The lawyers suing President Trump over accepting foreign payments have their first test case


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.
Trump pledged on Jan. 11 to work around potential conflicts by giving the profits from foreign government hotel stays to the U.S. Treasury, but has laid out no mechanism to do so. And that doesn't solve the problem anyway, ethics lawyers say, since the payment itself is the problem. The White House and the Trump Organization's ethics adviser, Bobby Burchfield, offered no comments to Politico.
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.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
Social media: How ‘content’ replaced friendship
Feature Facebook has shifted from connecting with friends to competing with entertainment companies
-
The Alien Enemies Act
Feature President Trump is using a long-dormant law to deport Venezuelans. How does it work?
-
Baby bonus: Can Trump boost the birth rate?
Feature The Trump administration is encouraging Americans to have more babies while also cutting funding for maternal and postpartum care
-
Warren Buffet announces surprise retirement
speed read At the annual meeting of Berkshire Hathaway, the billionaire investor named Vice Chairman Greg Abel his replacement
-
Trump calls Amazon's Bezos over tariff display
Speed Read The president was not happy with reports that Amazon would list the added cost from tariffs alongside product prices
-
Markets notch worst quarter in years as new tariffs loom
Speed Read The S&P 500 is on track for its worst month since 2022 as investors brace for Trump's tariffs
-
Tesla Cybertrucks recalled over dislodging panels
Speed Read Almost every Cybertruck in the US has been recalled over a stainless steel panel that could fall off
-
Crafting emporium Joann is going out of business
Speed Read The 82-year-old fabric and crafts store will be closing all 800 of its stores
-
Trump's China tariffs start after Canada, Mexico pauses
Speed 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 stocks
Speed 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 deal
Speed Read The strike could have shut down major ports from Texas to Maine