Politics

Emoluments Lawsuit Trundles On

Judge clears away latest hurdle thrown up by the Trump administration.

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(image via iStock)

If the Democrats controlled the House of Representatives, Donald Trump would be impeached for brazenly taking foreign money in exchange for politically favorable treatment, in violation of the Constitution’s ban on foreign emoluments.

Oh, what, the Democrats actually won in 2018? No, no, no, you must be mistaken. See, when you have such an obviously corrupt person clothed in the powers of the President of the United States, a Democratically controlled Congress would surely act on their only Constitutional method of holding such a president accountable.

Sorry. Snark off. In lieu of exercising their Constitutional duties, some 200 Congressional Democrats have filed a lawsuit over Trump’s disregard of the emoluments clause. The Trump administration has fought that lawsuit at every step. But, the White House just lost its latest challenge. U.S. District Judge Emmet G. Sullivan declined to issue a stay in the case, which the Justice Department had requested. From the Washington Post:

U.S. District Judge Emmet G. Sullivan declined to put the case on hold and to block lawmakers from immediately seeking financial information, interviews and other records from the Trump Organization.

“This case will be poised for resolution within six months; an immediate appeal would hardly materially advance its ultimate termination,” Sullivan wrote in a 12-page ruling rejecting the president’s position…

Justice Department lawyers had asked Sullivan to take the unusual step of signing off on an immediate appeal of his earlier rulings because of the “exceptional circumstances” of the case. “Plaintiffs are now poised to seek civil discovery against the President, including into his personal finances and official actions, which will distract the President from his official duties.”

The argument that the Justice Department keeps trotting out, that President Trump is too busy playing golf and trying to start a shooting war via Twitter to submit to normal discovery regarding his potential crimes, seems not to be working on federal judges.

But Trump keeps obstructing and delaying, hoping to one day get in front of the Supreme Court where he seems to remain confident that his handpicked arbiters will deliver him victory.

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There will be no resolution soon. The courts don’t seem inclined to fast track any aspect of this case. My read is that judges, and Supreme Court justices especially, want to allow Trump to keep filling his pockets in the most corrupt fashion, and drag out the proceedings past the 2020 election. After the election, this lawsuit might be moot, after all.

And the Democrats are complicit in this slow-moving corruption as well. Impeachment is the way to hold Donald Trump accountable for corruption. This lawsuit is a way to… inspire some awesome law review articles in a few years.

Democrats’ emoluments lawsuit against President Trump can proceed, federal judge rules [Washington Post]

Elie Mystal is the Executive Editor of Above the Law and a contributor at The Nation. He can be reached @ElieNYC on Twitter, or at [email protected]. He will resist.

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