Judge spars with Justice Dept on foreign favors suit
Last edited Mon Jun 11, 2018, 08:04 PM - Edit history (1)
Source: AP News
GREENBELT, Md. (AP) -- Lawyers for Maryland and the District of Columbia accused President Donald Trump in federal court Monday of "profiting on an unprecedented scale" from foreign government interests using his Washington, D.C., hotel, but a Justice Department lawyer insisted Trump isn't breaking the law because he provided no favors in return.
At issue is the Constitution's "emoluments" clause, which bans federal officials from accepting benefits from foreign or state governments without congressional approval. The plaintiffs argue Trump's D.C. hotel, which has become a magnet for foreign governments, harms area businesses because of the president's financial ties to its operations. No previous case on the subject has made it this far.
"This is the first oral arguments focused on the meaning of the emoluments clause in American judicial history," said Norman Eisen, chairman of the left-leaning Citizens for Ethics and Responsibility in Washington, which is co-counsel with the two jurisdictions.
U.S. District Judge Peter Messitte peppered lawyers for both sides over their arguments Monday, and had a particularly pointed exchange over Justice Department lawyer Brett Shumate's view that emoluments required a clear, provable "quid pro quo" -- an exchange for an official action.
Read more: https://apnews.com/b9611aa45e544beb80def8eaea08cb90
Here's a link to the lawsuit. It accuses him of violating both the FOREIGN and the DOMESTIC emoluments clauses.
http://www.marylandattorneygeneral.gov/Pages/Emoluments/DC_v_Trump.pdf
= new reply since forum marked as read
Nick Penzenstadler, USA TODAY Published 3:06 p.m. ET Nov. 15, 2017 | Updated 4:32 p.m. ET Nov. 15, 2017
Taxpayers are footing the legal bill for at least 10 Justice Department lawyers and paralegals to work on lawsuits related to President Trump's private businesses. Neither the White House nor the Justice Department will say how much it is costing taxpayers, but federal payroll records show the salaries of the government lawyers assigned to the cases range from about $133,000 to $185,000. The government legal team is defending President Trump in four lawsuits stemming from his unusual decision not to divest himself from hundreds of his companies that are entangled with customers that include foreign governments and officials.
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The Justice Department traditionally defends the office of the president and its occupants’ rights in court, sometimes under novel circumstances. However, the cases about Trump’s businesses create a historically awkward and unusual position for the public lawyers: the result of their arguments in court is to protect the president’s potential customer base. “We’ve never before had a president who was branded and it’s impossible to divorce from that brand,” said Stuart Gerson, who served as chief of the Justice Department's civil division for Presidents George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton. “It’s blurring the lines because it’s so unusual. I can’t think of a precedent where another civil division lawyer has been called on to defend the president under these circumstances.”
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Whether Trump is defended by public or private lawyers can depend on whether someone is suing Donald Trump the person or President Donald Trump. In the case of the Washington hotel Trump's company operates six blocks from the White House, he is defending attacks from all sides, from those who named him in his government capacity, and as the real estate mogul who still draws profits from his family-run hotel empire.
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The Justice Department lawyers' involvement is “strange,” said U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., who pressed Attorney General Jeff Sessions in a hearing last month about how his department determined it was appropriate to defend Trump in the cases about his private businesses. Sessions said he “believed” DOJ’s Office of Legal Counsel was consulted. Spokesmen for both the DOJ and the Office of Legal Counsel would not answer questions whether the office reviewed the appropriateness of DOJ attorneys working on the case. “It’s the responsibility of the Department of Justice to defend the Office of the Presidency in carrying out its activities against charges that are not deemed meritorious," Sessions said. "We believe that this is defensible and we’ve taken the position that our top lawyers’ believe is justified."
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https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2017/11/15/taxpayers-pay-legal-bill-protect-trump-business-profits/848354001/
Very interesting. I'm in good company with Senator Feinstein. 
