Press Releases

] – U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and U.S. Representative Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), Ranking Member of the House Judiciary Committee, released the following statement following oral argument this morning in the case ofBlumenthal, Nadler, et al. v. Trump in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia—in which nearly 200 Members of Congress are asking the court to hold President Donald Trump accountable to the Constitution’s Foreign Emoluments Clause:

“Our argument today in court was simple: Members of Congress cannot do their job as long as President Trump continues to thumb his nose at the law. When President Trump ignores the Foreign Emoluments Clause’s clear and explicit requirement that he receive Congress’s affirmative consent before accepting payments, gifts, and benefits from foreign governments, he robs each and every member of Congress – and, by extension, the American people they represent – of their right and responsibility under the Constitution to vote on any such emoluments. President Trump has illegally collected trademarks from China, rent paid by foreign governments at his buildings, and hundreds of millions of dollars of loans to benefit his bottom line, and these benefits – known to us only because of the tenacious investigation of our free press – are likely only the tip of the iceberg. Our government cannot be preserved free of corruption, and our national security cannot be effectively defended, until the court reminds the President that he is not above the law,” Blumenthal and Nadler said.

“Since only Congress has standing to challenge all of the President’s emoluments around the world, our case is the only game in town. If the court does not uphold the law in our case, then the Constitution’s premier anti-corruption provision is dead letter. We were encouraged by Judge Sullivan’s thorough questioning and understanding of the case, and look forward to receiving his ruling.”

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