Trump's other legal problem: Emoluments lawsuit set for October

Rss@dailykos.com (mark Sumner) · Thursday, August 10, 2017, 9:16 am

With the Russia investigation spreading out into every facet of Trump’s business and every member of Trump’s campaign, and with Donald Trump working hard to bury that investigation under a never-ending stream of distractions up to and including threats of war, it’s easy to forget that other Trump investigation.

A lawsuit contending that President Donald Trump's business dealings with and in foreign countries violate the Constitution is set to get a public airing in October in a New York federal courtroom.
The suit is just one of several that have been advanced concerning Trump’s use of his position to make gains directly and indirectly through either hosting government activities at his facilities, or encouraging foreign dignitaries to patronize Trump hotels if they hope to get favorable treatment at the White House. Some of these suits are likely to fail on the basis of “standing,” as judges rule that the groups funding the suits can’t show they’ve suffered direct harm. Others will move forward.
And for all those times when people have said that the Justice Department is not Trump’s private law firm … that’s not always clear to them.

The Justice Department is defending Trump in the litigation and contends that the foreign emoluments clause does not cover routine business payments, even if foreign governments are involved.

Which is a handy thing when defending a guy in a business where prices are arbitrary, subject to change on a moment’s notice. $33,000 a night hotel suite? Of course. $100 million for a $40 million house? You got it. And neither one of those is the biggest problem that should concern the judge.

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