Trump's NJ golf courses can still serve liquor even though he's a felon

Jessica Schladebeck, New York Daily News on May 7, 2025

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NEW YORK — Liquor is still allowed at President Donald Trump’s New Jersey golf courses, despite a state law barring felons from serving and profiting from the sale of alcohol.

The state Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control, or ABC, initially opted against renewing liquor licenses for the Trump National Golf Clubs — in Bedminster and Colts Neck — after a New York jury convicted the president in May 2024 on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records. They were related to a hush-money payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels, made in the final stretch of the 2016 presidential election.

Instead, the clubs were granted temporary 90-day permits and a hearing was scheduled on the matter for after the President’s sentencing. But Trump’s sentencing was repeatedly delayed, forcing the ABC to postpone and extend the temporary licenses. Then, in July 2024, the U.S. Supreme Court expanded the scope of presidential immunity, and Trump was granted an “unconditional discharge” in January, following his reelection.

Trump’s golf courses at the time were still operating under temporary permits, which were set to expire on April 30 before they were once again extended by the ABC. They are now set to expire on June 30, NJ Advance Media reports.

“We fully expect that the liquor permits will be extended and there will be no interruption of service to our valued members and guests,” Kimberly Benza, a Trump Organization spokesperson, told the outlet.

New Jersey law prohibits those convicted of crimes “involving moral turpitude” — including “dishonesty, fraud or depravity” serious enough to warrant more than a year in prison — from holding a liquor license. The charges previously faced by the president were punishable by a fine of up to $5,000 per offense and/or up to four years in prison.

Following his conviction last spring, the ABC concluded that Trump, as the sole owner of both clubs, maintains a direct beneficial interest” in the liquor licenses.

The state Attorney General’s Office, which oversees the ABC, declined to comment on the matter.

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