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A federal judge’s decision has moved Donald Trump and his family a step closer to constructing his presidential library on a valuable plot of land in Miamithat was controversially transferred to him by Florida Republicans.
On Thursday, U.S. Circuit Judge Mavel Ruiz dismissed a complaint filed over the shadowy process that culminated with Florida officials voting to give Trump’s museum foundation – led in part by his son Eric – a multimillion-dollar site that previously belonged to Miami Dade College.
Local historian Marvin Dunn had sued to stop the land transfer, alleging that college leaders had broken Florida’s transparency law when they quietly hosted a meeting to approve the move. But Ruiz seemed to think the board satisfied its obligations when it held another vote after Dunn filed his lawsuit and provided some opportunity for community members to speak.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican, had greased the skids for the deal to go through when his Cabinet agreed to authorize a conveyance of the land to Trump’s library foundation.
“This court is not deciding whether this is wise, whether the transaction is appropriate for one president or another, or for a library, or for a petting zoo. That is not what the court is here to decide,” Ruiz said.
Attorneys for the college maintain that the board did not violate state law, but argued that any alleged violation had been “fully cured” following the redo vote.
The plot of land in dispute sits right beside a former immigrant processing center that has been preserved as a historic site — and that’s now on track to be eclipsed by what will effectively be a shrine to an unabashedly xenophobic president. Eric Trump has openly stated his plans to build a massive skyscraper at the site, which he envisions being visible for miles off Florida’s coast.
In October, a local poll found that broad majorities of Democrats, Republicans and independents opposed the land giveaway, and Dunn has said he plans to file a second lawsuit to try to stop the transfer.
SURPRISE! My second lawsuit is coming next week. You cannot give public land to a political friend so that the friend can make money PLUS I am organizing Miami Dade College students and faculty to sue the board of trustees for failing to protect their educational assets. pic.twitter.com/3Kt2NQa1UB
