WASHINGTON — President Trump mentioned on Wednesday that he by no means spoke along with his ambassador to Britain about asking the British authori
WASHINGTON — President Trump mentioned on Wednesday that he by no means spoke along with his ambassador to Britain about asking the British authorities if it might assist steer the world-famous British Open golf event to the Trump Turnberry resort in Scotland.
The ambassador, Robert Wooden Johnson IV, informed a number of colleagues in February 2018 that he had been requested to see if he might organize for the event to be performed at Mr. Trump’s property and was warned not to take action by his deputy as a result of it could be an unethical use of the presidency for personal achieve, The New York Occasions reported on Wednesday.
Mr. Johnson apparently felt pressured to attempt anyway, and some weeks later he raised the thought of Turnberry internet hosting the Open with the secretary of state for Scotland, The Occasions reported. The episode left a number of American diplomats unsettled, and the ambassador’s deputy, Lewis A. Lukens, despatched emails describing what had occurred to State Division colleagues. Mr. Johnson later compelled out Mr. Lukens.
Requested concerning the report at a coronavirus briefing on Wednesday, Mr. Trump denied talking with Mr. Johnson on the matter, though he managed to advertise his Scotland golf course on the identical time.
“No, I by no means spoke to Woody Johnson about that, about Turnberry,” Mr. Trump mentioned. “Turnberry’s a extremely revered course, as , the most effective on the earth. I learn a narrative about it at the moment, and I by no means spoke to Woody Johnson about doing that, no.”
The White Home, the State Division and Mr. Johnson’s embassy had been requested for remark earlier than the article was revealed, and all declined to instantly tackle the matter. In a Twitter posting on Wednesday, Mr. Johnson didn’t deny the episode however mentioned solely that he didn’t violate any rules. “I’ve adopted the moral guidelines and necessities of my workplace always,” he wrote.
Mr. Johnson, the billionaire inheritor to the Johnson & Johnson pharmaceutical fortune and the proprietor of the New York Jets, informed a number of folks concerning the matter.
Mr. Lukens confirmed on Wednesday that Mr. Johnson had knowledgeable him about Mr. Trump’s request. “I suggested him that doing so would violate federal ethics guidelines and be usually inappropriate,” Mr. Lukens wrote in a textual content message to NPR.