U.S. District Court Denies Justice Department’s Motion to Dismiss Emoluments Clause Case

On April 30, 2019, U.S. District Court Judge for the District of Columbia Emmet  G. Sullivan issued a memorandum opinion, denying on behalf of President Donald J. Trump the Justice Department’s motion to dismiss that were deferred in the Court’s prior order. Previously Judge Sullivan held that plaintiffs, approximately 201 members of the 535 members of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives, had standing to sue President Trump in his official capacity as President of the United States for alleged violations of the Foreign Emoluments Clause. The President moved to dismiss the Amended Complaint for failure to state a claim because, inter alia, he argues in the Motion to Dismiss that “Emolument” should be narrowly construed to mean “profit arising from an official’s services rendered pursuant to an office or employ.”