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A federal judge ruled on Friday that 200 congressional Democrats have legal status to prosecute Donald Trump.
In a 58-page decision, US District Judge Emmet Sullivan allowed lawmakers to sue the president for allegedly flouting the Constitution's emoluments clause, according to Reuters.
After Trump was elected president in 2016, he left his real estate empire of $ 3 billion while retaining his stakes.
Lawmakers pursuing Trump say it violates the foreign emoluments clause of the Constitution, which bars the president from receiving payments or gifts from foreign governments without congressional permission, according to Bloomberg.
In addition, the Washington Post notes that some of Trump's properties benefit from investments or business from foreign governments.
For example, Trump's D.C. hotel hosted executives from Kuwait, Malaysia and other countries.
The decision is the second decision of a federal court that allows the prosecutor to sue, according to the Associated Press.
In July, a federal judge in Maryland ruled that a similar suit could be brought against Trump by the attorneys general of Maryland and the District of Columbia. This lawsuit covers only Trump's gains from his Washington hotel.
Although the President did not ask Congress to approve the transactions of his companies with foreign states, his Counsel argued that this was not necessary because the payments he receives through the hotel and other businesses are not emoluments, as the founding fathers would have Washington Post.
Trump is represented by Justice Department lawyers, who have asked Sullivan to dismiss the complaint, saying that Congress could simply pass a bill banning the president from accepting such compensation.
Reuters said the Members of Congress suing Trump are all Democrats, with the exception of Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont, an independent who ran in the Democratic presidential elections in 2016.
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