Keep losing the battle in the lower courts.
Via BI:
A federal judge ruled Friday that congressional Democrats have standing to sue President Donald Trump over what they claim are violations of an arcane constitutional clause because he is still conducting business overseas.
There are two separate lawsuits aimed at the president for allegedly violating the emoluments clause of the Constitution, which bars elected officials from receiving gifts, payments, or benefits from foreign governments without the consent of Congress.
US District Judge Emmet Sullivan ruled that roughly 200 members of Congress, led by Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut and Democratic Rep. Jerrold Nadler of New York, had standing to sue Trump because he did not ask Congress before accepting anything that could be considered a foreign emolument.
The judge did not rule as to whether Trump was in violation of the emoluments clause. But he ruled that because Trump’s business’ acceptance of revenue from foreign entities was not approved by Congress, members to have a right to sue and find out whether Trump is indeed in violation. Sullivan ruled that Trump has an obligation to get Congress to approve such foreign business.
“The Clause requires the President to ask Congress before accepting a prohibited foreign emolument,” Sullivan wrote, adding that “the President is accepting prohibited foreign emoluments without asking and without receiving a favorable reply from Congress” if what Democrats are alleging in their lawsuit is true.
Trump still owns his business, the Trump Organization, though he passed off control of the company to his two adult sons and a senior executive prior to taking office. The business has multiple overseas ventures, and the organization’s Washington, DC, hotel is often patronized by foreign officials.
Trump’s attorneys have argued that the president is not in violation of the clause because the money received through his business does not constitute an emolument. The Trump Organization announced earlier this year that it donated more than $150,000 in what it described as profits from foreign government business at Trump’s Washington, DC, hotel to the US Treasury.