It's long past time to probe Donald Trump's dealings
His golf development caused direct environmental harm, but also gave profile to his climate denial conspiracies and his effort to derail our renewable energy industry.
READ MORE: If I was John Swinney, here's what I would say to Donald Trump
Scotland should not be a country where we allow billionaires and their business interests to go unchecked, especially when they have been cited by courts in felony charges against the individual.
But that is exactly how the Scottish Government plans on treating Trump, a convicted criminal, who is here in a personal capacity but will be back for his second state visit as president of the United States.
Five years ago, I first called for an investigation of Trump's finances in Scotland through an Unexplained Wealth Order (UWO). This power enables the Scottish Government to investigate the finances of individuals who are politically active and have acquired wealth through suspicious means.
Given that the criminal charges brought against Trump in New York cited his Menie golf estate in Aberdeenshire, getting answers from the Trump Organisation as to the valuation of his property and where he got the money from is the responsible thing for our own government to do.
Otherwise, we are sending a global message that wealthy individuals in positions of power like Trump are above the law. That sets a dangerous precedent, one that cannot become Scotland's legacy. This is a critical time to hold the super-rich to account. The billionaire class has been getting ever richer, while international aid programmes and investment in public services are cut, causing untold suffering.
READ MORE: What's your message to Donald Trump as he arrives in Scotland? We asked Glaswegians
Big polluters keep raking in the profits, while governments claim they don't have the power or money to achieve a just transition. Trump is just one very high-profile example, but his political power and his long history should make him top of the list for accountability.
Before we consider the dangerous far-right agenda he's pursuing as US president, he is first and foremost a man with decades of scandal behind him. During that time, he has sold everything from property to ties – but most notably sold his own name to other enterprises.
He has faced many losses with business ventures going bust and claiming bankruptcy. And yet he continues to keep a foothold in Scotland, with his golf estates barely turning profits until after he was charged and scrutinised
in court.
Scotland is not in short supply of golf courses, but it seems that we are in short supply of moral fibre. That was demonstrated when the Scottish planning system was overturned to allow him to build his golf course in the first place, trashing a piece of coastline which, at least on paper, had the highest level of environmental protection possible.
But that same lack of courage in holding the super-rich to account is still being demonstrated today, with every day that passes without the Government using its power to find out where the money for Trump's business dealings in Scotland actually came from.
Trump is a politically active individual who has purposely shielded his tax information to avoid public scrutiny, the first US president who is a convicted criminal, and an individual with dozens of allegations of sexual assault spanning back to the 1970s.
READ MORE: Timings of Donald Trump visit to Scotland revealed as flight restrictions in place
But the title of president does not make him immune to following laws in his own country or ours. If anything, it should make our Government duty-bound to enforce those laws and hold him to account, to set an example for the world to follow.
Self-proclaimed elites like Trump do not get a free pass just because they are powerful. He must face the same scrutiny and legal challenges as our own politicians and citizens do.
We cannot continue to have a 'special relationship' with someone who flouts our rules and treats our country like his personal playground, while trashing our environment and undermining our energy transition.
It is time for the Scottish Government to take heed of our long-standing call and investigate Trump with a UWO, instead of cosying up to him and trying to win his favour.
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Glasgow Times
26 minutes ago
- Glasgow Times
I tried Clydebank's new Bangin' Pizza hotspot
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The Guardian
an hour ago
- The Guardian
The simple way Democrats should talk about Trump and Epstein
Democrats must not let Jeffrey Epstein die. They must highlight how this saga exposes the president for who he has always been. In the decade Teflon Don has spent on the national stage, no scandal has stuck to and haunted him quite so viscerally as the Epstein affair. He's never before appeared so flustered, forced to answer question after question about the women and girls whose lives were destroyed by his former 'best friend'. The world may never know what is inside the so-called 'Epstein files.' What is clear is that the contents are damaging enough for the president and his human flak jackets to call the whole affair a 'hoax', recess Congress to prevent a vote on releasing the materials and send the deputy attorney general to visit Tallahassee, Florida, to speak to the convicted child sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell, who was subsequently moved to a 'cushy', celebrity-riddled minimum security prison in Bryan, Texas. As the conservative pundit Bill Kristol noted over the weekend: '[Richard Nixon] said of Watergate, 'I gave them a sword. And they stuck it in, and they twisted it with relish.' Trump may have given us a sword. We should use it.' Kristol is right, to a point. Liberals, progressives and never-Trump Republicans must not let voters forget Trump's festering, open wound without neglecting the kitchen table, cost-of-living matters that hurt them last fall. In 2007, a far sharper and far more spry Joe Biden delivered a quip so clever and cutting that it ended another man's entire political career. Rudy Giuliani was never able to recover after Biden observed how it seemed 'there's only three things he mentions in a sentence: a noun, a verb, and 9/11'. The line was funny because it was true; it was lethal because it exposed the emptiness behind the former New York City mayor's tragedy-fueled candidacy. This is the challenge for Democrats: how do they maintain a spotlight on a scandal that reveals Trump for who he is in a way that finally resonates with his base without appearing to exploit a tragedy , à la Giuliani? They must ground the abstract conspiracy in everyday terms relatable to the average American. It goes like this: Trump protects elites. Say it in every stump speech, vent about it in vertical videos and keep it alive as a dominant narrative in the zeitgeist. Do not back away. The modern media environment rewards repetition and omnipresence, so Hakeem Jeffries should promise an Epstein select committee, Chuck Schumer should make Republicans release the Epstein files in return for votes to fund the government, and every leftwing activist in the country should be burying Pam Bondi's justice department in a blizzard of Freedom of Information Act requests. In doing so, recognize that the response to the scandal is an encapsulation of a deeper truth that voters already feel. The president and the GOP protect the elite at the expense of ordinary Americans. Savvier Democrats get this. Some of the party's best communicators have already been grasping for a message along these lines, as seen in the focus on Elon Musk's 'department of government efficiency' (Doge) and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Bernie Sanders's nationwide Fighting Oligarchy tour. But while those efforts have paid some political dividends, they have not come close to capturing the public imagination to the degree the Epstein files have. For at least some portion of the Maga movement, the past three weeks have finally managed to expose Trump for the hobnobbing, name-dropping, pompous ass that he's always been. Why is this one particular story so effective – especially as most voters have known Trump to be a plutocratic wannabe for decades? Maggie Haberman's hypothesis is noteworthy: New York high society operates in two concentric circles. The Big Apple has a glittering 'elite' with status at the center of a broader ring that wields power. Trump has always tried to straddle those rings, painting himself as the renegade billionaire. The Epstein affair shatters that mythos. It casts him not as a brash, bull-in-a-china-shop outsider but as the ultimate insider, rubbing shoulders with the very aristocracy his campaign rhetoric promised to upend. Democrats must lead with Epstein. Then they need to connect it to the president's myriad failures. Why did Trump cut taxes for the richest Americans while cutting Medicaid in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act? For the same reason he is protecting Epstein and his buddies. Why is Trump risking union jobs in auto manufacturing so he can have a trade spat with Mexico and Canada? For the same reason he is protecting Epstein and his buddies. Why is Donald Trump talking about firing the head of the Fed? For the same reason he is protecting Epstein and his buddies. Mallory McMorrow of Michigan, a Democratic Senate candidate, is already reading from this script. In recent weeks, she has demonstrated mastery in pairing Epstein with broader anti‑elite rhetoric. In one vertical video, she emphatically declared: This is exactly why there's eroding trust in our institutions, because until we confront the rot that exists in our institutions, until we hold everyone, everyone accountable under the same set of rules and laws, we will keep living in a country where there are two systems of justice, one for the rich and powerful, and one for everybody else. We deserve better. Release the files now. Trump's friendship with Epstein is a proof point for elite favoritism and all of us who oppose the orange god king must use it to condemn inequality and unaccountable power within the GOP ecosystem. The Epstein scandal has captured our attention not just because it's a lurid horror story, but because it confirms a truth people already believe: the rich view them as objects for exploitation. And if there's one thing Trump has successfully messaged to all Americans, it's that he's very, very rich. Epstein is the story. But he is also a stand-in for every closed maternity ward in a rural county, for every mom choosing between insulin and groceries and for every veteran battling the Department of Veterans Affairs while Silicon Valley billionaires buy senators. Democrats' message is simple enough, actually: 'Trump and the GOP protect the elite. They abandon you.' Think this messaging can be overdone? Look no further than Benghazi, a truly made-up scandal, which Republicans turned into a true political liability with Hillary Clinton's emails. That story stuck because of repetition and omnipresence, but also because it struck a chord with something Americans already believed: that the Clinton family viewed themselves as above accountability. Even Trump's own supporters are asking hard questions. Where are the files? Why is there a two-tiered system of justice? Why is Trump more interested in protecting his friends than releasing the truth? The Democratic response should be a noun, a verb and Jeffrey Epstein, and then the rot at the core of the American system. Deployed effectively, it can be as impactful and as memorable as Trump's cruel but devastating 2024 attack line: 'Kamala is for they / them, President Trump is for you.' Trump protects elites. That's why Trump is protecting Epstein's circle. But who's protecting you? Peter Rothpletz is a Guardian contributor
Daily Mirror
an hour ago
- Daily Mirror
MIKEY SMITH: 11 unhinged Donald Trump moments as Epstein survivors accuse him of 'cover up'
The survivors of America's most notorious dead paedophile are up in arms - accusing Trump of a "cover up" and giving paedophiles "preferential treatment" Donald Trump and the people around him seem to be signalling the direction the Epstein scandal is going to go - and it's towards a very dark place. The survivors of America's most notorious dead paedophile are up in arms - accusing Trump of a "cover up" and giving paedophiles "preferential treatment". It comes after the Mirror revealed Ghislaine Maxwell was being transferred to a much cushier prison. Meanwhile Trump didn't like the new, disappointing employment statistics, so he fired the person in charge of collecting them, mulled the idea of giving Diddy a pardon, was super creepy about a senior member of his team and paved over a historic part of the White House lawn - infuriating an important figure from his past. It's been quite a night, but here's everything you need to know. Buckle up. 1. Trump gets bad jobs figures, fires woman in charge of counting them You'll remember from yesterday's roundup that Trump was delivered some pretty rough jobs numbers for July - with May and June getting a hefty downgrade. Well, Trump last night did exactly what you'd expect him to do. He claimed they were "phony" and fired the person in charge of counting them. Claiming the figures had been manipulated for political reasons, he fired Erika McEntarfer, the director of the Bureau of Labour Statistics - a Biden appointee. He provided no evidence for his claim, which is presumably actionable. "I have directed my Team to fire this Biden Political Appointee, IMMEDIATELY," Trump said on Truth Social. "She will be replaced with someone much more competent and qualified." Trump later posted: "In my opinion, today's Jobs Numbers were RIGGED in order to make the Republicans, and ME, look bad." 2. The party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears Asked why anyone should trust numbers in future in a gaggle outside the White House last night, Trump said: "You're right. Why should anyone trust numbers?" 3. Did Ghislaine Maxwell get her sex offender status waived? It was reported overnight that for Ghislaine Maxwell to get transferred to a minimum security camp in Texas, she'd have to have her sex offender status waived. Bureau of Prisons policy is that anyone with a sex offender determination known as a "public safety factor" are required to be housed in at least low-security prisons - like the one she was held in in Florida - unless they receive a special waiver. 4. Trump's favourite news channel is rolling the pitch for a Maxwell pardon Meanwhile, Newsmax - one of Trump's favourite news channels - has been making the case for Maxwell's innocence... Host Greg Kelly said on air last night: "There's something else going on here. "It's an injustice ... people are horrified when I say that this individual just might be innocent. "But think about it. Who told us about her? The most reviled institutions in America. The media and the Biden justice department." This all seems to be going in a horrifying direction... 5. Epstein survivors and families are angry "President Trump has sent a clear message today: Pedophiles deserve preferential treatment and their victims do not matter," the family of Virginia Giuffre and other Epstein accusers said in a statement, expressing "outrage" at Maxwell's move to a cushier prison. The statement added: "This move smacks of a cover up. The victims deserve better." 6. It's OK though, he's probably not going to pardon he was mean Asked in an exclusive interview for - wait for it - Newsmax last night whether he'd consider a pardon for Sean "Puff "Diddy" Daddy" Combs, Trump said: "Well he was essentially half innocent. I don't know, he's still in jail or something... " You know, I was very friendly with him. I get along with him great. Seemed like a nice guy. "I didn't know him well. But when I ran for office, he was very hostile...I don't know, it makes it more difficult to do." He said, as a result, it was "more likely a no." 7. What's on JD Vance's playlist? So let's take a break for a moment of levity - and laugh at JD Vance's Spotify playlist. An anonymous website named "the Panama Playlists" claims to have identified and scraped data from high profile figures in the Trump administration, revealing their favourite tunes. The VP's "Making Dinner" playlist includes I Want It That Way by the Backstreet Boys and and One Time by Justin Bieber. Another of his playlists includes What Makes You Beautiful by One Direction. Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt has a playlist entitled "baby shower", which includes A Bar Song by Shaboozey. And Attorney General Pam Bondi's playlist includes Nelly's Hot in Herre and Foreigner's Cold As Ice. 8. Trump creepy about Leavitt And here's Donald Trump being creepy about Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt's lips. 9. Trump paved over the rose garden and Four Seasons Total Landscaping is not impressed A weird thing about Trump's return to the White House is the amount of building work he's doing to a property he legally has to move out of in three and a half years. And the first of these projects was to pave over the White House's world famous, historically significant Rose Garden. Well, Four Seasons Total Landscaping - where Rudy Giuliani held a deeply weird press conference by mistake the day Trump lost the 2020 election - is unimpressed. 10. Well, thats a metaphor The drainage holes on the new patio are in the shape of American flags. Get Donald Trump updates straight to your WhatsApp! As the world attempts to keep up with Trump's antics, the Mirror has launched its very own US Politics WhatsApp community where you'll get all the latest news from across the pond. We'll send you the latest breaking updates and exclusives all directly to your phone. Users must download or already have WhatsApp on their phones to join in. All you have to do to join is click on this link, select 'Join Chat' and you're in! We may also send you stories from other titles across the Reach group. We will also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. To leave our community click on the name at the top of your screen and choose Exit group. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice. 11. Trump's ballroom looks awfully familiar. Also, just awful The design proposals for the other big construction project Trump wants to undertake on the White House look awfully familiar. The huge ballroom he wants to tack on to the East Wing is designed to look remarkably similar to the main ballroom at Mar A Lago, Trump's club in South Beach, Florida. It's almost as if he's never planning to leave.
