Attorneys general sue Trump over his business dealings
WASHINGTON — The attorneys general of Maryland and the District of Columbia filed a federal lawsuit Monday against President Donald Trump, alleging he violated the Constitution by improperly retaining ties to his sprawling global business empire and by accepting foreign paymentswhile in office.
Maryland Attorney General Brian Frosh joined District counterpart Karl Racine at a news conference in the nation’s capital, saying the lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court in neighboring Maryland. Much of the case is focused on allegations that Mr. Trump’s real estate and business holdings
violate a little-known emoluments clause of the Constitution. The provision bars the president and other government employees from accepting foreign gifts and payments without congressional approval.
Lawsuits brought under the emoluments clause are exceedingly rare, and no state has accused a president of violating the emoluments clauses of the Constitution. Some legal experts said this lawsuit rested on stronger legal ground because the plaintiffs were governmental entities, which could have stronger standing to sue the president.
“The president’s conflicts of interest threaten our democracy,” Mr. Frosh told journalists. “We cannot treat the president’s ongoing violations of the Constitution and his disregard of the rights of the American people as the new acceptable status quo.”
Mr. Frosh called the Trump empire a series of “business entanglements.” He added it was unprecedented the American people “must question day after day whether actions are being taken to benefit the United States or to benefit Donald Trump.”
Mr. Frosh and Mr. Racine cite reports that the embassies of Kuwait and Saudi Arabia are booking expensive rooms and holding events at the Trump International Hotel on Pennsylvania Avenue, possibly seeking to win favor with the president.
“The Republican-controlled Congress has wholly failed to fulfill its responsibility of serving as a check and balance on the president and has thus given the president a total pass on his business entanglements,” Mr. Racine said.
White House press secretary Sean Spicer said that it’s “not hard to conclude that partisan motivations” in the lawsuit, and that the Trump administration will continue to move to dismiss the lawsuit in the normal course of business.
A spokeswoman for the Republican National Committee weighed in Monday, saying that the lawsuit “is absurd.” Mr. Trump has been committed to “complete transparency and compliance with the law,” said Lindsay Jancek.
The Trump Hotel in the nation’s capital affects business in the Washington area and is part of the reason the lawsuit was filed, the two Democratic officials explained. They also said their action was nonpartisan, and other state attorneys general, including Republicans, were welcome to join the suit. It seeks an injunction to stop what the two alleged are the president’s constitutional violations.
The lawsuit also focuses on the fact that Mr. Trump chose to retain ownership of his company when he became president. Mr. Trump said he was shifting assets into a trust managed by his sons to eliminate potential conflicts of interests.
After the Trump Organization initially said it would not pursue new deals while he was in office, Mr. Trump’s sons announced last week that the company would begin building a network of new hotels in mostly Republican-leaning states that he won in last year’s election.
If a federal judge allows the case to proceed, Mr. Racine and Mr. Frosh say they will demand copies of Mr. Trump’s personal tax returns and other financial information.