TOP COURT DROPS EMOLUMENT SUITS AGAINST TRUMP

Five days after the end of donald Trump’s presidency, the u.s. Supreme Court on Monday halted lawsuits accusing him of violating the u.s. Constitution’s anti-corruption provisions by maintaining ownership of his business empire including a hotel near the White House while in office.

The action means that after four years of litigation the top u.s. judicial body will not rule on the meaning and scope of the Constitution’s so-called emoluments provisions, which bar presidents from accepting gifts or payments from foreign and state governments without congressional approval.

The justices threw out lower court rulings that had allowed the lawsuits to proceed and ordered the two cases dismissed because they became moot with Trump leaving office. One of the cases was filed by the district of Columbia and the state of Maryland, while the other by plaintiffs including the watchdog group Citizens for responsibility and ethics in Washington (Crew).