Pence's stay at Trump property in Ireland is focus of Democratic Senator's inquiry
Vice President Mike Pence's stay at a property in Ireland owned by the president's company has prompted a Senate Democrat to question if the taxpayer-funded visit was cost effective and to label it an "apparent conflict of interest."
Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich., the ranking member of the Senate's Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, sent a letter to the vice president Thursday asking for specific information on the costs of Pence's stay at Trump International Golf Club in Doonbeg, including comparable rates for hotels nearby and across the country in Dublin, where Pence held meetings with Irish officials and business leaders.
Peters told Pence in the letter, first obtained by ABC News, that he was "troubled by the apparent conflict of interest in your decision to stay at a property owned by President Trump, which creates the risk that taxpayer funds are being used to directly profit the President."
Pence on Tuesday defended visiting his family's Irish hometown and staying at President Donald Trump's property there at taxpayer expense, arguing the resort was a "logical" choice that let him highlight Irish-American ties.
The vice president held official meetings with Irish leaders in the nation's capital, but flew back and forth across the country in Air Force Two to spend nights in the small village of Doonbeg, where his cousin runs a bar and his great-grandmother grew up.
"I find it hard to believe that your office was unable to identify lodgings that could accommodate the security and logistical needs of your trip in the capital of Ireland," Peters wrote.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/pences-stay-at-trump-property-in-ireland-is-focus-of-senate-democrat-inquiry/ar-AAGRbQv?li=BBnb7Kz
