House Democrats are seeking records documenting the costs of Vice President Mike Pence’s recent Ireland trip — where he stayed at President Trump’s Doonbeg resort, despite it being a 142-mile commute from where his meetings were in Dublin — as well as information about Trump’s proposal to hold the coming G7 conference at his Miami golf hotel.
The House Judiciary Committee and House Oversight Committee sent letters Thursday to the White House, the Vice President’s office, the Secret Service and the Trump Organization requesting information about the taxpayer money apparently flowing into Trump properties during official trips.
The requests come as House Democrats are expanding their focus on alleged Trump corruption from beyond just special counsel Robert Mueller’s report, while they consider moving forward with impeachment proceedings.
The Oversight Committee is asking the Trump administration for the itemized costs of Pence’s Ireland trip generally and his stay at Doonbeg specifically, as well as “all documents and communications related to proposed or actual accommodations” for Pence’s trip.
Pence’s choice to stay to Doonbeg — which he claimed put him closer to his ancestral home — came under scrutiny particularly after Pence’s spokesperson said that Trump had suggested the Vice President stay at the golf resort. Pence’s office later tried to walk back that statement by blaming it on “misreporting” and the President himself denied encouraging Pence to stay there.
The Oversight Committee additionally wants information from the Trump Organization on the revenue that Pence’s Doonbeg stay — and Trump’s June 2019 trip there — provided the company.
The Judiciary Committee meanwhile released new details about its recently announced probe into Trump’s push to hold next year’s G7 summit at his Doral resort in Miami. That investigation focuses on whether such a proposal violates the Emoluments Clause, which limits the things of value a president can receive from a foreign government.
On Thursday, the committee sent the White House and the Secret Service a letter demanding a whole host of information about the President’s plans to hold the summit there and any Justice Department guidance on the legality of hosting the event at a Trump property.
