Trump Emoluments

[Belsnickel]

There was some news yesterday on the emoluments front. This is something I have been watching from the start, saying that immediately after he was inaugurated there would be a suit filed. There was, and it was dismissed due to lack of standing. DC and Maryland, however, have filed their own suit and it has been ruled to have standing.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/dc-maryland-may-proceed-with-lawsuit-alleging-trump-violated-emoluments-clause/2018/03/28/0514d816-32ae-11e8-8bdd-cdb33a5eef83_story.html

Quote:A federal judge ruled that the District of Columbia and Maryland may proceed with a lawsuit against President Trump alleging that Trump’s business dealings have violated the Constitution’s ban on receiving improper “emoluments,” or payments, from individual states and foreign governments.

The ruling, by U.S. District Judge Peter J. Messitte in Maryland, marks the first time that a lawsuit of this kind has cleared the initial legal hurdle — a finding that the plaintiffs have legal standing to sue the president.

In his opinion, Messitte gave credence to arguments by D.C. Attorney General Karl A. Racine (D) and Maryland Attorney General Brian E. Frosh (D) that Trump unfairly profits from business at downtown Washington’s Trump International Hotel, in which the president continues to hold a financial interest.

Messitte cited examples of government clients — including Kuwait and Bahrain —
patronizing the Washington hotel, possibly to the detriment of competitors and taxpayers. He wrote that Maryland and the District had sufficiently argued that Trump’s hotel “has had and almost certainly will continue to have an unlawful effect on competition.”

[BmorePat87]

MD is lucky to have Frosh as our AG. Great man.

Glad they moved forward with this.

[*michaelsean*]

So I'm guessing the onus would be proving that dignitaries and such are staying at this hotel because Trump is President?

[Goalpost]

Is Trump even in charge of his business's. Thought he handed them over to his kids.

[Belsnickel]

(03-29-2018, 11:16 AM)michaelsean Wrote: So I'm guessing the onus would be proving that dignitaries and such are staying at this hotel because Trump is President?

Yes. Essentially, the crux of the case works on proving that Trump is benefiting financially in his commercial interests because of his position as POTUS. But, it will end up at SCOTUS because the question of whether this actually qualifies as an emolument has not been answered. That is going to be a constitutional question that will have to be answered, but this was the first major hurdle. Honestly, proving at the level of preponderance that Trump is benefiting is a piece of cake, that is a fairly foregone conclusion, it's just a matter of whether or not it's unconstitutional, and for that we need someone with standing to file suit.

[Belsnickel]

(03-29-2018, 11:24 AM)Goalpost Wrote: Is Trump even in charge of his business's. Thought he handed them over to his kids.

He still benefits from them financially.

[Benton]

(03-29-2018, 11:24 AM)Goalpost Wrote: Is Trump even in charge of his business's.  Thought he handed them over to his kids.

You don't have to be "in charge" to benefit from them. If he's still benefiting, and his kids are, then there's questions over his actions.

Which is why it would've been better to put his business into a blind trust like previous presidents. 

[*wildcats forever*]

(03-29-2018, 02:23 PM)Benton Wrote: You don't have to be "in charge" to benefit from them. If he's still benefiting, and his kids are, then there's questions over his actions.

Which is why it would've been better to put his business into a blind trust like previous presidents. 

Yeah, of all the things many have expressed desire for governmental change, this is not one of them. Conflict of interest seems to be a concept gone by the wayside. To me, MAGA starts with cleaning this kind of stuff out of the system.

[Benton]

(03-29-2018, 03:26 PM)wildcats forever Wrote: Yeah, of all the things many have expressed desire for governmental change, this is not one of them. Conflict of interest seems to be a concept gone by the wayside. To me, MAGA starts with cleaning this kind of stuff out of the system.

It's kind of mind boggling. People railed against cronyism and no bid contracts to buddies and family members. That stuff is bad and needed cleaned up. But Trump said 'F*** slippery slopes, I'm sledding down this b**** on a sled made out of tax funds!' and a lot of folks are like 'Hell yeah! Make us rich!' without realizing they collect no dividends from Trump Co.

[GMDino]

(03-29-2018, 05:04 PM)Benton Wrote: It's kind of mind boggling. People railed against cronyism and no bid contracts to buddies and family members. That stuff is bad and needed cleaned up. But Trump said 'F*** slippery slopes, I'm sledding down this b**** on a sled made out of tax funds!' and a lot of folks are like 'Hell yeah! Make us rich!' without realizing they collect no dividends from Trump Co.

You mean it's like he's a conman, snake oil salesman that only cares about himself?

It's weird no one mentioned that to voters before the election.