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.
Subscribe to 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
-
DHS preps for major ICE expansion, rankling local law enforcement
IN THE SPOTLIGHT As the Trump administration positions ICE as the primary federal police force, its recruitment efforts have been met with a less-than-enthusiastic response
-
JD Vance rises as MAGA heir apparent
IN THE SPOTLIGHT The vice president is taking an increasingly proactive role in a MAGA movement roiled by scandal and anxious about a post-Trump future
-
Congress should 'step in' to block Trump's White House ballroom makeover
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Trump's global tariffs take effect, with new additions
Speed Read Tariffs on more than 90 US trading partners went into effect, escalating the global trade war
-
Eighty years after Hiroshima: how close is nuclear conflict?
Today's Big Question Eight decades on from the first atomic bomb 'we have blundered into a new age of nuclear perils'
-
Epstein: A boon for Democrats?
Feature Democrats' push to release the Epstein files splits the GOP, sending the House into an early summer recess
-
India rejects Trump threat over Russian oil
Speed Read The president said he would raise tariffs on India for buying and selling Russian oil
-
Tariffs: Is Trump winning his trade war?
Feature Trump secures a new trade deal as Europe agrees to 15% tariffs