking into payments by the Defense Logistics Agency, which deals with the global supply chain for the US military.
A Pentagon spokesman said: ‘Our air crews on international airlift missions follow strict guidelines.
‘While we are still reviewing the trip records, we have found nothing that falls outside the guidelines associated with selecting stopover airports and accommodations.’
‘Our air crews follow strict guidelines’