Judge lets case against president move forward

For the first time anti-corruption clauses in the US constitution known as emoluments have been applied to a sitting president.

Someone took a pickaxe to Donald Trump's star on The Walk of Fame in Hollywood, yesterday. Picture: Mega

A lawsuit that accuses Donald Trump of violating the constitution by maintaining his interest in a hotel that does business with foreign governments has been allowed to proceed by a judge.

It was the first time a judge has interpreted anti-corruption clauses in the constitution known as emoluments clauses and applied them to a sitting president.

Federal District judge Robert Messitte in Maryland ruled yesterday that the case — which centres on money Mr Trump makes from the Trump International Hotel in Washington — can move to the evidence-gathering stage.

If the ruling stands, it would mean the plaintiffs would seek to examine Trump business records. Mr Trump has refused to disclose such information and in particular his income tax returns, in a break with the practice of previous presidents.

The clauses at stake in the case brought by the state of Maryland and the District of Columbia bar a president from receiving financial benefits from foreign or domestic governments. The Justice Department said the clauses were designed to prevent a president from taking bribes, not from engaging in business, but the judge ruled that this was too narrow an interpretation of what an emolument is.

AFP