And rightly so. He is clearly in violation of the Enomulments Clause at this very moment. To make matters worse for him, after his news conference-turned infomercial, with the fake stacks of folders, he has not filed any paperwork in any state to transfer ownership of a single thing to anyone, including his sons and daughter(s). Nada.
The District Court might let this suit proceed beyond a motion to dismiss - but would the Court of Appeals allow the floodgates to remain open?
While laudable, I would point out that Clowngress can approve his receipts and this cowardly and craven lot probably will.
Good luck guys. I read that this is a great way to get his tax returns released. The first step is to be granted standing even to sue, that might be a high bar.
Thanks all around to Kellyanne Conway’s husband George. Owing to his work on the Paula Jones case the president can now be sued in office.
And good luck to Summer and all the other plaintiffs. We’re watching. We can’t help much otherwise, but we’re watching.
SCOTUS: We need to honor the free speech of foreign nations if it helps Republicans.
The irony here is that, in his new job for the Administration, he will undoubtedly be tasked with overturning that precedent…not only for this, but for countless other cases heading down the pike.
I wouldnt be surprised if he succeeds in overturning it.
Actually, they can’t. They can give him a pass on violating the lease on the hotel in D.C., but they cannot officially approve of him violating the Constitution, without amending the Constitution.
Of course, they can refuse to do anything about it (aka, impeachment), but that is Trump building up a debt with Congress…one that if and when they decide to call it in, he has no defense against.
Which is one of the issues with this lawsuit…lets suppose they get standing (a big if), what remedy do they seek from the Courts, that the Courts can actually implement? Demand that the President liquidate all his assets and put them in a blind trust? What if he says no, which is precisely what he has done repeatedly?
To me, it ultimately comes down to Congress having the will to move on impeachment or not. Winning this lawsuit is helpful, as it adds another weight to the scales to impeach…again, if and when Congress decides the political calculus is in favor of taking that step. But that is all it can accomplish.
Agree, also what injury to they claim? If Trump is charging going rate for these rents then who got screwed? Don’t answer that, the day is too short.
The Constitution is clear on this issue and Trump’s foreign business dealings were exactly the concern. Crimes and misdeameanors compile. The unraveling of the Trump Administration has begun. Who will he take down with him?
PLEASE let that distinguished lawyer and Constitutional scholar KAC argue this court before SCOTUS.
In the meantime, those stalwart Constitutional ethics watchdogs at Judicial Watch have OK’d Drumpf’s ethics plan while continuing to file suits to make various Obama admin people preserve their departmental emails.
Agreed, and meeting the bar for standing is iffy, but it’s another shot over the bow, like the ACLU extensive FOIA requests filed last week, and the women’s marches on Saturday, and I pray thousands of other shots over that bow. He (they) need to know that we’re "pissed and we ain’t gonna take it anymore. "
We need to hit them with everything from every direction and as often as we can. We need to keep them so busy they don’t have time to totally muck things up and so they get absolutely NO peace during the time it takes us to run him out of office.
That’s my goal. We did it with Nixon. We can do it again.
Actually, they can.
US Constitution, Article I, section 9
no person holding any office of profit or trust under them [the United States], shall, without the consent of the Congress, accept of any present, emolument, office, or title, of any kind whatever, from any king, prince, or foreign state.
The Constitution gives Congress the power to kiss away Trump’s emolument boo-boos.
The lawsuit, whatever its other merits, is also a play to get his tax returns.
Speaking of which, don’t forget to sign the petition while it’s still up!
https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/immediately-release-donald-trumps-full-tax-returns-all-information-needed-verify-emoluments-clause-compliance
The wimpy spineless Democrats in Congress are the ones who should have filed this lawsuit.
Because they are fellow officers in the United States to whom the Emoluments Clause applies, that means they definitely have standing unlike CREW who might or might not have standing.
Fortunately I can’t see the Republican Senators in blue states willing to vote for such consent.
There are a lot of Republican Senators unwilling to paper-over Trump’s violation of the Constitution. Given the choice, they will take Pence.
I had been thinking of bringing such a suit on behalf of citizens, on the theory that the wrong is against all of the American people. Reconsidering, I believe that Democratic senators and congressmen should sue on behalf of their constituents, who are hurt by presidential corruption.
As to the point that Congress could give the President a pass, that would be a lovely place for Republicans to be. Remember–they have to answer to their constituents, and not all of them have safe seats. And safe seats can become unsafe. I can hear Democratic candidates now: “And Senator Moneybags voted to approve of the President’s corrupt dealings with foreign governments.”