'Not Above the Law': In Historic Ruling, Federal Judge Rules Corruption Suit Against Trump Can Proceed

A lawsuit alleging that President Donald Trump has violated constitutional law by profiting from his Washington, D.C. hotel will proceed, after a federal judge in Maryland rejected the Trump administration’s bid to have the case thrown out on Wednesday.

The attorneys general of Washington, D.C. and Maryland allege that Trump is in violation of the Constitution’s emoluments clauses, which bar the president from receiving gifts from foreign or state governments, by continuing to benefit from the business of the Trump International Hotel.

“If the president would like to avoid the case going further and curtail the serious harms caused by his unconstitutional conduct, now would be a good time to divest from his businesses.” —Noah Bookbinder, CREW”The basic principal here is Donald Trump is not above the law, and the court recognized that and said that we can enforce the nation’s original anti-corruption law,” Maryland Attorney General Brian Frosh told the Washington Post.

Foreign heads of state and state officials have stayed in and held events at the hotel frequently since Trump took office. Maine Governor Paul LePage stayed at the property last year just before the president included a national monument that LePage had opposed in a review of national parks. A public relations firm also spent $270,000 on behalf of the Saudi government at the hotel, as the country was fighting to roll back a law allowing the families of September 11 victims to sue Saudi Arabia for any alleged involvement in the attacks. 

Trump gave up running the hotel when he became president last year, but he still owns and can withdraw funds from his business at any time.