Two Miami City residents have filed suit to stop Trump from receiving prime waterfront Florida real estate for his presidential library, claiming the land transfer violates the Constitution. Via Politico:
The lawsuit is being brought under the Emoluments Clause, which bars the president from accepting gifts, payments or other benefits from state, federal or foreign entities beyond an official salary. The land where the skyscraper library is set to be built — in a prime waterfront location downtown — was first transferred by Miami Dade College to the state. Then Gov. Ron DeSantis and the Florida Cabinet gifted it to Trump’s library foundation.
The lawsuit targets Trump, his library foundation, DeSantis and members of the Florida Cabinet, as well as Miami Dade College. The 2.63 acres of land in question is valued at around $67 million, though some real estate experts have said it could be worth as much as $300 million given its bayfront location across from the city’s Kaseya Center arena. It’s also next to the Freedom Tower, a historic immigrant processing center that once welcomed Cuban refugees.
The lawsuit, from two Miami residents who live near the soon-to-be-constructed site and led by the Constitutional Accountability Center and Miami-based law firm Gelber Schachter & Greenberg, points out that Trump has told reporters he thinks the land could also serve as a hotel “with a beautiful building underneath and a 747 Air Force One in the lobby.”
“These statements, individually and collectively, make clear that President Trump intends to monetize this skyscraper, generating significant profit for himself and his family,” the lawsuit states.
