Trump Sues over Flag Flap

Tue., Dec. 26, 2006 1:22 PM PST by Josh Grossberg

Donald Trump has followed through on his promise and filed a megabucks lawsuit—only this one's not targeting Rosie O'Donnell.

The Donald has launched a $10 million complaint against the city of Palm Beach, Florida, accusing local officials of trampling his free speech rights by trying to ban a giant American flag from his property.

The lawsuit, filed Thursday in Palm Beach County Circuit Court by lawyers for Trump's exclusive Mar-a-Lago Club, claims authorities are unfairly enforcing local ordinances by singling out the real-estate mogul and reality TV star for a series of code violations while ignoring other flag owners around town for doing the same thing. Trump was cited in October for installing an 80-foot flag pole (the town's maximum height is 42 feet), failing to properly take out a building permit, not obtaining approval from the landmarks board and breaking the resort's overall agreement with the county. Trump is facing fines in excess of $250 a day.

According to court papers obtained by the Palm Beach Post, Trump contends that the zoning penalties violated his freedom of expression and were tantamount to harassment by restricting how high he could unfurl Old Glory. He says his 375-square-foot banner, equal in size to the one flown over the White House, was more than appropriate.

"A smaller flag and pole on Mar-a-Lago's property would be lost given its massive size, look silly instead of make a statement, and most importantly would fail to appropriately express the magnitude of Donald J. Trump's and the Club's members' patriotism," the suit asserts.

Trump's complaint seeks $10 million in damages plus attorneys' fees and court costs. His lawyer says any money won will be donated to veterans returning home from the war in Iraq.

The Palm Beach City Council's office was closed Tuesday for the holiday, and a representative was unavailable for comment.

The flag flap isn't Trump's only fight these days.

He made headlines last week when he called Rosie O'Donnell a "loser" a "bully" and a "despicable person" for criticizing his handling of the Miss USA scandal.

On The View last Wednesday, O'Donnell said that Trump "bugged her on a multitude of levels" following his press conference in which he allowed Miss USA Tara Conner to keep her tiara despite reports of underage drinking and drugging. O'Donnell said Trump was a hypocrite.

"Left the first wife, had an affair, left the second wife, had an affair. Had kids both times, but he's the moral compass for 20-year-olds in America," The View's moderator said to big applause. "Donald, sit and spin, my friend."

Trump in turn vowed to sue O'Donnell for libel for alleging he went bankrupt years ago. He also called her a "slob," said her earlier talk show was a failure and then promised to send someone to steal away her girlfriend.

O'Donnell fired back in her blog, posting a copy of Trump's uneven financial history from Wikipedia, and quipped about their feud on Thursday's episode of The View.

"Wasn't that a fun night of viewing?...Look who's here today: [O'Donnell's partner] Kelli. I was afraid to leave her home in case somebody with a comb-over came and stole her from me," she said.