Palm Beach Officials Hear Arguments For Evicting Trump From Mar-A-Lago

Updated September 6, 2021

Even before he was president, you'd be hard-pressed to find a time when Donald Trump wasn't involved in some kind of legal entanglement.

According to AZ Central, he has been involved in 4,095 lawsuits over the course of three decades. While he was the plaintiff in many of them, it's nonetheless clear that he's also no stranger to being sued and facing other legal issues.

Naturally, the most pressing of his battles at the moment is his historic second impeachment that is expected to play out over the next week. But while this matter carries the possibility that he'll never find himself back in the White House, others further south clearly want him gone from his current house.

In recent months, some of Trump's neighbors in Palm Beach, Florida have sought to have him evicted.

Reddit | GRaTePHuLDoL

As The Washington Post reported, they're specifically citing the terms of the 1993 agreement between Trump and the town that officially converted the estate from a single-family mansion into a social club.

Under this agreement, members would be limited to staying at Mar-a-Lago for only seven days at a time. According to The South Florida Sun Sentinel, members could have only three of these nonconsecutive week-long stays per year.

With this in mind, Philip Johnston — who represented a group called "Preserve Palm Beach" to town officials on February 9 — argued that by attempting to make Mar-a-Lago his permanent residence and by staying there for the past three weeks after leaving office, Trump is violating that agreement.

But this wasn't the only issue Trump's neighbors had, as Johnston told the Palm Beach Town Council that his continued presence could threaten Palm Beach's "genteel" atmosphere.

Reddit | Dxkingxd

In his words, "We feel that this issue threatens to make Mar-a-Lago into a permanent beacon for his more rabid, lawless supporters."

As The South Florida Sun Sentinel reported, Johnston also requested that the council grant him time to present a more detailed legal case against Trump, which he estimated to be ready by April.

Trump's Mar-a-Lago visits have long been a source of frustration for the residents of the exclusive island that Mar-a-Lago rests on.

Wikimedia Commons | U.S. Secret Service

According to The Washington Post, this was because his arrival meant the presence of security forces and the need to block off entire streets and stop traffic.

In response to this particular grievance, Trump attorney John Marion stated that the fact Trump is no longer president means that his security detail has been scaled back, which should cause fewer disruptions.

As for the 1993 agreement, Marion addressed Trump's promise not to live at Mar-a-Lago when this was drafted as just a part of negotiations that were subject to changing circumstances.

Wikimedia Commons | The White House

And as The South Florida Sun Sentinel reported, the town council seemed to agree that there was nothing besides this promise in the agreement that bars Trump from living at Mar-a-Lago.

That was the conclusion that the council's president Margaret Zeidman came to on Tuesday and an attorney representing the town named John "Skip" Randolph stated that Trump could indeed live at the club if he was found to be a "bona fide employee" of Mar-a-Lago.

In his argument outlining Trump's eligibility for this status, Marion said that Trump oversees the property and suggests improvements to it, evaluates employees and determines the who gets to be a member of the club, and greets guests and recommends events.

But while it appears that Palm Beach officials will let Trump stay at Mar-a-Lago for the time being, this seems to be a standstill in an ongoing legal fight rather than the final word on the matter.

Wikimedia Commons | Christine Davis

According to The South Florida Sun Sentinel, the council took no official vote on the question of Trump's residency. And as The Washington Post added, they also didn't indicate whether Johnston could have his April deadline for his more thorough legal response.

Instead, the Palm Beach Town Council has simply taken no action so far aside from some statements that indicate Trump will likely be able to continue living at Mar-a-Lago.

h/t: The Washington Post, The South Florida Sun Sentinel

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