WASHINGTON — The state of Maryland and the District of Columbia plan to sue President Trump on Monday, alleging that he has violated the Constitution by accepting foreign money through his business empire, according to a person familiar with the plans.

The Democratic attorneys general are of Maryland and D.C.

The suit, to be filed in federal court in Maryland, will allege that Trump has violated the Constitution’s Emoluments Clause, which prohibits the president from accepting payments from foreign governments without the consent of Congress, according to the person.

It will cite not just the president’s luxury hotel in Washington, which has been at the center of concerns about conflicts of interest, but his worldwide network of hotels, golf courses and other commercial properties, the person said.

Despite a pledge to isolate himself from the business, Trump held on to his assets and placed them in a trust in his name. That arrangement means that he will benefit from the success of the business, even if he doesn’t reap the rewards until after he leaves office.

The suit will argue that Maryland the District of Columbia have been harmed by Trump’s ongoing ownership of the business. They plan to cite convention centers and other properties in Maryland and the district that compete with the Trump hotel.

In addition, the suit will say that states have standing to sue because they entered a contract, the Constitution, that prohibits the president from receiving emoluments. The suit will say that not just hotel payments but tax breaks and permits count as emoluments.

The suit being filed Monday will ask the court for an injunction blocking Trump from accepting foreign money, the person said. It will also ask for access to Trump’s personal tax returns as part of the legal process known as discovery, the person said.

A similar lawsuit was filed in January, moments after Trump was inaugurated, by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, a government watchdog organization.

Since then, a nonprofit restaurant group, a New York hotel and restaurant owner, and a woman who books events at hotels in Washington have joined the suit as plaintiffs.

On Friday, the Justice Department asked a federal judge to dismiss the case.

CREW is outside counsel on the lawsuit the attorneys general plan to file.

The Trump Organization has promised to take steps to address some ethics concerns. It told lawmakers that it would “track and identify” revenues received by its hotels from foreign governments, which it would then donate to the U.S. Treasury.

But in documentation sent to lawmakers this year, the company said it would be “impractical” to track everyone. That means it the business will not try to identify people who haven’t specifically identified themselves as representing a foreign government.

Representative Elijah Cummings, the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, blasted that plan.

He told the company in a letter last month that Trump should either divest his ownership or get permission from Congress to accept all sources of foreign money if it’s too difficult to identify those payments. </s> The attorneys general of Maryland and the District of Columbia are planning a lawsuit against President Donald Trump.

The attorneys general of Maryland and the District of Columbia are planning a lawsuit against President Donald Trump.

The attorneys general of Maryland and the District of Columbia filed suit against Trump alleging he violates Constitution through his sprawling global business empire. (Source: Pool/CNN)

WASHINGTON (AP) - The Latest on a lawsuit brought by Maryland and DC attorneys general against Trump (all times local):

The attorneys generals of Maryland and the District of Columbia have announced they've filed suit against President Donald Trump, alleging he violated the Constitution by retaining ties to a sprawling global business empire.

District of Columbia Attorney General Karl Racine and Maryland Attorney General Brian Frosh made the announcement at a jointly held news conference in Washington, confirming the suit has been filed in a court in Maryland. Frosh and Racine cited Trump's leases, properties and other business "entanglements" around the world as the reason for the suit, saying those posed a conflict of interest under a clause of the Constitution.

"The presidents' conflicts of interest threaten our democracy," Frosh told journalists. "We cannot treat the president's ongoing violations of the Constitution and his disregard of the rights of the American people as the new acceptable status quo."

Racine says the president has spoken about drawing a line between the presidency and his many businesses and properties but that he "has walked his promise back."

"We have a duty to enforce the law and that's why we are taking action today," Racine added.

The White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment Monday. The president called an earlier, similar lawsuit about the so-called emoluments clause of the Constitution an issue "without merit, totally without merit."

The attorneys general of Maryland and the District of Columbia plan to sue President Donald Trump.

District of Columbia Attorney General Karl Racine and Maryland Attorney General Brian Frosh plan to announce what they call a "major lawsuit" Monday against the president. A statement released to the press Monday says they'll announce the suit at a news conference in Washington.

According to The Washington Post , the suit alleges that Trump violated constitutional anti-corruption clauses by taking payments from foreign governments while in office. The Post says the lawsuit centers on Trump retaining ownership of his company when he became president.

Trump said he was shifting assets into a trust managed by his sons to eliminate potential conflicts of interest.

Copyright 2017 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. </s> The state of Maryland and the District of Columbia plan to sue President Trump on Monday, alleging that he has violated the Constitution by accepting foreign money through his business empire, according to a person familiar with the plans.

The attorneys general of Maryland and D.C., both Democrats, have scheduled a news conference for noon ET in Washington.

The suit, to be filed in federal court in Maryland, will allege that Trump has violated the Constitution’s Emoluments Clause, which prohibits the president from accepting payments from foreign governments without the consent of Congress, according to the person.

It will cite not just the president’s luxury hotel in Washington, which has been at the center of concerns about conflicts of interest, but his worldwide network of hotels, golf courses and other commercial properties, the person said.

The suit will ask the court for an injunction blocking Trump from accepting foreign money, the person said. It will also ask for access to Trump’s personal tax returns as part of the legal process known as discovery, the person said.

A similar was filed in January, moments after Trump was inaugurated, by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, a government watchdog organization.

Since then, a nonprofit restaurant group, a New York hotel and restaurant owner, and a woman who books events at hotels in Washington have joined the suit as plantiffs.

On Friday, the Justice Department asked a federal judge to dismiss the case.

CREW is outside counsel on the lawsuit the attorneys general plan to file. </s> Attorneys general for the District of Columbia and the state of Maryland say they will sue President Trump on Monday, alleging that he has violated anti-corruption clauses in the Constitution by accepting millions in payments and benefits from foreign governments since moving into the White House. </s> The attorney generals of Maryland and the District of Columbia say they will sue Donald Trump, alleging he has violated the US constitution by taking payments from foreign governments as president.

Maryland attorney general Brian Frosh outlined details of the lawsuit in an interview with The Associated Press. Much of it is focused on alleged violations of the emoluments clause of the US constitution, based on Mr Trump's real estate holdings.

The clause prohibits the president and other government employees from accepting foreign gifts and payments without congressional approval.

The Trump Hotel in the nation's capital affects business in the Washington area and is part of the reason the lawsuit was filed by officials in the District of Columbia and Maryland, Mr Frosh said.

"We have economic interests that are impacted, but the most salient factor is that when the president is subject to foreign influence, we have to be concerned about whether the actions he's taking - both at home and abroad - are the result of payments that he is receiving at the Trump Hotel, payments that he is receiving at Mar-a-Lago, payments that he is receiving at Trump Tower, payments that he is receiving in all of his other far-flung enterprises, and he brags about it," Mr Frosh said.

Mr Frosh and District of Columbia attorney general Karl Racine have scheduled a news conference to announce the lawsuit.

The lawsuit also focuses on the fact that Mr Trump chose to retain ownership of his company when he became president. Mr Trump said he was shifting assets into a trust managed by his sons to eliminate potential conflicts of interests.

The White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Monday. The president called an earlier, similar lawsuit about the emoluments issue "without merit, totally without merit".

If a federal judge allows the case to proceed, Mr Racine and Mr Frosh say they will demand copies of Mr Trump's personal tax returns in court to gauge the extent of his foreign business dealings.

Mr Trump's unique status as both president and the financial beneficiary of his global business empire raised questions about the little-known emoluments clause of the constitution even before he took office.

Mr Trump and his lawyers argue the clause does not cover fair-value transactions, such as hotel room payments and real estate sales.

The attorneys general are not the first to sue Mr Trump over emoluments. Just days after Mr Trump's inauguration in January, the government watchdog Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington filed a federal lawsuit in the Southern District of New York. Since then, a restaurant group and two individuals in the hotel industry have joined as plaintiffs.

The Justice Department said on Friday that those plaintiffs did not suffer in any way and had no standing to sue, and that it is unconstitutional to sue the president in his official capacity. </s> The attorneys general of Maryland and the District of Columbia say they will sue Donald Trump on Monday, alleging he has violated the Constitution by taking payments from foreign governments as president. Maryland Attorney General Brian Frosh outlined details of the lawsuit in an interview with The Associated Press. Much of it is focused on alleged ... </s> WASHINGTON (AP) — The attorneys general of Maryland and the District of Columbia plan to sue President Donald Trump.

District of Columbia Attorney General Karl Racine and Maryland Attorney General Brian Frosh plan to announce what they call a “major lawsuit” Monday against the president. A statement released to the press Monday says they’ll announce the suit at a news conference in Washington.

According to The Washington Post , the suit alleges that Trump violated constitutional anti-corruption clauses by taking payments from foreign governments while in office. The Post says the lawsuit centers on Trump retaining ownership of his company when he became president.

Trump said he was shifting assets into a trust managed by his sons to eliminate potential conflicts of interest. </s> Attorneys general from Maryland and the District of Columbia detailed their new lawsuit against President Trump on Monday, claiming government payments to Mr. Trump's hotels and other businesses violate the U.S. Constitution. Photo: AP

A lawsuit filed Monday by attorneys general in Maryland and the District of Columbia alleges U.S. and foreign government payments to President Donald Trump’s hotels and other businesses violate the Constitution.

The lawsuit, similar to one filed in New York by a government watchdog group in January, pivots on Mr. Trump’s decision to place his business assets into a trust, rather than divest upon taking office. Mr. Trump tapped his... </s> “Attorneys general for the District of Columbia and the state of Maryland say they will sue President Trump on Monday, alleging that he has violated anti-corruption clauses in the Constitution by accepting millions in payments and benefits from foreign governments since moving into the White House,” the Washington Post reports.

“The suit says Trump’s continued ownership of a global business empire has rendered the president ‘deeply enmeshed with a legion of foreign and domestic government actors’ and has undermined the integrity of the U.S. political system.” </s> July 10 (UPI) -- A federal appeals court on Wednesday dismissed a lawsuit by the attorneys general of Washington, D.C., and Maryland accusing President Donald Trump of violating emoluments clauses.

The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the two attorneys general didn't prove their case, which argued that Trump violated the Constitution by accepting money from domestic and foreign governments through his hotels and other businesses.

The panel also said the attorneys general couldn't show that Trump's ownership of the hotels created competition with other similar businesses like convention centers.

"The District and Maryland's interest in enforcing the Emoluments Clauses is so attenuated and abstract that their prosecution of this case readily provokes the question of whether this action against the president is an appropriate use of the courts, which were created to resolve real cases and controversies between the parties," Judge Paul Niemeyer wrote in the opinion.

The three-judge panel ordered the lower court to dismiss the lawsuit.

The suit said the Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C., diverts customers away from businesses the District of Columbia and Maryland own, license or tax, causing those governments direct financial harm. The Trump International Hotel competes with convention facilities owned by the city's government, as well as with a resort in Prince George's County that generates tax revenue for Maryland.

The suit contended it wasn't clear whether Trump is making decisions in the country's best interest or out of "self-interested motivations grounded in the international and domestic business dealings in which President Trump's personal fortune is at stake."

Trump increases business from foreign diplomats and others doing business at his family's hotels and the restaurants, the suit alleged.

This wasn't the only lawsuit accusing Trump of violating the emoluments clause. A group of some 200 Democrats sued him on similar grounds. On Tuesday, they issued dozens of subpoenas seeking documents from Trump's private businesses.
The Maryland and the District of Columbia attorneys general plan to sue President Trump on Monday claiming he violated the emolument clauses in the Constitution by accepting foreign payouts for his hotelier empire.