Another victory for President Donald Trump in a way as a federal judge dismissed two lawsuits on Thursday that claimed the President violated the Emoluments Clause in the Consitution which disallows the Chief Executive from accepting gifts or benefits from foreign leaders.
The Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington earlier filed a lawsuit that claimed Trump was receiving “cash and favors from foreign governments through guests and events at his hotels, leases in his buildings, and valuable real estate deals abroad” arguing that they have a case since the President supposedly has yet to divest from his business interests.
The other lawsuit came in the form of a class action lawsuit.
Both cases claimed that Trump directly violated the Emoluments Clause. But U.S. District Court Judge George Daniels ruled otherwise.
Daniels dismissed the cases due to “lack of standing.” He also said the plaintiffs did not show the injury caused by foreign officials and governments using Trump’s properties. The judge stressed, too, that such matters involving the highest leader of the land should be the jurisdiction of Congress and not the courts.
Daniels wrote in his decision: “As the only political branch with the power to consent to violations of the Foreign Emoluments Clause, Congress is the appropriate body to determine whether, and to what extent, Defendant’s conduct unlawfully infringes on that power.”
Daniels added that should Congress decides that indeed Trump has committed a violation on the matter, it is also up to the legislative body to challenge or absolve him.
The Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics admitted that they suffered a setback with the judge’s decision. But they said their group is not giving up on the issue, while not clarifying what their next step would be.
Trump has emerged victorious on Thursday. There are two remaining lawsuits in the federal court system facing him, however.
Prior to taking his oath as the 45th President of the United States, Trump has appointed his sons, Donald Trump, Jr. and Eric Trump, to take charge of a trust that manages his business interests.
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