Miami residents sue over land for Trump presidential library
TL;DR
Miami residents are suing Donald Trump and Florida's governor over the illegal gifting of land for Trump's proposed presidential library. The lawsuit claims the land was taken from Miami Dade College and violates the US constitution's emoluments clause.
Key points
- Miami residents filed a lawsuit against Donald Trump and Ron DeSantis
- Land was illegally gifted to Trump for a presidential library
- Lawsuit cites the US constitution's emoluments clause
- Land previously belonged to Miami Dade College
- The land is intended for a Trump hotel, not MDC's student community
Mentioned in this story
A group of Miami residents has filed a lawsuit against Donald Trump and the state of Florida over a land giveaway for his proposed presidential library.
Almost three acres of prime waterfront land that once belonged to Miami Dade College (MDC) was illegally gifted to the US president by Florida’s Republican governor, Ron DeSantis, the lawsuit states.
It cites the domestic emoluments clause of the US constitution that prohibits a sitting president from receiving any personal gain, profit or advantage from their position.
The action was brought in US district court for the southern district of Florida by the Washington DC-based Constitutional Accountability Center (CAC) on behalf of plaintiffs including an MDC student, a Miami non-profit, and residents, who state the land “is no longer available to serve MDC’s student community and downtown Miami”.
Instead, the filing states, “the land will house a Trump hotel that brings riches to the President”.
Plans for the “gaudy” project were unveiled in March, to be built next to Miami’s iconic Freedom Tower, the historical landmark and community art museum. A giant golden statue of the president will stand before a 50-story tower block that will feature the controversial $400m Boeing “flying palace” jumbo jet gifted to him by Qatar, but not yet in service, in its cavernous lobby.
At the time, Trump said the building was “most likely going to be a hotel”.
The land on which it will sit, the lawsuit said, is worth hundreds of millions of dollars.
“Rather than prevent President Trump from using the gifted land for personal gain, Florida … required that the conveyed land include only ‘components of a Presidential library, museum, and/or center’, leaving the door open for the President to develop the property in any way he sees fit,” the CAC said in a statement.
The library has already been the subject of one lawsuit that claimed MDC trustees, most of them handpicked by DeSantis, erred by originally handing the land to the state in September during an unadvertised meeting with no public discussion.
The board held a do-over in December, and voted unanimously to proceed with the transfer.
The Guardian has contacted the Trump Presidential Library Foundation and DeSantis’s office for comment.
Q&A
What is the lawsuit against Trump regarding his presidential library about?
The lawsuit claims that almost three acres of land, previously owned by Miami Dade College, was illegally given to Trump for his presidential library, violating the emoluments clause.
Who filed the lawsuit against the land giveaway for Trump's library?
The lawsuit was filed by the Constitutional Accountability Center on behalf of Miami residents, including an MDC student and a local non-profit.
What are the implications of the emoluments clause in this case?
The emoluments clause prohibits a sitting president from receiving personal gain from their position, which the lawsuit argues is violated by the land transfer to Trump.
