Trump Organization sues NYC for canceling golf course contract

The Trump Organization on Monday filed a lawsuit against New York City for canceling a contract to run a golf course in the Bronx this year, claiming the decision was politically motivated.

The lawsuit claims that the there was nothing in the contract that gave New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio the ability to terminate the contract after the deadly Jan. 6 Capitol riot, The Associated Press reported. When de Blasio announced he would be canceling the contract, he directly cited what he called Trump’s “criminal action” in inciting the riot.

“Mayor de Blasio’s actions are purely politically motivated, have no legal merit, and are yet another example of the mayor’s efforts to advance his own partisan agenda and interfere with free enterprise,” the Trump Organization said in a statement, the AP reported.

The company is demanding that it either be allowed to continue running the course or be compensated millions of dollars.

The contract dictates that New York City is allowed to terminate its deal at any time but would have to compensate the company for money it invested in building clubhouses on the course, according to AP.

As part of its decision to cancel the contract, the city also argued that Trump could no longer claim to attract prestigious tournaments, as is reportedly required in the contract.

However, the AP reported that the Trump Organization argued in its suit that it was never required to attract tournaments and was obligated only to maintain a golf course that was “first-class, tournament quality.”