New York City is a liberal bastion and the elected officials appear to not want any reminders of former President Donald Trump in that city, but a judge just nixed one of the city’s plans.
The city wanted to cancel the Trump Organization’s Ferry Point golf course in the Bronx but a judge ruled in the organization’s favor this week, Bloomberg reported.
The city ended $17 million worth of contracts with the company in February 2021 after the Jan. 6 assault on the U.S. Capitol, including deals to operate a carousel and two ice rinks in Central Park. The company, which had a Nov. 14 deadline to leave the course, sued the city in June.
New York said the organization breached a provision of the contract that required it to “operate a course capable of attracting professional tournament-quality events.”
The city argued that the PGA of America’s announcement in January that it wouldn’t hold its annual championship at Trump’s Bedminster, New Jersey, course led it to believe that no golf organization would associate itself with the Bronx course if it was connected to Trump after the Capitol riot, according to the suit.
But New York State Supreme Court Justice Debra James on Friday vacated the city’s decision to cancel the contract for Ferry Point, saying that there is no such obligation in their agreement. James noted that while the deal allowed the city to cancel the agreement at will, New York wasn’t citing that section in its decision to terminate the contract.
“Anyone holding a city concession is held to a high standard,” a New York City Law Department spokesman said. “We are disappointed in the court’s decision, and we are reviewing our legal options.”
Eric Trump, the son of the former president, said that the organization will continue to operate the golf course, The New York Post reported.
“The judge didn’t buy their nonsense and this is a well-reasoned and appropriate decision and we look forward to running the best golf course for years to come,” he said.
(Former Mayor Bill) “De Blasio did this for his own political theater,” he said. “He wasted tremendous amounts of time and city resources on his own vendetta. He is a disgrace to New York and everyone is glad he is gone.”
“Total Victory at @TrumpFerryPoint! @BilldeBlasio is a disgrace to New York and his challenge to our contract was nothing more than political theatre (that costs NY tremendous money and time). Our team is proud to continue to operate the greatest Golf Course in New York!” he said on Twitter.
In other legal news, President Donald Trump wants the judge assigned to his lawsuit against Hillary Clinton to be removed from hearing the case.
His reason for wanting to disqualify U.S. District Court Judge Donald Middlebrooks is that the judge was first nominated by former President Bill Clinton in 1997, when Hillary was first lady, The Washington Examiner reported.
The attorneys for the former president argued in a filing that “there exists a reasonable basis that Judge Middlebrooks’ impartiality will be questioned.”
In addition, the motion cites Section 455 of the U.S. Code, which states, “Any justice, judge, or magistrate judge of the United States shall disqualify himself in any proceeding in which his impartiality might reasonably be questioned.”
Trump’s filing does not make any mention of Middlebrooks’s decision in 2016 to toss a civil racketeering lawsuit against Clinton which alleged that the former secretary of state used her private email account and changed U.S. foreign policy to seek speaking fees and donations to the Clinton Foundation.
Trump filed his lawsuit late last month, alleging a conspiracy to create a “false narrative” tying his 2016 campaign to Russia.
Reporting from The Conservative Brief.
