Leahy Comments As Oral Arguments Begin In Emoluments Lawsuit Against President Trump

Press Release

Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), a leading member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, released the following statement about the long-awaited beginning on Thursday of oral arguments, in a federal courtroom in Washington, in the Emoluments lawsuit brought by several members of Congress, Blumenthal, Nadler, et al. v. Trump. Leahy is a leading plaintiff in the lawsuit, which seeks to compel President Trump to comply with the Constitution's Foreign Emoluments Clause:

"We filed this lawsuit because we will not sit idly by while President Trump blatantly disregards the Constitution. An important threshold was crossed today with the beginning of oral arguments in our case. Americans deserve, need and expect a president with undivided loyalties, and a president who follows the law. Presidents must serve our country's interests, not their personal interests. The Framers thought this was so important that they included the Foreign Emoluments Clause, requiring any president to seek approval from Congress before acquiring outside financial interests.

"Unfortunately, we simply do not know how vulnerable President Trump is to foreign influence and corruption, since he has not divested from his businesses and refuses to release his taxes. But we do know that the Trump Organization is benefitting, in many ways, from business with foreign governments, without the President first seeking permission from Congress, as the Constitution requires. Recently that even includes a $500 million loan from the Chinese government to benefit a Trump-branded property in Indonesia. The fact that these foreign governments clearly believe that steering business toward the Trump Organization is a wise investment is exactly why this lawsuit is needed."

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