The issue for the thriving small town of Palm Beach was Trump’s long-standing promise not to call Mar-a-Lago home. Trump bought the old Marjorie Merriweather Post property in 1985 and turned it into an exclusive club for members in 1993.
To turn his private home into a revenue-generating business, he had to comply with certain limitations, based on the guidelines presented as business breakers in Palm Beach. This agreement stipulated that members could not live in the club for more than 21 days a year. The former president’s neighbors complained to the city that Trump violated the agreement he signed.
City attorney John “Skip” Randolph informed the council that the main issue was not the deal, which he says he has not heard about whether Trump can reside at the club. Instead, he says, the question is whether Trump is an employee of the club. City zoning allows a “good faith club employee” to live in the clubs where he works or owns.
Trump’s longtime attorney in West Palm Beach called the whole matter “silly”, since after Trump left the Oval Office last month, he claimed his “Mar-a-Lago presidency”.
Lawyer John Marion argued to the board that there was no provision in the agreement prohibiting Trump from living at the club, adding that “the zoning code says he has the right to live there too”. He submitted the documentation to the board, signed by Trump on January 25, 2021, to see if Trump was again president of Mar-a-Lago.
“There is no prohibition on the owner using the owner’s suite,” said Marion. “This guy (Trump), while wandering around the property, is like the mayor of Mar-a-Lago, if you will.”
“He is always there, he owns the property and likes it as if it were his home,” added Marion. “There is no reason in the world that President Trump cannot reside in the club he owns.”
Trump’s lawyer went on to list the roles the ex-president performs while living and working at the club, saying he “assesses employee performance” and participates in “events held at the club and welcomes / thanks those present “.
The lawyer for one of Trump’s neighbors and the first to urge the city to examine the issue so that they could return to a “peaceful life”, Roger Stambaugh, told the council: “My clients ask the city council to keep the contract for use created with Mar-a-Lago in 1993. “
A representative of a group of residents of the island of Palm Beach said he was concerned about the drawing of property for supporters of the former president.
“We feel that this issue threatens to make Mar-a-Lago a permanent beacon for its most angry lawless supporters,” lawyer Philip Johnston told the council.
Johnston asked the board to postpone the decision on whether Trump is a legitimate employee of the club to give all parties the opportunity to prepare a legal response.
The council made no decision on the matter on Tuesday. The matter is expected to be reviewed in the spring.
“It is a very discouraged place,” said Laurence Leamer, historian and author of “Mar-a-Lago: Inside the Gates of Power at Donald Trump’s Presidential Palace,” he told MSNBC last month. He said members “are not concerned about politics and said the food is not good”.
Leamer said he spoke to several former members who “left quietly” after Trump left office.