Air Force says crews have stayed at or near Trump's Scottish resort 659 times since 2015, concedes that looks bad

Revelations that U.S. Air Force crews have stayed at President Trump's golf resort in Scotland multiple times since his inauguration prompted the Air Force to announce late Sunday that it has launched a worldwide review of how it selects overnight accommodations on long-haul flights. The House Oversight Committee is investigating one such overnight in March at Trump's Turnberry resort by the seven-person crew of a C-17 cargo plane, Politico reported Friday, and it turns out that was not a one-time aberration.

The U.S. Air Force said it has been using Prestwick Airport, Glasgow's struggling secondary airport, for refueling since 2015, but Politico notes that the frequency of those stopovers has tripled since then and overnights have increased more than fivefold, from 40 overnights in 2015 to 208 in 2018 and 220 this year through August. Prestwick is the closest airport to Turnberry, about 20 miles away. Lt. Gen. Jon Thomas, deputy head of Air Mobility Command, which oversees all Air Force travel worldwide, told Politico he couldn't report how many of the 659 total overnights may have been at Trump's resort.

Thomas said Air Force crews appear to be "following all guidance and directives," but "we also have to be sensitive to the possible perceptions that might be created on where they may stay." The main perception the House is investigating is that U.S. taxpayers are enriching Trump, possibly keeping the president's money-losing golf resort afloat, along with Prestwick Airport, which is "debt-ridden," fighting off closure, and "said to be integral to the Trump business," BBC News reports. Internal Pentagon documents show that Defense Department personnel have charged more than $300,000 at Trump properties between his inauguration and November 2018, CNN reports.

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Air Force chief spokesman Brig. Gen. Ed Thomas highlighted a secondary problematic perception: "Even when USAF aircrews follow all directives and guidance, we must still be considerate of perceptions of not being good stewards of taxpayer funds that might be created through the appearance of aircrew staying at such locations," even if the "higher-end accommodations" are "within government rates."