Former President Donald Trump greets supporters and sign autographs during the final round of the Bedminster Invitational LIV Golf tournament at his golf course in Bedminster, N.J., Aug. 13, 2023. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)
Former president Donald Trump has responded to reports that his New Jersey golf clubs may have their liquor licenses revoked in accordance with state law prohibiting certain convicted criminals from being licensees.
A spokesperson for the New Jersey Attorney General’s office said Monday that the office was reviewing whether Trump’s 34-count felony conviction for making hush-money payments and falsifying records disqualifies the former president from holding liquor licenses at his golf courses.
The Trump Organization said Tuesday that the golf courses’ liquor licenses are not in danger, because Trump himself is not an officer or director of any entity that holds a liquor license in the Garden State or anywhere else in the United States.
“These are some of the most iconic properties in the world, and reports like this do nothing but harm the thousands of hard-working Americans who derive their livelihoods from these spectacular assets,” a Trump Organization spokesperson reportedly told the Associated Press.
Trump owns three golf courses in the Garden State, and each of his properties in Bedminster, Colts Neck and Pine Hill has an active liquor license.
Under New Jersey’s Alcoholic Beverage Control Law (the “ABC” law), a person who has been “[c]onvicted of a crime involving moral turpitude” may not have any interest in or work a business that has a liquor license without applying for a “rehabilitation permit” to allow them to get the license back. The ABC law does not specifically define which crimes fall into the category of those involving “moral turpitude,” but the phrase is a legal term of art used in areas of law ranging from immigration to licensing and found in both state and federal legal codes.
Generally, the category refers to conduct that “shocks the public conscience” or is inherently immoral or depraved and usually involves intentional violence or dishonesty. Typically, intentional violent crimes such as murder, rape, child abuse, kidnapping, robbery, and incest are considered crimes of moral turpitude, as are nonviolent property crimes such as theft, bigamy, fraud, and conspiracy. The moral turpitude distinction focuses on the nature of the crime as opposed to the severity, and therefore can apply to both misdemeanors and felonies.
Trump was convicted on 34 counts of falsifying business records with the intent to commit or conceal another crime or aid in said commission or concealment under New York Penal Law Section 175.10. The underlying event was a $130,000 payment made on the former president’s behalf by Michael Cohen, Trump’s former lawyer and “fixer,” to adult content creator Stormy Daniels as so-called “hush money” about their alleged affair.
New Jersey’s review of Trump’s ABC licenses comes just days after the New York Police Department announced that it had begun the process of revoking Trump’s firearms permits. Under both federal and state law, convicted felons are prohibited from possessing firearms.
Editor’s note: This piece was updated from its original version to include a response from the Trump Organization.
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