An appeals court Thursday morning rejected an attempt by President Donald Trump to stop an emoluments lawsuit challenging his ownership of a hotel in Washington, DC.
The 4th US Circuit Court of Appeals, in a 9-6 ruling, decided the emoluments case on Thursday morning against the President, keeping it alive in trial court and reopening the possibility state officials can access his business records.
The DC and Maryland case against the Trump International Hotel has been a long-running but serious challenge to the businessman president, and is likely to position the Supreme Court to interpret a key constitutional anti-corruption clause that has rarely if ever been taken to court.
“Although the Constitution entrusts the President with the enormous responsibility of faithfully executing the law … the notion that the President is vested with unreviewable power to both execute and interpret the law is foreign to our system of government,” Judge Diana Gribbon Motz wrote in the majority opinion.
“Allowing the President to be the final arbiter of both the interpretation and enforcement of the law – as the dissents would – would gravely offend separation of powers,” Motz added.
Jay Sekulow, Trump’s personal attorney, called the ruling “another example of Presidential harassment” and said they plan to go to the Supreme Court at some point.
In a fiery dissent, Judge Harvie Wilkinson III wrote that the “legal foundations for this lawsuit are non-existent” and argued that it “opens the door to litigation as a tool of harassment” and would allow individuals to “virtually haul the Presidency into court at their pleasure.”
The state-level attorneys general have subpoenaed Trump Organization tax records and other documents in late 2018, a set of records the President has fiercely fought to keep secret. The records didn’t ask for the President’s personal tax returns.
But Trump took the case to the appeals court, effectively stopping his companies from having to respond to the subpoenas.
The hotel industry has taken a major hit amid the coronavirus pandemic – which virtually halted the nation’s economy as millions of people stayed home in an effort to curb the spread of the deadly virus – and Trump’s Washington hotel is no exception.
The New York Times reported last month that the luxury hotel, which sits within a federally owned building and is leased by the Trump Organization, sought relief from the government, asking about “possible changes to the terms of the lease, which could include adjustments to future monthly payments.”
If Trump were to sell the Trump International Hotel in Washington – or even transfer its ownership to his children – the lawsuit likely would go away. Trump has kept his properties in a trust while he is in office.
The Justice Department has argued that Maryland and DC have no ability to sue and the case should be dismissed, and Trump’s personal attorneys also say he can’t be sued for this personally while he’s President.
This story has been updated with details and quotes from the opinion.