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Congressional Democrats have the right to sue President Trump for his ongoing relationship with his real estate company, a federal judge ruled Friday afternoon, giving Trump's opponents a chance to plead in court.
The decision of Judge Emmet G. Sullivan does not support the conclusion that the President is violating the Constitution. Instead, he keeps Democrats alive in the courtroom, where they can continue to advocate for a broader decision against Mr. Trump.
Led by Senator Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, more than 200 congressional Democrats have accused the president of violating the Constitution's emoluments clause by continuing to earn revenues from the Trump International Hotel in Washington and other properties.
They say that because foreign governments rent rooms at the hotel, Mr. Trump enriches these governments. The Constitution prohibits the president from taking a "fee" from a foreign government unless obtain congressional authorization.
Mr. Trump's lawyers had argued that individual members of Congress had no right to sue because they were not personally injured.
Legislators have however argued that since Mr. Trump did not seek permission, they sustained an injury by not having the opportunity to grant or deny permission.
"The plaintiffs allege adequately that the president has completely canceled their votes in the past because he has accepted the banned foreign emoluments as if Congress had given his consent," Judge Sullivan wrote.
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