Donald Trump sued by two states over business links
Attorney generals of Maryland and DC accuse US President of 'unprecedented constitutional violations'







Donald Trump is facing lawsuits from the attorney generals of Maryland and the District of Columbia alleging the the US President committed "unprecedented constitutional violations" by refusing to sell off his businesses.
Brian Frosh of Maryland and his DC counterpart Karl Racine claim Trump has accepted "millions in payments and benefits" since moving into the White House, in breach of a strict emoluments clause.
"The President's conflicts of interest threaten our democracy," said Frosh.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
If a federal judge allows the case to proceed, one of the first steps will be to demand copies of Trump's personal tax returns "to gauge the extent of his foreign business dealings", the Washington Post says.
A similar action by government watchdog Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (Crew) was last week dismissed by a federal judge in New York.
"The Justice Department said on Friday those plaintiffs did not suffer in any way and had no standing to sue, and that it was unconstitutional to sue the President in his official capacity," ABC News reports.
White House spokesman Sean Spicer accused the Democratic Party of being behind the new lawsuits, saying they were "just another iteration of the case that was filed by that group Crew, filed actually by the same lawyers, so it's not hard to conclude that partisan politics may be one of the motivations behind the suit".
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
‘Tariffs at their essence are an income transfer’
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Why is Trump backtracking on the Hyundai immigration raid?
Today’s Big Question Backlash threatens investment in US manufacturing
-
The 9 restaurants to eat at this very moment
The Week Recommends They’re award-winning. Isn’t that reason enough?
-
3 killed in Trump’s second Venezuelan boat strike
Speed Read Legal experts said Trump had no authority to order extrajudicial executions of noncombatants
-
Is Kash Patel’s fate sealed after Kirk shooting missteps?
TODAY'S BIG QUESTION The FBI’s bungled response in the immediate aftermath of the Charlie Kirk shooting has director Kash Patel in the hot seat
-
Russian drone tests Romania as Trump spins
Speed Read Trump is ‘resisting congressional plans to impose newer and tougher penalties on Russia’s energy sector’
-
Trump renews push to fire Cook before Fed meeting
Speed Read The push to remove Cook has ‘quickly become the defining battle in Trump’s effort to take control of the Fed’
-
Will Donald Trump’s second state visit be a diplomatic disaster?
Today's Big Question Charlie Kirk shooting, Saturday’s far-right rally and continued Jeffrey Epstein fallout ramps-up risks of already fraught trip
-
Air strikes in the Caribbean: Trump’s murky narco-war
Talking Point Drug cartels ‘don’t follow Marquess of Queensberry Rules’, but US military air strikes on speedboats rely on strained interpretation of ‘invasion’
-
Calls for both calm and consequences follow Kirk killing
TALKING POINTS The suspected assassination of far-right activist Charlie Kirk has some public figures pleading for restraint, while others agitate for violent reprisals
-
Why does Donald Trump keep showing up at major sporting events?
Today's Big Question Trump has appeared at the Super Bowl, the Daytona 500 and other events