USA TODAY International Edition
Dems sue Trump, alleging conflicts
Almost 200 lawmakers seek to prohibit foreign business profits
Nearly 200 Democratic members of Congress filed a lawsuit against President Trump on Wednesday morning, saying his ties to his business empire violate the U. S. Constitution.
The unprecedented legal action accuses Trump of violating the emoluments clause of the Constitution, which prohibits federal officials from accepting gifts or titles from foreign governments without congressional approval.
The lawsuit will have the greatest number of congressional plaintiffs against the president in the nation’s history, according to Michigan Rep. John Conyers, the House Judiciary Committee’s top- ranking Democrat.
“We do this not out of any sense of pleasure or partisanship but because President Trump has left us with no other option,” he said.
Trump’s worldwide organization includes more than 500 business entities spread across at least 20 nations and includes hotels, golf courses and apartment buildings, many of which have done business with foreign governments. Foreign governments have paid for events at Trump hotels and maintenance fees for condo units in Trump condo buildings.
Although the Trump Organization pledged to donate foreign government profits from its hotel business to the U. S. Treasury, a company policy document released last month indicates that Trump properties will not verify whether individual customers are representatives of foreign governments on official business because it would be “impractical” and “diminish the guest experience of our brand.”
Sen. Richard Blumenthal, DConn., said the litigation is necessary to force Trump to disclose the extent to which his companies do business with foreign government entities and allow Congress to execute its constitutional obligation to grant or deny permission under the emoluments clause.
“We can’t consent to what we don’t know,” he said. “He’s interfering with our constitutional duty.”
Trump and his lawyers have argued that the emoluments clause does not apply to fairmarket transactions and that the president has taken measures to separate himself from his businesses.
The trust in which Trump placed his assets is run by his sons. Trump is the only beneficiary of the trust and can withdraw money at any time. He is likely to receive updates on the finances of his business during the course of the presidency.
Trump is the only president in modern history who has not released a copy of his tax returns.
The lawmakers filed the complaint Wednesday morning in U. S. District Court for the District of Columbia. The lawsuit seeks a judgment from the court declaring that Trump is subject to the emoluments clause and an order prohibiting Trump from accepting emoluments.
The Congress members are represented by the Constitutional Accountability Center, a D. C.- based think tank and law firm “dedicated to fulfilling the progressive promise of our Constitution’s text and history.”
Because of differing House and Senate ethics rules, senators will split the cost of the legal representation. The Constitutional Accountability Center will provide pro bono legal services to House members.
The litigation is distinct from an action brought this year by a non- profit watchdog group called Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, which also accuses Trump of violating the emoluments clause. Separately, the attorneys general of Maryland and the District of Columbia sued this week on similar grounds.
Though legal experts have said the plaintiffs in the earlier lawsuits may have difficulty establishing that they have sufficient legal basis to sue, Blumenthal said members of Congress have standing because of their constitutional duty to consider emoluments matters.
“We have standing because we are injured because we have a duty to vote,” Blumenthal said. “And the president or someone else is denying that duty and that right.”
“We do this not out of any sense of pleasure or partisanship but because President Trump has left us with no other option.” Rep. John Conyers, D- Mich.