When we last left the emoluments clauses, Judge Messitte, U.S. district judge for the District of Maryland, had just issued a ruling in District of Columbia v. Trump, holding that the plaintiffs (DC and Maryland) had standing to sue the president for his alleged violations of the foreign and domestic emoluments clauses. As we observed at the time, the standing theory adopted by the court, based on the premise that these violations were advantaging the Trump Hotel in DC at the expense of competitors such as the Four Seasons and Ritz Carlton, seemed strained, to put it mildly. We also noted that although the court thus far had only addressed standing, “[a]t points it appears to have already decided the merits” against President Trump.
Sure enough, in July 2018 Judge Messitte issued an opinion adopting a broad view of the term “emolument” as extending “to any profit, gain, or advantage, of more than de minimis value, received . . . directly or indirectly, from foreign, the federal, or domestic governments [including] profits from private transactions, even those involving services given at a fair market value.” Memorandum Opinion of 7-25-18 at 47. Although ostensibly Judge Messitte merely denied the president’s motion to dismiss, he effectively decided the case in favor of the plaintiffs since there is no dispute that foreign and domestic governments have patronized the Trump Hotel during the Trump administration, which is all that is required to establish an emoluments violation under the court’s theory. Not surprisingly then, the president’s lawyers sought to stay discovery and take an interlocutory appeal and, when Judge Messitte denied these motions, sought a writ of mandamus in the Fourth Circuit (about which more in a moment).
Two other emoluments suits against Trump also remain pending (hat tip: @SethBTillman). In Blumenthal v. Trump, a suit brought by members of Congress in the U.S. district court for the District of Columbia, Judge Sullivan denied the president’s motion to dismiss for lack of standing but deferred decision on other issues, including the president’s contention that the plaintiffs had failed to state a claim upon which relief may be granted. The district court as of yet has apparently not ruled on the remainder of the motion to dismiss (which was argued nearly a year ago), nor upon Trump’s motion to certify the court’s ruling on standing for interlocutory appeal. No discovery is occurring while these legal motions are pending.
The third case is CREW v. Trump, a suit filed in the U.S. district court for the Southern District of New York. The district judge in that case dismissed for lack of standing. The plaintiffs appealed to the Second Circuit, which heard argument in October 2018. No decision has yet been issued. Continue reading “Emoluments Clause Litigation Status Report”