Scottish lawmakers want to investigate Trump purchase of golf courses

Scottish lawmakers are urging the government to start an investigation into former President Trump and the Trump Organization in order to determine where he got the funds to buy two golf courses in their country.

The Washington Post reports that the effort is being led by Green Party lawmakers who want First Minister of Scotland Nicola Sturgeon to ask for an “unexplained wealth order” from the Scottish courts.

An “unexplained wealth order” would prompt an accounting investigation, not criminal in nature. The Post reports that if the Trump Organization is unable to prove the money it used to make its purchases is clean, then the Scottish government could confiscate the properties.

The order was designed to prevent criminals from making large investments into Scotland. As the Post notes, Trump bought the properties during a spending spree that began in 2006 without any public indication that he had taken out loans.

The Scottish Parliament is scheduled to debate and vote on a motion Wednesday that would push Sturgeon to make the request. The Scottish First Minister and her party, the Scottish National Party, have said the matter should be pursued by prosecutors and not politicians, the Post noted. The motion is unlikely to pass, with critics even acknowledging that Trump returned the golf courses to their former glory.

Green Party lawmaker Patrick Harvie, who called the vote, argued that the Scottish people have a right to know where the funds came from.

“It’s a toxic brand … owned by a disgraced former president, who courted supremacists, who incited violence,” Harvie told the Post.

The newspaper notes that financial disclosures from Trump have revealed the two Scottish golf courses have been enormous financial burdens, costing the former president $280 million over the years without turning a profit.

“At a critical time when politicians should be focused on saving lives and reopening businesses in Scotland, they are focused on advancing their personal agendas,” Eric Trump said in a statement to the Scotsman, the Post reported.

He is the executive vice president of the Trump Organization.