DC, Maryland suing President over Trump Hotels conflict of interest
There are more legal woes for President Trump as the attorneys general in DC and Maryland filed a lawsuit claiming he is benefitting financially from his business interests.
This relates to the accepting payments from foreign governments for stays at Trump Hotels.
That makes him potentially corruptible to foreign governments, the lawsuit alleges.
"We’re concerned that foreign governments are coming to the Trump businesses with a single purpose of currying special favor from the President of the United States so that their interests can get a higher priority than the interests of the American people," District of Columbia attorney general Karl Racine said at a news conference.
"If that’s not a harm to every American citizen and every resident in the District of Columbia and Maryland, I don’t know what is."
The AGs cite the emoluments clause of the Constitution which has never before been heard by the Supreme Court or federal courts.
Although Trump said he gave up day-to-day control of his business empire, he retained ownership.
While the chance of success is slim, the lawsuit seeks to shine a light on Trump’s personal tax returns to assess the magnitude of his foreign business dealings.
"Mr. Trump is unique in American history in violating the emoluments clause. There is no other president whose domestic and foreign investments, the entanglements, have been so bound up with our policy and our interests, and he is the only president who has refused to disclose the extent of his holdings," said Maryland attorney general Brian Frosh.
White House press secretary Sean Spicer dismissed it as yet another attempt to destabilize the Trump Presidency.
"It’s not hard to conclude that partisan politics may be one of the motivations behind the suit."
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Editor for TravelMole North America and Asia pacific regions. Ray is a highly experienced (15+ years) skilled journalist and editor predominantly in travel, hospitality and lifestyle working with a huge number of major market-leading brands. He has also cover in-depth news, interviews and features in general business, finance, tech and geopolitical issues for a select few major news outlets and publishers.
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