A federal judge ruled that the District of Columbia and Maryland may proceed with a lawsuit against President Trump alleging that Trump’s business dealings have violated the Constitution’s ban on receiving improper “emoluments,” or payments, from individual states and foreign governments. But the ruling from Judge Peter Messitte of the US District Court of Maryland says the Maryland and District of Columbia attorneys general who brought the case will have to focus it on the Trump Organization's operations in Washington. Maryland and DC have argued that the Trump International Hotel's operations put other nearby hotel and entertainment properties at a competitive disadvantage, and that the Trump hotel got special tax concessions. Messitte did not make any rulings on the allegations in the case, which accuse Trump of taking illegal gifts from foreign governments through his family's business, violating the Constitution's Emoluments Clause.
– An emoluments lawsuit against President Trump is moving forward after a federal judge ruled Wednesday that attorneys general from Maryland and Washington DC have legal standing to proceed, the AP reports. According to the Washington Post, it's the first time such a lawsuit has ever made it past its first legal test. Two other emoluments lawsuits were tossed by a judge in New York in December, CNN reports. Attorneys general Karl Racine and Brian Frosh accuse Trump of violating the Emoluments Clause of the Constitution by receiving illegal gifts from foreign governments via the Trump Organization. While Judge Peter Messitte of the US District Court of Maryland is allowing the lawsuit to move forward, he's limiting its scope to just the Trump International Hotel in DC, excluding Mar-a-Lago and other properties. The lawsuit accuses Trump International of getting special tax concessions and having a competitive advantage over other hotels. Messitte noted that foreign governments have moved their business from other DC hotels to the "President's Hotel." He ruled that Trump's other properties are too far away to have any financial impact on Maryland or DC. While Messitte did not rule on the allegations themselves, he did reject an argument from the Trump camp that only Congress can decide if a president has violated the Emoluments Clause.