Lawyers who have served in both Republican and Democratic administrations objected to the move, including several who emphasized that even though Mr. Trump, as president, is exempt from a federal conflict of interest statute, his role in the matter was improper. “It stinks,” said Charles Fried, a Harvard law professor who served as solicitor general under President Ronald Reagan. Local officials in those states said they were never notified that the White House was scouting for venues for a major event. A spokeswoman for Gary Herbert, the Republican governor of Utah, said that officials did not know that the White House had considered two locations in the state for the Group of 7. And a spokeswoman for David Ige, the Democratic governor of Hawaii, said they determined that the White House was looking for locations only after the fact.

Source: New York Times October 20, 2019 02:10 UTC