The Justice Department responded to a previous conflict of interest lawsuit, claiming Trump can legally benefit from foreign governments booking rooms or holding events at Trump hotels because the Emoluments Clause wasn't meant to apply to fair-market transactions "that a President (or other federal official) may engage in as an ordinary citizen through his business enterprises." The department also claimed presidents have benefitted in similar ways since President George Washington led the country, but no president has ever had as big of a business empire or as many potential conflicts of interest as Trump