US: Maryland, DC sue Trump over business dealings

By Michael Hernandez

WASHINGTON (AA) - The state of Maryland and the Distrıct of Columbia have sued U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday, alleging he has violated the constitution's anti-corruption clauses.

The attorneys general of Washington D.C. and the state of Maryland said Trump's "wide-ranging business entanglements" violated the constitution's emoluments clauses, which prohibit the chief executive from receiving payments, gifts, or titles from foreign governments.

D.C. Attorney General Karl Racine said in a statement announcing the suit that Trump's "business activities have opened the door to the type of corruption the Framers of our Constitution aimed to prevent”.

"We are a nation of laws and no one -- including the president of the United States -- is above the law," said Racine.

His Maryland counterpart, Brian Frosh, added: "The president, above all other elected officials, must have only the interests of Americans at the heart of every decision.”

The federal suit follows Trump's decision not to divest himself from ownership of his company, instead choosing to place his assets in a trust being run by his sons.

In court documents, D.C. and Maryland allege Trump has committed "unprecedented constitutional violations" stemming from his decision to retain ownership of his international business empire, "which renders him deeply enmeshed with a legion of foreign and domestic government actors".

The emoluments clauses state that federal officials shall not receive "any present, emolument, office, or title, of any kind whatever, from any king, prince, or foreign state" without congressional consent.