Judge puts brakes on land giveaway for Trump's library in Miami; millions in taxpayers' dollars are at stake
News and views for Florida's Left Coast
Remember that sweetheart deal transferring millions of dollars’ worth of taxpayer-owned property in downtown Miami to a foundation run by Donald Trump’s family and friends?
You know, the nearly three acres worth more than $60 million that Miami Dade College gave to the state, which, in turn, planned to just hand it over to Trump and friends so he could build his vanity “presidential library?”
(And let’s be honest, saying Trump and library in the same sentence is about as oxymoronic as it gets.)
Well, that scheme has come to a screeching halt. At least temporarily.
A Miami-Dade Circuit Court judge this week blocked the property transfer to the state, agreeing to a temporary injunction sought by historian Marvin Dunn, who has sued claiming the giveaway violated state law.
Judge Mavel Ruiz is presiding over the case, and it is instructive to know not only what she said about the allegations of misconduct, but also what she did not.
Judge Ruiz did not criticize the land transfer, per se. For instance, she did not note that giving away millions of dollars of taxpayer-owned real estate, which could be used for the public good, is an abomination in and of itself.
Nor did she refer to similar questionable transfers of public funds to foundations, such as the current Hope Florida scandal, for which a grand jury is currently hearing testimony. You know, the one where millions of dollars of Medicaid overpayments that could have been used to help people instead were, allegedly, rerouted through several foundations to fund Gov. Ron DeSantis’s pet anti-recreational-marijuana campaign.
The judge also did not call into question why the state of Florida should give one dime to Donald Trump for anything. Ever.
No, the judge ruled on a technicality of state law that requires public bodies, like the governing board of Miami Dade College, to give sufficient notice to the public before voting on decisions, large or small.
As I have noted in earlier newsletters, the college board could hardly have given less notice, and the judge agreed.
“The court does not believe that the notice was reasonable,” she ruled.
But—and this is a big but—she also noted that the state law cited in this case—Florida’s Open Meetings Law—may not be as clear as it could be in terms of how much detail is required to be included when meetings are posted.
For instance, in this case, the college board simply posted that it was going to “discuss potential real estate transactions.” It said nothing about handing over property worth tens of millions of dollars to Donald Trump’s foundation.
Judge Ruiz further noted:
“This court’s surprised with the minimal requirement for reasonable notice that the Sunshine law really provides. So for that reason, this court struggled with whether or not this disclosure was sufficient.”
Meaning that while she has blocked the land transfer for the moment, this isn’t over yet.
The Sunshine law to which the judge referred involves statutes that require governmental entities to, generally speaking, be open about what they are doing—that records kept by governments should be freely available to the public for inspection and that any decisions governmental bodies make should be out in the open.
There are some exceptions, one of which is for real estate transactions.
Although that ordinarily refers to plans to purchase land for, by way of example, rights-of-way for roads. The exception allows governments to be a little opaque about what property they want to buy lest it drives the price up, costing taxpayers money.
But there is no “transaction” here. It is a flat-out giveaway, so I can’t see how that exemption would apply.
But we shall see what we shall see.
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Today is …
National Grouch Day, named for Oscar the Grouch, Sesame Street’s green grump who lives in a trash can. Fun bit of trivia: Muppets creator Jim Hansen named the character after one of his favorite restaurants in New York: Oscar’s Salt of the Sea. The owner and namesake of the restaurant was “magnificently rude.”
I have this and more trivia in my Florida Weekly column, which you can access here:
Quote of the day
Miami Mayor Francis Suarez told the Miami Herald he was aware of the Trump real estate deal but that he was “kind of sworn to secrecy until it was announced.” This is significant because it could mean that the Miami Dade College board was deliberately keeping this from the public.
Florida factual
The Government in the Sunshine Law is called that because it requires government activities to be conducted in the open, like a beam of sunlight, to promote transparency and prevent corruption. The term originated with Florida’s Government-in-the-Sunshine Law passed in 1967, which mandated that many government meetings and records be open to public access. It has since been adopted in one form or another around the nation.
Think of it like this: Cockroaches enjoy creating mischief in the dark. Turn on the lights, and they scatter. Please understand that I’m not calling the decision to deed over millions of dollars of public land to Trump the work of cockroaches. I certainly don’t want to be guilty of defaming harmless insects.
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J.C. Bruce, journalist and author, is the founder of Tropic Press. He holds dual citizenship in the United States of America and his native Florida. Forward this email to your friends. They will love you for it.
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