His impeachment trial was happening a thousand miles away but the “mayor of Mar-a-Lago” was also facing another inquisition.
Is Donald Trump allowed to reside at his private resort in Florida, where he flew off to from the White House on 20 January, on Air Force One without even attending Joe Biden’s inauguration?
The Palm Beach town council spent close to seven hours on Tuesday considering issues important to the wealthy island community: the availability of the coronavirus vaccine.
Revitalizing the downtown’s upscale shopping district. Even the durability of Belgian tile being used on a new walking path and the danger posed by coconuts falling when palm trees get too tall.
Each agenda item provoked a litany of questions, comments and observations, except one: whether the former US president may continue living at his Mar-a-Lago club.
Though presumably the most contentious among residents and of the most interest nationally and internationally, the issue took up no more than a half-hour of the council’s time – at the meeting’s end.
The five-member council took no action on the question, which was placed on the agenda because of neighbors’ complaints that Trump’s presence would hurt property values.
It’s unclear if the council will address the issue further, although an attorney representing the residents asked – with no response – that he be allowed to give a fuller presentation in April. The neighbors could also sue the town and Mar-a-Lago.
The town attorney, Skip Randolph, said there was nothing in the club’s 1993 agreement with Palm Beach that prohibits Trump from residing there.
“This is a debate that I really think is silly,” Randolph said.
He said the former president would be considered a bona fide employee of the entity.
“This guy, as he wanders the property, is like the mayor of Mar-a-Lago. He’s always present,” Randolph said in his virtual presentation to the town council on Tuesday.
He and Trump’s attorney John Marion said the town permits clubs and resorts to provide onsite housing for their employees and Trump, as Mar-a-Lago’s president, fits the bill.
But Philip Johnston, an attorney who said he represents a group of residents called Preserve Palm Beach, said neighbors of the club fear Trump’s residency will turn Mar-a-Lago into “a permanent beacon for his more rabid, lawless supporters”, destroying the town’s “genteel” character.
Many wealthy residents live in flamboyant mansions with staff and ornate decor, driving their Rolls-Royces to the local white tablecloth restaurants and high-end fashion and jewelry stores.
Some argue that when he got permission to turn the 126-room mansion into a club 28 years ago, Trump promised through an attorney that he would not live at Mar-a-Lago.
But Marion said that provision was left out of the final written agreement in exchange for Trump’s pledge to be financially responsible for preserving the property if the club fails.
He also warned that if by “the slightest” chance Trump gets booted from Mar-a-Lago, he would probably move into one of the other nearby homes he owns.
The Secret Service bubble that now resides behind Mar-a-Lago’s gates would be on their streets, he said.
“There would be barriers in front of that property. There would be guards and Secret Service personnel … There would be dogs sniffing vehicles,” Marion said. “It would be a horrible imposition for them [the neighbors] if they got what they wanted.”
But the neighbors, at least according to their attorneys, are willing to take that chance.
Trump purchased Mar-a-Lago for $10m in 1985 from the estate of Marjorie Merriweather Post, the owner of cereal giant General Foods.
The mansion had deteriorated after her death in 1973, when she left it to the US government as a possible presidential vacation home. The government gave it back in 1981.
After Trump bought it, he spent millions upgrading the property while living there part-time.
By the early 1990s, however, Trump was in financial distress. Real estate prices dropped and several of his businesses flopped, including a New Jersey casino.
In 1993, Trump and the town agreed he could turn the estate into a private club. It would be limited to 500 members – the initiation fee is now $200,000 and annual dues are $14,000.