Between suits brought against him and the trump Organization and, his suits against anyone who annoyed him (comedian Bill Maher was essentially sued for a joke) businessman Trump was no stranger to legal action and now President Trump is facing his first suit in office to add to the 75 plus ongoing suits.
Who is suing?
A group of lawyers forming the Citizens for Responsibility and ethics in Washington, or CREW are moving today to bring the action which contends that the instant President Trump was sworn in he was already in violation of part of The Constitution by accepting money from foreign governments.
That violates Article I, Section 9, Clause 8 of the U.S. Constitution (a.k.a. the Emoluments Clause) because of his foreign holdings and even in Trump Tower in Manhattan which has tenants including offices of foreign governments.
There was nothing wrong with that when he was a private citizen but the contention is that now he is in violation because he gets money for leasing property.
CREW is not a partisan left or Democratic organization having been co-founded by Richard Painter, the chief White House ethics lawyer under President George W. Bush and President Obama’s ethics advisor Norman Eisen.
The concern is that The President will be negotiating with people who are giving him money. This is further complicated by his refusal to release any tax returns which was the new policy announced by Kelleyanne Conway on Sunday.
President Trump called the suit "baseless."
What the heck is an emolument?
In plain English, an emolument is simply a payment other than actual salary. If you are a food server and get a tip that’s an emolument. If you get a company car that’s an emolument and so forth.
The Emolument Clause states "no Person holding any Office of Profit or Trust ...
shall, without the Consent of the Congress, accept of any present, Emolument, Office, or Title, of any kind whatever, from any King, Prince, or foreign State."
In human speak that means that monies going to the Trump Organization from
> Leases held by foreign-government-owned entities in Trump Tower in New York
> Bookings at Trump International Hotel at the Old Post Office in Washington, DC
> And even Payments from foreign-government-owned broadcasters related to "The Apprentice," put The President in violation of The Constitution.
What is standing?
One of the elements which must be met before a civil suit can proceed is that the person or group suing must demonstrate to a judge that they are being directly harmed in some way by the subject of the suit.
In this instance, a spokesperson for the group said that the work of their “good government” organization is being significantly impacted by the amount of work they must put in on President Trump’s alleged violation of the Emolument Clause.
In an ironic twist President Trump’s nominee for head of the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency), Scott Pruitt will if confirmed, be in the position of heading a government agency which he was suing. In other words he will be in charge of defending against his own lawsuit.
The action wasn’t personal it was brought by a number of states including Oklahoma when Mr. Pruitt was serving as the state Attorney General. Mr Pruitt is aware of the problem and has had discussions with the EPA’s ethics head.
Criminal cases
In addition to the civil suit, the Trump University action claims criminal fraud on the part of now President Trump. Trump University wasn’t actually a university, or even a college, it is alleged that it was little more than a scam perpetrated on thousands of individuals who thought they were going to get an advanced education on real estate investing and development but which they allegedly discovered has little or no benefit.
Meanwhile the FBI is currently investigating reported contacts between members of the Trump campaign and Russian officials including a call to the Russian ambassador which coincided with President Obama’s newly imposed sanctions.
