D.C. Commissioner Fights To Revoke Trump Hotel International’s Liquor License Over President’s ‘Character’

A neighborhood advisory commission is reported to have given their unanimous support in an 8-0 vote on a petition that is seeking to revoke the liquor license of the Trump International Hotel. The basis for their claim is that the hotel is owned by Trump International, which is in turn owned by President Donald Trump, and they allege that Trump’s moral character is poor enough that he should not be able to hold a liquor license. While it may sound far-fetched, it is a legal possibility, though a remote one, that the commission could prevail.

The ANC-40, an Area Neighborhood Commission that is comprised of several neighborhood groups surrounding the Trump International Hotel, met on July 11. Under discussion was the petition, specifically regarding whether or not the commission should move forward on it, and if so, how.

By a show of hands vote, the support to move forward on the process of revoking the hotel’s liquor license was unanimous. The petition originated from a request made in June, in which a group of religious and judicial leaders petitioned the D.C. Alcoholic Beverage Control Board to revoke the liquor license. Going through the ANC-40 was the second step in the process toward making this request a possibility, as they would need to show support for it in the community.

According to NDTV, Washington D.C. has a law in place that states that liquor license applicants must be of “good character and generally fit for the responsibilities of licensure.” The petitioning group and ANC-40 have decided that they do not believe that President Trump meets that qualification in the licensing requirements, as evidenced in their statement of support for the petition.

“It is our considered view that Donald Trump, the true and actual owner of the Trump International Hotel, is not a person of good character, doesn’t meet the D.C. Code… requirements and therefore the license should be revoked.”

According to Fox News, the petition states that Trump has a “long history of telling lies,” and a “failure to abide by the law and to repudiate associations with known criminals.” While the Alcohol Control Board (ACB) can accept the petition and review it, it doesn’t necessarily mean they have to do anything about it, or even acknowledge its receipt. According to the Fox News report, most people in the area don’t think anything will come of the petition and quite a few don’t even support it.

Several neighbors of the hotel spoke up against the petition, worrying that revoking the liquor license will do nothing but hurt the bartenders and servers working there. Others were more concerned with the hotel losing revenue, which would impact how much it is paying in taxes, and some expressed concern that the move could even hurt area businesses.

Trump International has declined to comment on the situation, and Trump, himself, has likewise not commented.