Watchdog group files complaint on Mar-a-Lago promotion

A watchdog group filed an ethics complaint with the government Tuesday over the State Department’s apparent promotion of President Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Fla.

“State Department use of resources to promote a private business owned by President Trump constitutes a misuse and abuse of taxpayer dollars,” Karen Hobert Flynn, president of Common Cause, wrote in a letter.

Flynn sent Tuesday’s letter to the State Department and the Office of Government Ethics, urging both to “conduct an investigation and to take disciplinary action” if warranted.

On Monday, a blog post on Trump’s luxury resort that was on the official website of State’s embassy and consulates in the United Kingdom gained attention. 

{mosads}The April 5 blog post detailed the history of Mar-a-Lago, noting that the founder willed the estate to the U.S. government in 1973. But it did not specify that the federal government ultimately returned Mar-a-Lago to founder Marjorie Merriweather Post’s estate, nor that Trump had purchased the resort in 1983.

The writeup was originally posted on ShareAmerica, described as State’s “platform for sharing compelling stories and images that spark discussion and debate.”

But the post on Trump’s “winter White House” was taken down Monday night after many expressed concerns that the U.S. government was promoting Trump’s private resort. 

Common Cause, the group filing the complaint, works “to create open, honest, and accountable government that serves the public interest,” according to a Tuesday statement about its letter.