Maryland, DC To Sue Trump, Arguing That He’s Violating Emoluments Clause

The attorneys general of Maryland and Washington, D.C. plan on filing a lawsuit against President Donald Trump, claiming that he is violating the Constitution’s Emoluments clause by maintaining ownership of his businesses, the Washington Post reported Sunday night.

The Emoluments clause states that presidents cannot accept payments from foreign governments. Trump already faces a lawsuit from a progressive watchdog group, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, over profits he makes from foreign governments through his businesses. The Department of Justice on Friday asked a court to dismiss the case, arguing that CREW and the businesses part of that lawsuit do not have standing to sue and that the Emoluments Clause does not apply to the type of profits Trump receives through his businesses.

In the new forthcoming lawsuit, the attorneys general of Maryland and Washington, D.C. will charge that Trump is “deeply enmeshed with a legion of foreign and domestic government actors” by maintaining ownership of his businesses, according to the Washington Post. The attorneys general will seek Trump’s financial records in the lawsuit if a judge allows the case to proceed, per the Washington Post.

It was revealed last week that Trump’s hotel in Washington, D.C. received payments from a lobbying effort tied to the government of Saudi Arabia last year. The Trump Organization said that it will transfer payments from the Saudi Arabian government to the U.S. Treasury Department by the end of the year.