Florida judge hits brakes on Trump's Presidential Library

A Florida judge has temporarily blocked a Miami college from handing over prime waterfront property to the Trump Presidential Library. Mavel...

A Florida judge has temporarily blocked a Miami college from handing over prime waterfront property to the Trump Presidential Library.

Mavel Ruiz, a judge in Florida's 11th Judicial Circuit, ruled on Tuesday that Miami Dade College cannot transfer a 2.6 acre swath of land to the state for Trump's presidential library until the court issues a final verdict in a lawsuit alleging the school violated Florida law when its trustees voted to donate the property, the Miami Herald reports.

She then ordered lawyers drawing up the paperwork to deed the property to the Trump Presidential Library Foundation to temporarily pause their work. 

In order to allow the transfer of land to continue, Ruiz said the Board of Trustees can now hold a new, publicly-noticed meeting to discuss the transfer of land - a remedy sought by the plaintiff, historian and activist Marvin Dunn.

Alternatively, the college's attorneys could continue to argue in court that its September notice about a Board of Trustees meeting to 'discuss potential real estate transactions' was sufficient notice under Florida's Sunshine Law.

However the notice did not mention what property was being discussed or to whom it would be transferred, according to NBC Miami. 

In court this week, attorneys representing the college argued that Florida's Sunshine law only requires that the public be notified of an upcoming meeting as the claimed that it was already public information that the site - which is currently being used as a parking lot - was being considered for Trump's presidential library.

But Ruiz disagreed, declaring that it is likely Dunn will win the case.

'The Court does not believe that the notice was reasonable,' she ruled following a two-hour long meeting on Tuesday. 

The ruling marks the first snag in Trump's plans to build a high-rise library in downtown Miami on a waterfront property adjacent to the city's Freedom Tower. 

Miami Dade College officials have said they received a letter from Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis's office requesting the land on September 16, and the Board of Trustees voted on September 23 to hand over the land at no cost to the state government.

The meeting lasted less than five minutes and did not include a public debate, The New York Times reports. 

In the aftermath, Eric Trump announced that the land had officially been acquired for his father's library, declaring that it 'will be the greatest Presidential Library ever built, honoring the greatest President our Nation has ever known.'

As the news spread, Dunn filed a lawsuit arguing that the school was 'giving away [the] land,' which Miami Dade Collee purchased for $25 million in 2004.

Miami Dade County now values the property at more than $67 million, but its likely market value is believed to be at minimum $360 million.

The college's attorneys have argued that the case was politically motivated, drawing on Dunn's social media posts critical of President Trump and at one point even suggesting one of his posts presented a 'threat to the president's life.'

'Of course not, that's ridiculous! I resent that,' Dunn interjected at the hearing on Tuesday, according to the Herald.

'I respect the law, I thoroughly resent that. How dare you suggest that of me?'

Apparently seeking to regain control of the courtroom, Ruiz noted that Dunn's political beliefs are 'irrelevant.'

'What is relevant here is whether the notice was sufficient to inform the public,' she concluded. 

 In her ruling, Ruiz said she had thought Florida's Sunshine Law was more detailed than she now believes after hearing the college's arguments.

'This Court's surprised with the minimal requirement for reasonable notice that the Sunshine Law really provides,' she wrote. 

'So for that reason, the Court struggled with whether or not this disclosure was sufficient.'

She ultimately made her decision based on prior case law that found that 'fair and reasonable' notice should apprise the public of matters that could affect their rights and afford them the 'opportunity to appear and present their views.'

Dunn celebrated the news following the ruling.

'We believe that Judge Ruiz made a well-reasoned decision on this matter of great importance,' Richard Brodsky, an attorney for the plaintiff, told Axios.

'We hope that Miami Dade College will give proper notice and allow public input.'

Yet lawyers for the college's board of trustees have said they now plan to appeal the decision, saying the September 23 meeting was 'lawfully noticed in all respects.'

A spokesperson for Florida Gov. DeSantis also called the judge's ruling 'yet another example of an activist judge attempting to undermine President Trump and his legacy.

'Make no mistake, we will prevail,' the spokesperson told Newsweek. 'The Donald J. Trump Presidential Library will be housed in the Free State of Florida.'

Republican Rep. Randy Fine, who represents the area, also panned the decision.

'The framers told us what to do when judge's got out of line - it's impeach them,' he ominously warned. 'And I think that's something that we ought to be looking to do in many of these cases, revisiting whether these people deserve to be judges.' 

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