D.C. and Maryland Expected to Sue Trump For “Unprecedented Constitutional Violations”

The attorneys general of D.C. and Maryland are gearing up to sue Donald Trump, The Washington Post reports. They alleged that Trump has violated several sections of the U.S. Constitution that deal specifically with corruption. Part of the intended goal is also to force Trump to expose the tax returns he has consistently refused to release.

The lawsuit will focus heavily on the Constitution’s “emoluments clause,” which prohibits anyone holding office of “profit or trust” from accepting any gifts or payments from a foreign country. The idea is that this should help those in power not show preferential treatment to certain countries. And with a president that has significant international holdings, this is especially important.

The lawsuit will claim that Trump has failed to follow this portion of the clause due to the fact that he hasn’t actually set up his business dealings as a true “blind trust.” Although he handed control over to his sons, Trump continues to receive information about the organization, including profit reports. The lawsuit will claim that Trump is “deeply enmeshed with a legion of foreign and domestic government actors.”

Trump appeared to try and combat this issue when, in January, Trump said he would donate any money received from foreign governments through his hotels to the U.S. Treasury. But then, last March, the Trump Organization said that wouldn’t begin until 2018 because to do so any earlier than that would be “impractical.”

This isn’t a new revelation. Many have argued that Trump can and should be impeached for this exact violation. This is a highly illegal and volatile situation, and it’s surprising that it’s taken even this long for anybody to take action on what appears to be a very straightforward and clear case of conflicting interests.

At the very least, we should hope that the lawsuit will force Trump to fully separate from his business so that corruption becomes at least mildly less likely. Again, this is standard procedure for virtually every other president and it’s insane that Trump hasn’t been held to the same standard. But then again, what should we expect at this point?