The U.S. government paid $68,800 to President Donald Trump's golf resort in Turnberry, Scotland to cover the cost of Trump's visit to the course last weekend, according to a report Tuesday in the Scotsman newspaper.
The money came from the U.S. State Department, the Edinburgh-based paper reported, and it paid for hotel rooms used by Trump and his staff. The president visited the resort - which he bought in 2014 - from Friday night to Sunday afternoon.
Reached on Tuesday afternoon, the Trump Organization did not dispute the paper's findings.
Instead, it issued a one-sentence statement saying that it did not derive profits from business with the government.
"For United States government patronage, our hotels charge room rates only at cost and we do not profit from these stays," said the statement, attributed to George Sorial, the company's chief compliance counsel.
Eric Trump, one of the president's sons, made a similar point on Twitter: "We have decided that for any United States Govt business, we charge our COST and do NOT profit from these stays. Much more would be spent if they stayed elsewhere."
The White House did not immediately respond to questions Tuesday. The State Department referred questions to the Secret Service, which did not immediately respond to questions.
Trump still owns his businesses, including Trump Turnberry, but he has given over day-to-day control to his sons Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump. The Turnberry club has been one of his biggest investments - costing him $205 million in cash to cover the purchase and extensive renovations. But, so far, it has lost millions of dollars and has never reported turning a profit.
Trump's visit to Turnberry came in between his tumultuous visit with British Prime Minister Theresa May on Friday and his summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday in Helsinki.
Trump made no public appearances during his weekend at Turnberry. During his stay at the resort, Trump's staff said he was focused on preparations for the meeting with Putin. Photos showed he also played golf.
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