A US appellate court rejected a bid by President Donald Trump to throw out a lawsuit claiming his ownership interest in a Washington, DC hotel violates a constitutional prohibition against a president accepting gifts without congressional approval
WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 14th May, 2020) A US appellate court rejected a bid by President Donald Trump to throw out a lawsuit claiming his ownership interest in a Washington, DC hotel violates a constitutional prohibition against a president accepting gifts without congressional approval.
The appellate court ruling returns the case to a lower court that previously ordered six-months of discovery by both sides while declining to rule on Trump's claim that he is immune to lawsuits while in office.
"The issue thus presented is whether the district court's December 3 order directing the parties to proceed with full fact discovery on the merits over the objection of the... President and in rejection of his repeated requests to address immunity amounted to an order effectively denying the President's claim of immunity," the court said.
The ruling said Trump could re-appeal the lower court's denial of presidential immunity once the discovery period ended.
In June 2017, Democratic attorneys general in Washington, DC and the adjacent state of Maryland sued the president alleging violations of the Constitution's Emoluments Clauses, which require congressional approval for the US president to accept gifts.
At issue is the Trump International Hotel, a short walk from the White House and a popular choice for foreign and state officials visiting Washington, DC on official business.
