The air force says it sent crews up to 40 times in Trump's Scottish station.

The US Air Force has hosted up to 40 times its crews in the seaside resort of President Donald Trump in Scotland since 2015, a figure well above that known so far.

The count represents the preliminary results of an Air Force review launched after POLITICO reported last week that a crew of the Air National Guard had stayed in Turnberry in March. Congressional Democrats have also investigated military stays on the site, but have yet to receive any information from the Pentagon.

History continues below

The figure does not indicate how many stays have occurred since Trump became president. But the Air Force has significantly strengthened its overnight stops in Scotland under Trump after signing a contract with the Prestwick Airport, located more than 20 miles from Turnberry, during the last few years. month of the Obama administration. Since 2015, the service has accommodated crews in the region 659 times, which means that 6% of these trips took place in Turnberry.

The figure also does not take into account the total number of people that the air force housed at Trump Turnberry during these 40 or so stays. POLITICO has previously reported that Air Force crews ranging from five to as many as 40 housed in the Trump waterfront property for at least four stays since September 2018.

The Air Force stated that Prestwick's refueling stops – and all the corresponding overnight stays – complied with Pentagon guidelines. Prestwick often houses Air Force crew accommodation in Turnberry, the airport acknowledged in a news release, and often arranges transportation to and from the complex. Officials also said Turnberry bookings were within acceptable limits for military travel, with military members paying a government tariff as low as $ 130 per night.

But the Air Force acknowledged that staying on the President's wealthy property could create a negative perception, and she launched an internal review which will evaluate the "advice associated with the use of civilian airports and the selection of accommodation for aircrew on en route locations," according to an official note released Monday.

Still, this is the latest example of the intersection of Trump's commercial interests and what once were mundane government policies.

Air Force crews moved to Turnberry because of the growing importance of Prestwick Airport for refueling military aircraft. In 2015, the Air Force made only 95 stops in the region and settled 40 times in the same area. But until August of this year, the Air Force had made 259 stopovers at Prestwick, spending the night nearly 220 times.

The more than 40 visits to Turnberry should raise the eye of congressional Democrats, who said the practice raised issues of conflict of interest and threatened to violate the constitutional clause on national emoluments, which prohibits the president from receiving royal decree. money outside the federal government. salary.

The House Oversight Committee has been investigating US military spending in Turnberry and surrounding areas since the spring, and has threatened to summon representatives to try to obtain more money. Pentagon information.

Stays in Turnberry took place as recently as late June of this year, when a bus carrying an aircrew en route to Iraq arrived in Turnberry, according to a person who was there and a Instagram message written by a member of the Air Force crew.

Ralph Porciani, managing director of Trump Turnberry, declined to tell POLITICO on Wednesday how many members of the service have stayed at the resort over the last few years, saying the staff was not asking its guests "what they do for win their life". The majority of crews housed in Turnberry come in uniform, however, crew members told POLITICO. Porciani added that reporters should stop trying to "dig up the dirt" on Turnberry, who was "kneeling" before Trump and his family buy it in 2014.

On Monday, lawmakers urged the Senate to pass an amendment banning the Pentagon from spending money in nearly five dozen Trump properties around the world. The House adopted this clause in July as part of the General Bill on Annual Defense Policy, but it has not yet been passed.

Trump, meanwhile, has not proclaimed any knowledge of the stays.

"I do not know anything about an Air Force plane that lands in an airport (which I do not own and has nothing to do with) near Turnberry Resort (which I own) in Scotland, and that is refueling, the crew staying all night in Turnberry (they have good taste!), "He tweeted on Monday." NOTHING TO DO WITH ME. "