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Group will sue Trump over business’ foreign profits
The Hill ^ | 1/22/2017 | Cyra Master

Posted on 01/22/2017 5:09:31 PM PST by usafa92

A Washington-based nonprofit will file a federal lawsuit against President Trump on Monday, the start of his first week in office.

Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) announced Sunday night it is bringing a suit “to stop President Trump from violating the Constitution by illegally receiving payments from foreign governments.”

At issue is Trump’s refusal to divest from his business or place his assets into a blind trust, which would separate him entirely from his business empire. He has said his adult sons will run his business while he is in office, that they will not conduct any foreign deals and will subject any domestic deals to an ethics review.

“We did not want to get to this point. It was our hope that President Trump would take the necessary steps to avoid violating the Constitution before he took office,” CREW Executive Director Noah Bookbinder said.

“He did not. His constitutional violations are immediate and serious, so we were forced to take legal action.”

The group says that because Trump has not divested from his businesses, he is “now getting cash and favors from foreign governments, through guests and events at his hotels, leases in his buildings, and valuable real estate deals abroad.”

“President Trump has made his slogan ‘America First,’” Bookbinder added. “So you would think he would want to strictly follow the Constitution’s foreign emoluments clause, since it was written to ensure our government officials are thinking of Americans first, and not foreign governments.”

But Trump lawyer Sheri Dillon recently said that under the business plan, Trump will not be in violation of the Constitution’s “Emoluments Clause."

“Paying for a hotel room is not a gift or a present, and has nothing to do with an office,” she said. “It is not an emolument. The Constitution does not require President-elect Trump to do anything here.”

But CREW charges that because Trump does business with such countries as China, India, Indonesia, and the Philippines, “now that he is President, his company’s acceptance of any benefits from the governments of those countries violates the Constitution.”

It also warns that, “When Trump the president sits down to negotiate trade deals with these countries, the American people will have no way of knowing whether he will also be thinking about the profits of Trump the businessman.”

The group said the suit will be filed in the Southern District of New York at 9 a.m. on Monday.


TOPICS: News/Current Events; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: crew; emolumentsclause; first100days; lawsuit; sheridillon; soros; trump; trump45
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To: facedown

Sara’s pockets were not deep enough. Trump has very deep pockets and the Soros group will get creamed.


21 posted on 01/22/2017 5:24:52 PM PST by Mollypitcher1 (I have not yet begun to fight....John Paul Jones)
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To: usafa92

Maybe if we type nice and slow these people will get it. Nothing in the Constitution on President divesting, but Trump said any profits from foreign governments will be donated to the US Treasury. In case these dummies don’t understand, the US Treasury is us.


22 posted on 01/22/2017 5:28:28 PM PST by McGavin999
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To: McGavin999

The other point is Trump properties abroad are not usually owned by the Trump Organization.

Trump simply licenses his name AKA branding to foreign investors to help them create a revenue stream. He has no stake in the business apart from use of his name.

There is no legal or ethical entanglement here and nothing that presents a violation of the Constitution.

Simple and straight.


23 posted on 01/22/2017 5:35:27 PM PST by goldstategop ((In Memory Of A Dearly Beloved Friend Who Lives In My Heart Forever))
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To: MAKOTHEDOG

First thing I thought!


24 posted on 01/22/2017 5:38:07 PM PST by LadyShires
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To: usafa92

Funded by Soros. Care more about “open borders” than “ethics”!!!! PHOOEY!!!!

President Trump deserves a laurel wreathe for turning the old Post Office Building, once slated for demolition, into a first-class hotel. Instead, he’s receiving brickbats from these worthless liberals and lawyers!!!! PHOOEY again!!!!


25 posted on 01/22/2017 5:38:52 PM PST by Honorary Serb (Kosovo is Serbia! Free Srpska! Abolish ICTY!)
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To: LadyShires

I hit the post button to quick and realized she is not President.... Thank god.

LOL


26 posted on 01/22/2017 5:43:23 PM PST by MAKOTHEDOG
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To: usafa92

“suit “to stop President Trump from violating the Constitution by illegally receiving payments from foreign governments.” “

Except he is NOT receiving illegal payments. Payment for business services are not included in the US Constitution.


27 posted on 01/22/2017 5:48:15 PM PST by CodeToad (If it weren't for physics and law enforcement, I'd be unstoppable!)
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To: mrsmith

And adjusted for inflation, George Washington would likely be a billionaire, or at least worth hundreds of millions by today’s inflated currency.


28 posted on 01/22/2017 5:53:58 PM PST by Morpheus2009
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To: piytar

Well put!


29 posted on 01/22/2017 6:02:00 PM PST by jonrick46 (The Left has a mental illness: A totalitarian psyche.)
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To: Morpheus2009

Ha! Maybe on paper. Those tobacco farmers seemed to always be in debt.


30 posted on 01/22/2017 6:06:28 PM PST by mrsmith (Dumb sluts: Lifeblood of the Media, Backbone of the Democrat/RINO Party!)
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To: usafa92

They don’t stop . . . and they brag incessantly about every last escapade.


31 posted on 01/22/2017 6:07:21 PM PST by madprof98
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To: facedown

President Trump has financial resources Mrs. Palin couldn’t even dream of.He has long business relationships with very good lawyers.Sarah Palin was abandoned by turncoat McCain and the RINOstablishment.


32 posted on 01/22/2017 6:14:40 PM PST by hoosierham (Freedom isn't free)
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To: usafa92

George Washington was not required to impoverish himself to show his impartiality.


33 posted on 01/22/2017 6:19:13 PM PST by Ciexyz (Happy days are here again, with Trump/Pence.)
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To: Ciexyz

“Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) announced Sunday night it is bringing a suit “to stop President Trump from violating the Constitution by illegally receiving payments from foreign governments.””

I would love to walk into their office and citizen arrest all of them for sedition.


34 posted on 01/22/2017 6:23:17 PM PST by EQAndyBuzz ("Alinsky, you magnificent bastard, Trump read your book!")
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To: usafa92
I wonder what these watchdogs would think of this?

Terrible crime: "I'll give you $20 if you vote for me."

Perfectly ok:

Barack Obama: "I'll give you a free $10,000 health insurance policy if you vote for me."

Hillary Clinton: "I'll forgive your $50,000 college debt if you vote for me."

These people are warped. They are frauds.
35 posted on 01/22/2017 6:33:43 PM PST by Steve_Seattle
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To: usafa92
A Washington-based nonprofit will file a federal lawsuit against President Trump on Monday, the start of his first week in office. Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) announced Sunday night it is bringing a suit “to stop President Trump from violating the Constitution by illegally receiving payments from foreign governments.”

Seems I recall that he said that all of the profits from his foreign businesses are going into the US Treasury.

Exactly what is their problem here?

36 posted on 01/22/2017 6:35:47 PM PST by metmom (...fixing our eyes on Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of our faith...)
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To: usafa92

“We did not want to get to this point. “

Oh but yes, you did.
You could have not filed a lawsuit but you chose to concern yourself with a matter that has nothing to do with you, and will likely regret it in the end.


37 posted on 01/22/2017 6:36:38 PM PST by b4me (If Jesus came to set us free, why are so many professed Believers still in chains?)
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To: goldstategop
Only to the Left is making money considered controversial.

Correction: Only to the Left is making money by a conservative considered controversial.

38 posted on 01/22/2017 6:38:02 PM PST by metmom (...fixing our eyes on Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of our faith...)
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To: usafa92

I can remember when they went after Hillary...


39 posted on 01/22/2017 6:45:12 PM PST by gogeo (But he's not a conserrrrrvative!)
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To: Kickass Conservative

It’s as if no one bothered to listen to the press conference they hounded him to give. I haven’t heard one story explaining that plan. Not one! Is hit job after hit job, nothing more. Sad!


40 posted on 01/22/2017 6:52:11 PM PST by wiseprince
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