Five Washington, D.C., residents have filed a protest to the renewal of the liquor license of the Trump International Hotel in the Old Post Office Building on Pennsylvania Avenue. They are that President Trump, as a member of the limited liability company running the hotel, lacks the “good character” to qualify for renewal of the license.
The protesters sought to keep their names and addresses from being made available to the Trump Hotel. The Board rejected that request and ordered the names and addresses of the protesters be furnished to the Hotel. It did allow the names and addresses of the protesters to be denied to press and public.
The hotel’s attorney moved to dismiss the petition. The motion was denied on the basis that the character and fitness of any individual member of a liquor license-holding entity may be challenged.
But the protesters lost on some key issues. Not only did the board reject the protesters’ attempt to keep their identity secret, it also issued summary judgment in favor of the Hotel on the issue of the appropriateness of the establishment because they failed to notify the hotel and the board “of all the grounds on which they intend to protest the license.”
“Nowhere in the protest petition does the group allege that any of the alleged behavior will cause crime, violence or accidents in the future,” the board said, leaving only the character and fitness issues raised by the group as the only issue to be heard.