It's time for ministers to stop politicking and investigate Trump
He is a habitual liar and political fraudster. With a lifetime of controversies and 34 charges of falsifying records upheld against him last year by a New York court, his business practices have always been controversial.
I first began raising questions about Trump in the early 2000s when he was very publicly lobbying then-first minister Alex Salmond's Scottish Government to oppose renewable energy sources and to support his controversial golf course in Aberdeenshire.
There were too many red flags, and, right from the start, there were concerns about where the money had come from.
READ MORE: Reform rise sees Unionist parties shifting further to the right
He didn't like the scrutiny, and, in what wasn't necessarily a high point for either of us, he even tried to have me disciplined for blasphemy in 2012 over a tweet in which I poked fun at one of his egotistical quotes when he appeared at a Holyrood committee hearing.
It was 2017 when I first called for an investigation into the purchase of the land for the site, and for the Trump Turnberry resort in Ayrshire.
I urged the Scottish Government to use an Unexplained Wealth Order (UWO), a mechanism that allows investigations into 'politically exposed persons' who are suspected of involvement in serious crime.
Ministers claimed that they didn't have the power to pursue a UWO even if they wanted to, a point that was contradicted by legal advice sought by campaign group Avaaz which showed that the First Minister could request one.
The Scottish Government refused the calls. I even brought a motion in 2021 urging ministers to seek one, which saw the SNP and Tories forming an unlikely alliance in voting it down.
Unfortunately my suspicions were well founded. When the New York State Supreme Court found Donald Trump guilty of civil fraud, it included findings that he had falsely inflated the value of assets, including his Scottish golf course.
It meant that we now have indisputable and independent evidence in the public domain that Trump's business dealings, including those in Scotland, were linked to fraud. So why won't the Scottish Government confirm if he is being investigated?
At long last it seems that he is finally being held to account by the legal system in the US, albeit with the power of the White House to shield him.
Yet, even while the wheels in the US are slowly turning, Scotland's Civil Recovery Unit has only gone as far as providing the same comment that they have done since 2021, saying that they cannot 'confirm or deny' whether an investigation has commenced.
Stringing out this position is no longer tenable. Following the rulings in New York, there is now urgent public interest in what action is being taken to investigate Trump's business dealings in Scotland.
(Image: Allen Eyestone, Allen Eyestone / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images)
For years, ministers have hidden behind officials and said that they cannot confirm or deny whether Trump is under investigation. In that same length of time, an investigation and a court case have now taken place in New York.
Nobody can be above the law. It's a core principle of any legal system that everyone be treated equally, regardless of how rich or powerful they are. If we are to have a credible system then anyone who may have broken the law must be held to account.
Donald Trump is a profoundly dangerous man and has shown himself to be utterly dishonest.
Every day there is a new mistruth or a lie. From petty claims about the size of the crowds at his rallies to major geopolitical issues, he has proven himself to be completely untrustworthy.
There is no doubt that the US president feels an affinity for Scotland, and that he regards his Scottish interests as prized possessions in his global business empire.
He clearly wants to expand his family's footprint here, and has a new golf course set to open in the months ahead, with speculation that he will attend the opening.
It's no secret that the Scottish Greens are dismayed about the way that the Scottish and UK governments have responded to Donald Trump's re-election. We will never support cosy phone calls and meetings to discuss 'mutual interests', and we don't believe that he should be greeted with the trappings of a state visit.
But the call for a UWO is not about his shocking and shameful record in office. It is about his basic integrity and about how our government responds to the wealthy and powerful. The New York courts have exposed a litany of concerns that need to be investigated and acted upon.
There is a clear and urgent need to get to the bottom of Trump's finances and the business he runs. It's long past time for the Scottish Government to demonstrate that Scotland is not a country where anyone with the money can buy whatever land and property they want, no questions asked.
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NBC News
29 minutes ago
- NBC News
Some Los Angeles officials fear Marines' 'rules of force'
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'The federalized National Guard and active-duty Marines deployed in Los Angeles will engage in quintessential law enforcement activity in violation of the PCA,' the motion said, referring to the Posse Comitatus Act. 'Defendants will create a substantial likelihood that the military will physically confront, detain, or search civilians whom they perceive are posing a security threat, thereby actively executing civil laws.' A military official with knowledge of the operation told NBC News that the Marines would not conduct arrests and would only transport and guard ICE agents. They said that these activities would not violate the Posse Comitatus Act. As with many other political battles since Trump took office, the issue will be decided in court. On Thursday afternoon, U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer will hold a hearing in San Francisco to hear arguments from both sides regarding Trump's use of the National Guard and Marines in L.A. Breyer could accept or reject Bonta's request that he issue a court order blocking the Trump Administration from using National Guard troops and Marines during ICE operations. Some local law enforcement officials and state Democrats say that Trump is stoking tensions rather than calming them. The National Guard is often used to respond to riots or violence on American streets. And active-duty Marines are not typically trained for domestic law enforcement and lack the tools or the training to respond to civil disturbances. Mike Hillman, a law enforcement consultant, military veteran and former Los Angeles Police Department Deputy Chief who served more than 40 years in the department, said there is a big difference between what law enforcement does and what Marines do. 'The Marines are warfighters and they come with rules of engagement and tools and equipment that they would normally use under those circumstances,' Hillman told NBC News. 'This situation has serious consequences. It puts the United States Marine Corps and the warfighters in the position where they are having to deal with domestic incidents on domestic soil.' Concerns about Marine 'rules of force' Some of the Marines deployed to Los Angeles will provide security and transportation for ICE personnel as they conduct operations. This includes driving ICE agents in military vehicles to arrest locations, according to two sources familiar with the plans. The Marines have been issued small cards that list 'rules of force' — terminology used for domestic military operations, the two sources said. The cards describe what Marines are allowed to do during a deployment. Two sources familiar with the planning say that ICE agents, as well as local officials in Los Angeles, have expressed concern about those rules of engagement. The sources said ICE agents worry that the Marines have not been properly trained and could be pulled into law enforcement operations for which local police or the National Guard is better suited. Jim McDonnell, the Los Angeles police chief, said in a statement on Monday that he was not notified of the Marine deployment and urged federal officials to maintain continuous communications with local law enforcement officials. 'The arrival of federal military forces in Los Angeles — absent clear coordination — presents a significant logistical and operational challenge for those of us charged with safeguarding this city,' he said. 'We are urging open and continuous lines of communication between all agencies to prevent confusion, avoid escalation, and ensure a coordinated, lawful, and orderly response during this critical time.' Warning from Rodney King riots An incident in Los Angeles during the 1992 riots following the police beating of Rodney King serves as a cautionary tale. 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California legal battle California Attorney General Bonta's motion asked Judge Breyer, the federal judge in San Francisco, to issue a temporary restraining order blocking the Trump Administration from using National Guard troops or Marines during ICE operations. 'Defendants, including President Trump and Secretary of Defense Hegseth have sought to bring military personnel and a 'warrior culture' to the streets of cities and towns where Americans work, go to school and raise their families,' Bonta wrote. On Tuesday, Department of Justice lawyers rebuffed Bonta's motion. 'Plaintiffs' motion is legally meritless,' they wrote in a filing. 'It seeks an extraordinary, unprecedented and dangerous court order.' Bonta's motion argued that the administration's actions, in fact, were dangerous. 'There is no invasion or rebellion in Los Angeles," it said, "only the kind of civil unrest that occurs from time to time that is typically the purview of local law enforcement.'
NBC News
34 minutes ago
- NBC News
From a 'day of love' to 'if they spit, we will hit': Trump's about-face on violence against police
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The Independent
an hour ago
- The Independent
Dan Bongino wants to move FBI training program from iconic Quantico HQ to Alabama: report
Leaders in the FBI are reportedly pushing to move one of the bureau's training programs from its headquarters in Quantico, Virginia, to Huntsville, Alabama, as part of President Donald Trump's desire to move federal agencies out of the Washington D.C. area. Dan Bongino, the FBI deputy director, has preliminarily proposed moving the FBI National Academy, a 10-week training academy for 250 domestic and international law enforcement officers, to Huntsville, the Washington Post reported on Wednesday. The FBI's training program for new bureau hires and other parts of its facilities, including the laboratory division, would remain at Quantico, people familiar with the discussion told The Post. While the proposal is still in preliminary stages, it aligns with Trump's April deadline asking agencies to create plans to move their headquarters from Washington D.C., to separate areas of the country to ' be where the people are.' However, the push to move to Huntsville, the most populous city in Alabama, has drawn criticism from some personnel who believe the move could be unjustifiably costly, The Post reported. While the FBI has operated at Redstone Arsenal, a U.S. Army base near downtown Huntsville, for decades, some expressed concern that sending hundreds of staff and agents to set up the training facility would require upgrades. 'If you look at FBI field offices, for example, you'll see many that are not located in downtown areas given the highly specialized nature of these facilities and their security requirements,' Norman Dong, the former Public Buildings Service commissioner under the Obama administration, told Federal News Network in April. 'In places like Atlanta or Sacramento, these FBI offices are located far outside of the central city,' Dong added. The FBI Academy is currently located in Quantico, a town in Prince William County, Virginia, which is approximately 35 miles outside of D.C. A spokesperson for the FBI said that any relocation options were being evaluated to determine if it could save the bureau money while also serving as a sufficient facility. Since Trump took office in January, the bureau has undergone significant changes, beginning with its leadership. Trump nominated Kash Patel to serve as FBI director despite Patel having a history of taking controversial pro-Trump stances. The president then tapped Bongino, a former Secret Service agent who became a popular right-wing podcaster, as deputy director. After Patel was sworn in, he said he would relocate roughly 1,000 staff and agents out of the D.C. office and said he'd move 500 people to the Huntsville facility so the FBI could have more of a presence in other cities. Trump proposed moving federal buildings and agencies outside of D.C. during his first administration, but the plan did not have immense success, in part due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Trump moved the Bureau of Land Management's headquarters from D.C. to Grand Junction, Colorado in 2019 so it could be closer to the land it manages. However, a review by the Biden administration found that the move caused more than 80 percent of the agency's employees to leave. Eventually, the headquarters were restored back to Washington D.C.
