Group renews push to have Trump hotel’s liquor license revoked over president’s ‘character’

A group of religious leaders and judges has renewed its push to revoke the Trump International Hotel’s liquor license on the basis of its owner’s “character” as the license comes up for renewal, according to the Washingtonian.

The group, the Campaign for Accountability and Transparency Inc., is the brainchild of Arizona Republican activist and philanthropist Jerry Hirsch. The coalition initially filed a complaint with the Washington, D.C., liquor board last summer, claiming the hotel’s owner, President Trump, did not meet the “good character” qualification that D.C. law requires.

The liquor board said last September that it typically only holds hearings when a license is up for renewal, leading the campaign to renew its complaint this spring.

{mosads}“Last fall, the Board said the time to take up the question of Mr. Trump’s character would come when the hotel seeks a renewal of the license. That time has come. The hotel has applied for renewal, and no reasonable person could find that Mr. Trump is ‘of good character,’” the group’s attorney, Joshua A. Levy, told the publication. “Whether it’s the thousands of lies he’s told, the criminal hush money payments to women, his emoluments issue, his racism and xenophobia, or his alleged sexual assault [of] over a dozen women, Mr. Trump does not meet the statutory requirement of ‘good character.’”

The complaint would be an unprecedented interpretation of the provision, according to the Washingtonian, which notes it has typically been used in connection with serving minors or violence in the establishment and usually only comes up in relation to a business’ other violations.

The hotel did not immediately respond to a request for comment.