Judge rules 200 Democrats can sue Trump over alleged emoluments clause corruption

A federal district judge on Friday gave a group of nearly 200 Democratic senators and representatives the go-ahead to sue President Trump for alleged violations of the Constitution's emoluments clause. The provision bans the president from accepting gifts from foreign heads of state absent congressional consent.

"Plaintiffs argue that each member of Congress suffers a particularized and concrete injury when his or her vote is nullified by the president's denial of the opportunity to vote on the record about whether to approve his acceptance of a prohibited foreign emolument," U.S. District Court Judge Emmet Sullivan said in his ruling. Sullivan accepted "as true the allegations that the president has accepted prohibited foreign emoluments without seeking the consent of Congress."

The suit is led by Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and argues Trump has violated the clause by accepting payment for hotel, office, and event rentals by foreign officials at his Trump Organization properties. Upon his election, Trump did not divest his assets in the business, instead placing them in a trust controlled by two of his sons.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

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

A Justice Department response to Friday's ruling promised to continue defending Trump and predicted the case would be dismissed. However, a separate but similar suit brought by the attorneys general of Maryland and the District of Columbia also withstood a challenge from the Department of Justice and is presently ongoing.