Nearly 200 Democratic lawmakers have joined forces to file a legal case against President Donald Trump over receipt of payments from foreign governments via his businesses.
The plaintiffs accuse President Trump of violating the Constitution’s emoluments clause, prohibiting receipt of gifts without congressional approval.
They say this is the largest number of legislators ever to sue a US president.
State officials and private businesses are suing Donald Trump in similar cases.
Spokesman Sean Spicer said that “partisan politics” could be behind the lawsuit of the attorneys general.
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The justice department declined to comment on the latest suit by legislators, but has said previously it is unconstitutional to sue the president in his private capacity.
At least 30 senators and 166 representatives are involved.
They say President Trump has not sought congressional approval for any payments received by his businesses from foreign governments since he took office.
“President Trump has conflicts of interest in at least 25 countries, and it appears he’s using his presidency to maximize his profits,” said Representative John Conyers, quoted by Reuters.
“We do this not out of any sense of pleasure or partisanship, but because President Trump has left us with no other option.”
Senator Richard Blumenthal said: “The president’s failure to tell us about these emoluments… mean that we cannot do our job. We cannot consent to what we don’t know. He’s interfering with our constitutional duty.”
Donald Trump’s worldwide organization includes more than 500 business entities, including hotels, golf courses and apartment buildings, many of which have done business with foreign governments.
Since taking office in January, Donald Trump has turned day-to-day control of his real estate empire and other assets over to a trust managed by his adult sons.
However, he has not sold them off as critics said he should do in order to avoid conflicts of interest.
A non-governmental organization, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), lodged a similar legal action in January.
Donald Trump’s lawyers have argued the emoluments clause is intended only to stop federal officials from accepting a special consideration or gift from a foreign power and does not apply to payments such as a bill for a hotel room.
President Donald Trump is being sued by officials in Maryland and Washington DC for accepting payments from foreign governments via his business empire.
The lawsuit cites the US constitution’s emoluments clause, which says no federal official should receive a gift or a fee from a foreign government.
The suit – which is the first of its kind filed by government entities – claims Donald Trump is “flagrantly violating the constitution”.
The White House has denied the claims.
The attorneys general for the District of Columbia and Maryland, Karl Racine and Brian Frosh, announced the lawsuit on June 12.
“Never in the history of this country have we had a president with these kinds of extensive business entanglements or a president who refused to adequately distance himself from their holdings,” said Karl Racine.
Image source Wikipedia
A non-governmental organization, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), lodged a similar legal action in January.
On June 9, the Justice Department said those plaintiffs did not suffer in any way and there were no grounds for the suit. The department also said it was unconstitutional to sue the president in his official capacity.
White House press secretary Sean Spicer said on June 12: “The president’s interests, as previously discussed, do not violate the emoluments clause.
“This lawsuit is just another iteration of the case that was filed by that group, Crew, filed actually by the same lawyers. So it’s not hard to conclude that partisan politics may be behind the scene.”
Sean Spicer added: “So we will continue to move to dismiss this case in the normal course of business.”
President Trump is already contending with inquiries by congressional committees and a special prosecutor into his campaign’s alleged links to Russia, which American intelligence agencies accuse of meddling in last November’s US election in a bid to boost support for the property developer.
Since taking office in January, Donald Trump has turned day-to-day control of his real estate empire and other assets over to a trust managed by his adult sons.
However, he has not sold them off as critics said he should do in order to avoid conflicts of interest.
“The emoluments clauses are a firewall against presidential corruption and the one thing we know about President Trump is he understands the value of walls,” Brian Frosh said, referring to Donald Trump’s plan to build a wall along the US-Mexico border.
“This is one he can’t climb over and one he can’t dig underneath.”
The lawsuit will ask for a court injunction blocking Donald Trump from accepting foreign money.
The lawsuit is also seeking to access to his personal tax returns as part of the legal process known as discovery.
A key case in the dispute is Trump International Hotel in Washington DC, just down the road from the White House.
Donald Trump opened the business in 2016 by leasing a large building that used to be a central post office.
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