Federal judge allows emoluments lawsuit to proceed while Trump appeals decision News
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Federal judge allows emoluments lawsuit to proceed while Trump appeals decision

US District Judge Emmet Sullivan on Tuesday declined President Donald Trump’s motion to put a case challenging his business dealings with foreign governments on hold while it goes through the appeals process.

The Trump administration appealed Sullivan’s decision to allow Democratic lawmakers to obtain Trump’s financial records to verify whether his administration has violated the emoluments clause of the US Constitution. The clause states that “no Person holding any Office of Profit or Trust under them, shall, without the Consent of the Congress, accept of any present, Emolument, Office, or Title, of any kind whatever, from any King, Prince, or foreign State.” The more than 200 Democratic lawmakers allege that Trump’s private business dealings are a violation of the constitutional provision.

Sullivan’s decision allows for the lawsuit to proceed with the civil discovery phase which will span a three-month period and bypass any delay tactics Trump attempts to enforce on appeal. The Trump Organization will have to start turning over certain financial records to ensure that the current administration is not influenced by foreign partners.

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