The US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit Thursday rejected President Donald Trump’s efforts to end litigation surrounding a potential violation of the emoluments clause.

The case involves Trump International Hotel in Washington, DC. The state of Maryland and District of Columbia are asserting that when foreign officials stay and use the hotel, the emoluments clause is violated.

The emoluments clause states that the president may not, “without the Consent of the Congress, accept any present, emolument, Office, or Title, of any kind whatever, from any King, Prince, or foreign State.”

Trump’s legal team attempted to end the lawsuit by requesting the court order a writ of mandamus or dismiss the case. In rejecting the claims, the court stated

The President’s insistence that “emoluments” indisputably include only “profit arising from office or employ” (that is, payment for services rendered in performance of a formal job), while possible, is certainly not indisputable. Respondents assert that emoluments include “all profits and other benefits [accepted from a foreign or domestic government] that [the President] accepts through the business he owns.” … We can hardly conclude that the President’s preferred definition of this obscure word is clearly and indisputably the correct one.

The decision comes at a moment when Trump’s finances are closely being examined in court. On Wednesday, the Supreme Court heard oral argument in a separate lawsuit surrounding Congressional efforts to obtain Trump’s private financial documents.