A major setback for President Trump today as a federal district judge says a group of nearly 200 Democratic senators and representatives has legal standing to sue him to prove he violated the U.S. Constitution’s emoluments provision banning the acceptance of gifts from foreign interests.
The ruling by U.S. District Court Judge Emmet Sullivan found that lawmakers have adequately shown that they’ve suffered harm from Trump’s alleged violation of the emoluments clause, which bans benefits from foreign governments unless a majority of both houses of Congress consent.
Justice Department spokeswoman Kelly Laco said in a statement that the government believes this case should be dismissed and “will continue to defend the President in court.”
The case argues that the president has received foreign government favors, such as Chinese government trademarks for his companies, payments for hotel room stays and event-space rentals by representatives of Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, and proceeds from Chinese or Emirati-linked government purchases of office space in Trump Tower.
Ethics experts say the constitutional emoluments clause was created by the Founding Fathers to ensure that government officials act with the interests of the American public in mind instead of their own pocketbooks.
Unlike prior presidents, Trump chose not to divest from his assets and he remains the owner of the Trump Organization, a sprawling business empire with 550 entities in more than 20 countries that include branded hotels, golf courses, licensing deals and other interests. His Washington, D.C., hotel is near the White House and has become a magnet for foreign governments, previously hosting groups tied to Kuwait, Bahrain, Turkey, Malaysia and Saudi Arabia.