Air Force crew made odd stop on routine trip
Now the layover is part of a broader House inquiry into military spending at and around the Trump property
By NATASHA BERTRAND and BRYAN BENDER 09/06/2019 08:00 PM EDT
... Since April, the House Oversight Committee has been investigating why the crew on the C-17 military transport plane made the unusual stay both en route to the Middle East and on the way back at the luxury waterside resort, according to several people familiar with the incident. But they have yet to receive any answers from the Pentagon.
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 Trumps Turnberry resort afloat the property lost $4.5 million in 2017, but revenue went up $3 million in 2018.
The Defense Department has not produced a single document in this investigation, said a senior Democratic aide on the oversight panel. The committee will be forced to consider alternative steps if the Pentagon does not begin complying voluntarily in the coming days ...
https://www.politico.com/story/2019/09/06/air-force-trump-scottish-retreat-1484337