On the first business day after President Trump's inauguration, a group of high-profile lawyers sued him in federal court, arguing that every time a foreign government pays for Trump Organization business services or hotel rooms, Trump violates the hitherto-obscure Emoluments Clause of the U.S. Constitution. Now the lawyers have their first test case, Politico reports. When a U.S. veteran stayed at the Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C., from Jan. 23-26, a communications group lobbying for the Saudi government paid the bill.
The lobbying firm, Qorvis MSLGroup, has been flying vets and other activists to Washington to urge Congress to overturn a law it passed last year, over former President Barack Obama's veto, allowing the families of 9/11 victims to sue Saudi Arabia. The Emoluments Clause prohibits U.S. officials from accepting gifts and payments from foreign governments, and it doesn't matter that Saudi Arabia didn't pay for the hotel room directly, since they will ultimately pick up the tab, says Norm Eisen, an Obama White House ethics lawyer and party to the lawsuit. "If that funneling could launder the emolument, the clause would become a dead letter," explained Harvard Law constitutional scholar Laurence Tribe, another member of the legal team.
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.
-
5 meritorious cartoons about the war on DEICartoons Artists take on self-evident truths, recent history, and more
-
Bucatini alla zozzona recipeThe Week Recommends Classic Roman dish is 'slurpy, fun and absolutely heavenly'
-
The UK 'spy cops' scandal, explainedThe Explainer Undercover police targeting activist groups conducted intrusive surveillance, with some even embarking on relationships under assumed identities
-
Trump's China tariffs start after Canada, Mexico pausesSpeed Read The president paused his tariffs on America's closest neighbors after speaking to their leaders, but his import tax on Chinese goods has taken effect
-
Chinese AI chatbot's rise slams US tech stocksSpeed Read The sudden popularity of a new AI chatbot from Chinese startup DeepSeek has sent U.S. tech stocks tumbling
-
US port strike averted with tentative labor dealSpeed Read The strike could have shut down major ports from Texas to Maine
-
Biden expected to block Japanese bid for US SteelSpeed Read The president is blocking the $14 billion acquisition of U.S. Steel by Japan's Nippon Steel, citing national security concerns
-
Judges block $25B Kroger-Albertsons mergerSpeed Read The proposed merger between the supermarket giants was stalled when judges overseeing two separate cases blocked the deal
-
Rupert Murdoch loses 'Succession' court battleSpeed Read Murdoch wanted to give full control of his empire to son Lachlan, ensuring Fox News' right-wing editorial slant
-
Bitcoin surges above $100k in post-election rallySpeed Read Investors are betting that the incoming Trump administration will embrace crypto
-
Enron mystery: 'sick joke' or serious revival?Speed Read 23 years after its bankruptcy filing, the Texas energy firm has announced its resurrection
