Officials in Maryland and Washington DC suing Trump over foreign payments
Officials in Maryland and Washington DC are suing Donald Trump for accepting payments from foreign governments via his business empire.
The lawsuit cites the US constitution's emoluments clause, which says no federal official should receive a gift or a fee from a foreign government.
The suit claims Mr Trump is "flagrantly violating the constitution", Washington DC's attorney general said.
It is the first such lawsuit filed by government entities.
"Never in the history of this country have we had a president with these kinds of extensive business entanglements or a president who refused to adequately distance himself from their holdings," Karl Racine, the District of Columbia attorney general said while announcing the lawsuit alongside Brian Frosh, Maryland's attorney general, on Monday.
A non-governmental organisation, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, lodged a similar legal action in January.
At that time, Mr Trump told a reporter in the Oval Office the case was "totally without merit". He has not yet commented on the latest move.
https://www.google.com/amp/www.bbc.co.uk/news/amp/40250700
Keep turning the screws.
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