A federal appeals court has dismissed a lawsuit against President Donald Trump brought by Democratic lawmakers, who accuse him of illegally profiting from his vast business holdings around the world.
One of the lawmakers suing Trump, Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Ct.) also weighed in on the ruling, saying that he was “deeply disappointed [and] alarmed by this decision.”
He said they were evaluating the next steps in the case and did not confirm or deny whether they plan to appeal the decision.
A Justice Department spokesperson told The Epoch Times in a statement that “the department is very pleased.”
The case, cited as Blumenthal v. Trump, filed in 2017, was seeking declaratory relief and an injunction against the president. The Justice Department tried to dismiss the case by arguing that the lawmakers lacked standing, no cause of action authorized the challenge, the lawmakers failed to state a claim where relief could be granted, and that an injunction against the president in his official capacity would violate the Constitution.
The district court rejected the president’s attempt to dismiss the case, but this was overturned by Friday’s circuit decision who said the lawmakers did not have standing because the 29 senators and 186 members of the House of Representatives who brought the case did not represent the majority of either chamber and thus are “powerless to approve or deny the President’s acceptance of foreign emoluments.” The circuit court did not decide on the question of whether the president had violated the emoluments clause.
Other emoluments lawsuits are going through the court in the 4th Circuit in Virginia and the 2nd Circuit in New York.