Congressional Democrats' Lawsuit Examining Trump's Private Business Can Proceed, Federal Judge Says
The decision by Judge Emmet G. Sullivan of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia is at least a temporary victory for the president’s critics who assert that he is willfully flouting constitutional bans meant to restrict the ability of any federal official to accept financial benefits from foreign governments.
But the Justice Department is likely to quickly appeal the ruling on the so-called emoluments clauses. The department’s lawyers have already appealed a similar decision by another federal judge in Maryland. A three-judge panel from the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Va., is expected to rule on that appeal soon, probably in the president’s favor.
A second appeal of Tuesday’s decision, this time to the less conservative Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, would place the same issue before two appellate panels. But the Justice Department has little choice but to appeal Judge Sullivan’s ruling because plaintiffs in that case will otherwise be able to begin gathering evidence about Mr. Trump’s corporate finances.
“This sets up a dilemma for the government,” said Carl Tobias, a law professor at the University of Richmond. “I think it is going to be fascinating.”
Ultimately, legal experts say, the question of whether such suits against the president can proceed is destined for the Supreme Court, perhaps as early as this year. Until Mr. Trump took office, the meaning of the Constitution’s emoluments bans had never been litigated.
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/30/us/politics/trump-emoluments-clauses.html
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