‘Trump violated US Constitution’
Ethics lawyers say billionaire continued getting foreign payments
WASHINGTON— A group including former White House ethics lawyers is filing a lawsuit accusing President Donald Trump of allowing his businesses to accept payments from foreign governments, in violation of the US constitution.
The lawsuit, brought by the Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (Crew), will allege that the constitution’s emoluments clause forbids payments to Trump’s businesses.
It would seek a court order forbidding Trump from accepting such payments, said Deepak Gupta, one of the lawyers working on the case.
Trump does business with countries like China, India, Indonesia and the Philippines, the group noted in a statement.
“When Trump the president sits down to negotiate trade deals with these countries, the American people will have no way of knowing whether he will also be thinking about the profits of Trump the businessman,” it said.
The case is part of a wave of litigation expected to be filed against Trump by liberal advocacy groups. It would be filed in a Manhattan federal court, Gupta said, and lawyers for the plaintiffs would include Richard Painter, a former ethics lawyer in Republican President George W. Bush’s White House.
The impending lawsuit was earlier reported by the New York Times.
Trump’s son, Eric, executive vice president of the Trump Organization, told the Times on Sunday that the company had taken more steps than required by law to avoid any possible legal exposure, such as agreeing to donate any profits collected at Trump-owned hotels that come from foreign government guests to the US Treasury.
“This is purely harassment for political gain,” Trump told the newspaper.
Hope Hicks, White House director of strategic communications, directed inquiries to Trump lawyer Sheri Dillon.
Hicks said in an e-mail: “She was very clear on this issue two weeks ago and nothing has changed. The president has no conflicts.”
“We did not want to get to this point,” said Noah Bookbinder, Crew executive director, in a statement.
“It was our hope that President Trump would take the necessary steps to avoid violating the constitution before he took office,” Bookbinder said.
“We were forced to take legal action,” he added.
“President Trump has made his slogan ‘America First,’” Bookbinder said.
“So you would think he would want to strictly follow the constitution’s foreign emoluments clause, since it was written to ensure our government officials are thinking of Americans first, and not foreign governments,” he said.