Trump can once again be sued over possible profits from foreign governments

(Image credit: Alex Wong/Getty Images)

published 13 September 2019

President Trump only got to enjoy his emoluments victory for so long.

In July, a federal appeals court dismissed a lawsuit against Trump claiming he illegally profited from foreign visitors at his luxury hotel in Washington. But on Friday, another appeals court reinstated similar suits against Trump, making him vulnerable to an emoluments violation once again.

The 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals in New York on Friday overruled a lower court's 2017 dismissal of two lawsuits against Trump, in which the Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington and Trump's business rivals alleged he broke the law when profiting from foreign officials' stays at his hotels. The judge in that case said only Congress could decide whether Trump violated the federal emoluments statue that bans gifts and profits from foreign governments while in office. The 4th Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond ruled similarly to dismiss separate emoluments case in July, but two of the three New York appeals judges disagreed Friday, saying the previous judges were too skeptical of political motivations and the cases could resume.

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Kathryn is a graduate of Syracuse University, with degrees in magazine journalism and information technology, along with hours to earn another degree after working at SU's independent paper The Daily Orange. She's currently recovering from a horse addiction while living in New York City, and likes to share her extremely dry sense of humor on Twitter.

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