US President Trump in 2018 had asked Robert Wood Johnson, the American ambassador to Britain if the government would help Turnberry, the president's Scottish golf resort, secure an offer to host the British Open, as per reports.
The American ambassador to Britain, Robert Wood Johnson IV, told various partners in February 2018 that President Trump had asked as to whether the British government could help steer the world-well-known and lucrative British Open golf competition to the Trump Turnberry resort in Scotland, as indicated by three individuals with knowledge of the episode.
The ambassador’s deputy, Lewis A. Lukens, advised him not to do it, warning that it would be an unethical use of the presidency for private gain, these individuals said. Be that as it may, Johnson clearly felt compelled to attempt. Half a month later, he raised the possibility of Turnberry playing host to the Open with the secretary of state for Scotland, David Mundell.
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In a brief interview last week, Mundell said it was “inappropriate” for him to discuss his dealings with Johnson and referred to a British government. The statement further said Johnson “made no request of Mundell regarding the British Open or any other sporting event.” The statement did not address whether the ambassador had broached the issue of Turnberry, which Trump bought in 2014, but none of the next four Opens is scheduled to be played there.
In any case, the scene left Lukens and other diplomats deeply unsettled. Lukens, who filled in as the acting ambassador before Mr Johnson showed up in November 2017, emailed officials at the State Department to tell them what had happened, colleagues said. A couple of months after the fact, Johnson forced out Lukens, a career diplomat who had before filled in as ambassador to Senegal, shortly before his term was to end.
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The White House declined to comment on Trump’s instructions to Johnson, as did the ambassador and the State Department. Although Trump, as president, is exempt from a federal conflict of interest law that makes it a criminal offence to take part in “government matters that will affect your own personal financial interest,” the Constitution prohibits federal officials from accepting gifts, or “emoluments,” from foreign governments.
