Washington, DC – On news that President Trump has filed in U.S. District Court a Motion to Dismiss a Complaint filed by more than 200 Members of Congress who are asking the court to hold him accountable to the Foreign Emoluments Clause of the U.S. Constitution, the lead plaintiffs on the Complaint – Senator Richard Blumenthal (CT) and Representative John Conyers, Jr. (MI) – issued the following reaction:

“In the eight months since President Trump took office, he has blatantly disregarded the Foreign Emoluments Clause,” said Senator Blumenthal, “thumbing his nose at the Constitution and the American people in the process. These violations have continued seemingly unabated, even in the face of a historic number of Congressional representatives who joined together to hold him accountable for these actions. The government’s response rests on the same tired argument this Administration has been peddling for months: that the President is above the law. We disagree. No one is above the law, and certainly not the highest law in the land.”

Representative Conyers continued, “President Trump’s failure to come to Congress and disclose the benefits he is receiving from foreign governments violates critical anti-corruption principles our nation’s founders wrote into text of the Constitution. Presidents of both parties have complied with the Foreign Emoluments Clause. President Trump’s refusal to follow the Constitution is keeping Americans in the dark, raising concern whether or not he is acting on behalf of the American people or his own financial benefit. If he will not, on his own, lift the cloud of conflicts of interest over his presidency and restore faith in our government as the founders intended, then the courts must order him to do so.”

Constitutional Accountability Center President Elizabeth Wydra, leading the team of attorneys representing Members of Congress in their lawsuit, added, “Apparently President Trump is celebrating Constitution Day a few days in advance by getting the Constitution all wrong. Given his dismal track record, sadly this does not come as a surprise. Next month, we will fully address President Trump’s arguments in our response to the court.”

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Resources:

Complaint, Blumenthal, Conyers, et al. vs. Trump: https://www.theusconstitution.org/sites/default/files/briefs/Blumenthal_v_Trump_DDC_First_Amended_Complaint.pdf

Trump and the Foreign Emoluments Clause, CAC Resource Page: https://www.theusconstitution.org/litigation/trump-and-foreign-emoluments-clause/

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Constitutional Accountability Center (www.theusconstitution.org) is a think tank, public interest law firm, and action center dedicated to fulfilling the progressive promise of the Constitution’s text and history.

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