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The Air Force responded over the weekend to a report that claims an Air Force unit went miles out of their way during a routine mission to Kuwait in order to stay at President Donald Trump's Turnberry resort in Scotland.
Brig. Gen. Edward Thomas, director of Air Force Public Affairs, said in a statement that the stop was not unusual.
"As our aircrews serve on these international airlift missions, they follow strict guidelines on contracting for hotel accommodations and all expenditures of taxpayer dollars," Thomas said, according to the Associated Press.
"In this case, they made reservations through the Defense Travel System and used the closest available and least expensive accommodations to the airfield within the crews' allowable hotel rates," he explained. "While we are still reviewing the trip records, we have found nothing that falls outside the guidelines associated with selecting stopover airports on travel routes and hotel accommodations for crew rest."
Politico reported Friday the House Oversight Committee is investigating why the joint Air Force and Alaska Air National Guard unit made the "unusual" stop at Trump's resort in March.
More from Politico:
The inquiry is part of a broader, previously unreported probe into U.S. military expenditures at and around the Trump property in Scotland. According to a letter the panel sent to the Pentagon in June, the military has spent $11 million on fuel at the Prestwick Airport — the closest airport to Trump Turnberry — since October 2017, fuel that would be cheaper if purchased at a U.S. military base. The letter also cites a Guardian report that the airport provided cut-rate rooms and free rounds of golf at Turnberry for U.S. military members.
Taken together, the incidents raise the possibility that the military has helped keep Trump's Turnberry resort afloat — the property lost $4.5 million in 2017, but revenue went up $3 million in 2018.
In response, numerous Democrats claimed the report proved corruption.
This is insanely corrupt! There is so much of it since he has taken office that we don’t need Muller report for i… https://t.co/7Pt5fh4kjL— Ilhan Omar (@Ilhan Omar) 1567819127.0
Dear Secretary of Defense @EsperDoD: This smells like corruption. Can you explain to the American people why US mi… https://t.co/X0hYcrCYhx— Ted Lieu (@Ted Lieu) 1567815494.0
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) has even demanded Trump's impeachment over the report.
The President is corrupt and must be impeached. https://t.co/L4fS2pExDe— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez) 1567818249.0
