Criminal Complaint Filed Against tfg's Saudi Golf Tourney-Hosting Resort After Presidential Seal Sea [View all]

Criminal Complaint Filed Against Trump’s Saudi Golf Tourney-Hosting Resort After Presidential Seal Spotted on Course

Former President Donald Trump‘s New Jersey golf resort is facing a criminal complaint after the presidential seal was spotted on the course that will host the Saudi-backed LIV tournament.

Citizens for Reform and Ethics in Washington (CREW) has filed a Justice Department complaint against Trump National Golf Club Bedminster — site of the controversial Saudi-backed LIV Golf series that has drawn protest from 9/11 families and defiant support from Trump — citing chapter and verse they say shows the club is violating federal law by using the presidential seal on golf tee markers that were spotted in an Instagram post:

Under 18 U.S.C. § 713(a), it is a crime to “knowingly display[] any printed or other likeness of the . . . seal[] of the President . . . of the United States . . . in, or in connection with . . . any building, monument, or stationery . . . for the purpose of conveying, or in a manner reasonably calculated to convey, a false impression of sponsorship or approval by the Government of the United States.”3 Violators face up to six months’ imprisonment and a monetary fine.4 The Attorney General may bring an action to enjoin violations of the statute “pon complaint by any authorized representative of any department or agency of the United States.”5

Here, there is reason to believe that Trump Bedminster is violating § 713(a) by knowingly displaying a likeness of the presidential seal for commercial purposes. As an initial matter, no question has been raised as to the authenticity of the July 5 photograph, which appears to depict Trump Bedminster and was posted to Instagram with the golf club tagged as the location. The Trump Organization has not responded to Forbes’ request for comment on the photograph,6 nor has it publicly denied its authenticity. If Trump Bedminster is in fact displaying the presidential seal as depicted in the photograph, the display would be “in connection with” a “building” (i.e., the Trump National Golf Club Bedminster) within the meaning of § 713(a).

https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/golf/criminal-complaint-filed-against-trump-s-saudi-golf-tourney-hosting-resort-after-presidential-seal-spotted-on-course/ar-AA106dFJ?ocid=msedgntp&cvid=fa6ffd178fbe4fe584de21217230d2d9

Good. Nail him for everything.