Free Republic

President Donald Trump on Wednesday won the dismissal of a lawsuit against him by Maryland and the District of Columbia that challenged payments made to his Washington hotel by foreigners while he has been in the White House. A three-judge panel in the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit in a decision said that Maryland and D.C. do not have legal standing “to pursue their claims against the president” that he violated the emoluments clause of the U.S. Constitution.

Lawyers for the Justice Department are arguing that President Trump isn’t violating a Constitutional provision that bars federal officials from accepting payments from foreign governments because the clause doesn’t apply to certain transactions. In a new brief asking a judge to throw out a lawsuit brought against Trump by ethics watchdog Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), DOJ lawyers contend that the foreign emoluments clause doesn’t apply to “fair-market commercial transactions” like payments for hotel rooms and golf club fees, according to Bloomberg. Trump administration lawyers also argue that CREW and other plaintiffs lack legal standing to bring...