ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. — New Jersey’s attorney general’s office is looking into whether Donald Trump’s recent felony convictions in New York make him ineligible to hold liquor licenses at his three New Jersey golf courses.
A spokeswoman for the office said Monday that it is reviewing whether Trump’s conviction on 34 felony counts involving payment of hush money to a porn star and falsifying business records in an attempt to hide it should impact the former president’s continued ability to hold liquor licenses.
State law prohibits anyone from holding a liquor licenses who has been convicted of a crime “involving moral turpitude.”
The New Jersey Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control, which is part of the attorney general’s office, “is reviewing the impact of President Trump’s conviction on the above referenced licenses, and declines further comment at this time,” a spokeswoman for the office said in an email Monday.
Part of what goes into that calculation is a requirement that “a person must have a reputable character and would be expected to operate the licensed business in a reputable manner,” according to the division.
Its handbook goes into further detail, saying, “the term `moral turpitude’ denotes a serious crime from the viewpoint of society in general and usually contains elements of dishonesty, fraud or depravity.”
Trump owns golf courses in Bedminster, Colts Neck and Pine Hill in New Jersey, each of which has an active liquor license.
He no longer owns any casinos in Atlantic City, where his former company, Trump Entertainment Resorts, once operated three.
Messages left Monday with Trump’s presidential campaign, as well as with The Trump Organization, the former president’s company, were not immediately returned.
Trump is scheduled to be sentenced in the New York case on July 11, shortly before he is to receive the Republican nomination for president in the November general election.