CREW v. Trump
CREW v. Trump | |
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United States District Court for the Southern District of New York | |
Full case name | Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, et al. v. Donald J. Trump, in his official capacity as President of the United States of America |
Date decided | Dismissed on December 21, 2017 (filed January 23, 2017) |
Citations | No. 1:17-cv-00458 |
Judge sitting | George B. Daniels[1] |
Counsel for plaintiff(s) | Deepak Gupta,[2][3] Laurence H. Tribe,[3] Erwin Chemerinsky,[3] Zephyr Teachout,[3] Jonathan E. Taylor, [4][3], Matthew Douglas Spurlock[5][3] Joseph M. Sellers[6][3] Robert Abraham Braun, [7] Norman L. Eisen,[3] Richard W. Painter,[3] Noah Bookbinder[3] Adam J. Rappaport,[3] Stuart C. McPhail,[3] Rachel Bloomekatz,[3] Christine E. Webber,[3] George F. Farah[3] |
Plaintiff(s) | Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington Restaurant Opportunities Center Jill Phaneuf Eric Goode |
Defendant(s) | Donald Trump |
Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington v. Trump, No. 1:17-cv-00458 (S.D.N.Y. 2017), was a case before the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. The plaintiffs, the watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), hotel and restaurant owner Eric Goode, an association of restaurants known as ROC United, and an Embassy Row hotel event booker named Jill Phaneuf allege that the defendant, President Donald Trump, is in violation of the Foreign Emoluments Clause, a constitutional provision that bars the president or any other federal official from taking gifts or payments from foreign governments. CREW filed its complaint on January 23, 2017, shortly after Trump was inaugurated as president. An amended complaint, adding the hotel and restaurant industry plaintiffs, was filed on April 18, 2017.[8] A second amended complaint was filed on May 10, 2017.[9] CREW is represented by several prominent lawyers and legal scholars in the case.[10][11][12]
United States District Judge George B. Daniels dismissed the case on December 21, 2017, holding that plaintiffs lacked standing.[13][14] CREW filed an appeal which has a pending hearing,[15] and separate Emolument Clause lawsuits are pending in other judicial districts.[16][17]
Contents
Background
Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington stated that because Trump-owned buildings take in rent, room rentals and other payments from foreign governments, the president has breached the Foreign Emoluments Clause. The Constitution says that "no Person holding any Office of Profit or Trust under the United States, shall, without the Consent of the Congress, accept of any present, Emolument, Office, or Title, of any kind whatever, from any King, Prince, or foreign State."[11]. The case also includes a claim under the Domestic Emoluments Clause.
An Emoluments Clause lawsuit directed at a sitting President has never been tested in court, and there is little judicial precedent in this area of constitutional law. The Clause is, however, the subject of a considerable body of precedent from the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel and the Office of the Comptroller General. The plaintiffs are asking for an injunction and declaratory judgment directed at President Trump requiring that he cease violations of the Emoluments Clauses. On January 23, 2017, after the action was filed in U.S. District Court, Trump rejected the arguments underlying the lawsuit as "Without merit," and "Totally without merit" during his morning press conference at the White House.[18][19]
CREW is represented in the suit by "a group comprised of former White House ethics lawyers, constitutional scholars, and Supreme Court litigators,"[19] including constitutional law professor Laurence H. Tribe of Harvard Law School; Supreme Court litigator Deepak Gupta of Gupta Wessler PLLC; Erwin Chemerinsky, the dean of the University of California, Berkeley School of Law; Richard Painter, law professor at the University of Minnesota and chief ethics lawyer in the George W. Bush administration; and Zephyr Teachout of Fordham Law School.[10] The United States Department of Justice represents Trump.[11]
Quotes from second amended complaint
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Defendant has violated the Constitution since the opening moments of his presidency and is poised to do so continually for the duration of his administration. Specifically, Defendant has committed and will commit violations of both the Foreign Emoluments Clause and the Domestic Emoluments Clause, involving at least: (a) leases held by foreign-government-owned entities in New York's Trump Tower; (b) room reservations, restaurant purchases, the use of facilities, and the purchase of other services and goods by foreign governments and diplomats, state governments, and federal agencies, at Defendant's Washington, D.C. hotel and restaurant; (c) hotel stays, property leases, restaurant purchases, and other business transactions tied to foreign governments, state governments, and federal agencies at other domestic and international establishments owned, operated, or licensed by Defendant; (d) property interests or other business dealings tied to foreign governments in numerous other countries; (e) payments from foreign-government-owned broadcasters related to rebroadcasts and foreign versions of the television program "The Apprentice" and its spinoffs; and (f) continuation of the General Services Administration lease for Defendant’s Washington, D.C. hotel despite Defendant's breach, and potential provision of federal tax credits in connection with the same property.[20]
District court proceedings
Trump filed a motion to dismiss on June 9, 2017.[21] on the grounds that the plaintiffs had no right to sue[22] and that the described conduct was not illegal.[23] A response to the motion to dismiss was filed on August 4, 2017, with a DOJ reply due by September 22, 2017.[24] A full answer from DOJ lawyers to the facts alleged in the complaint was due on August 11, 2017.[25] Oral arguments were expected October 18, 2017.[26]
On December 21, 2017, the motion to dismiss was granted; Judge George B. Daniels held that plaintiffs lacked standing.[14]
Appeal
On February 16, 2018, the dismissal of the suit was appealed by CREW[15], primarily on an economically-informed theory of emolument-related injury to competitors,[27] with all briefs filed by both parties by June 27. The hearing of oral arguments before a three-judge panel of the Second Circuit has been set for October 30, 2018.[28]
See also
- D.C. and Maryland v. Trump
- CREW and National Security Archive v. Trump and EOP
- Blumenthal v. Trump
- List of lawsuits involving Donald Trump
- Foreign Emoluments Clause, Article I, Section 9, Clause 8 of United States Constitution
- Domestic Emoluments Clause, Article II, Section 1, Clause 7 of United States Constitution
References
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- ↑ 10.0 10.1 Complaint, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, No. 1:17-cv-00458 (S.D.N.Y. Jan. 23, 2017)
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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- ↑ 14.0 14.1 Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington v. Trump, 17 Civ. 458 (S.D.N.Y. Dec. 21, 2017).
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Peter Overby, 1 Emoluments Clause Lawsuit Is Dismissed, Trump Faces Others In 2018, Morning Edition, NPR (January 19, 2018).
- ↑ Peter Overby, Federal Judge Seems Sympathetic To Anti-Corruption Case Against President Trump, Morning Edition, NPR (January 26, 2018).
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. (PACER current docket viewPaid subscription required)
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- ↑ Brief of Plaintiffs-Appellants, filed April 24, 2018, 2d Cir. Docket 18-0474, Document 27
- ↑ CREW v. Trump (2d Cir.) (“Argument calendar for October 30”). Text
External links
- Copy of complaint filed in United States District Court (PDF, 37 pages, 271 KB)
- Copy of Second Amended Complaint filed in United States District Court (PDF, 68 pages, 407 KB)
- Copy of Memorandum in support of motion to Dismiss for Lack of Jurisdiction and for Failure to State a Claim (PDF, 70 pages, 687 KB)
- Pages with broken file links
- Use mdy dates from January 2017
- Articles with invalid date parameter in template
- United States district court cases
- Donald Trump litigation
- United States District Court for the Southern District of New York
- United States Constitution Article One case law
- United States Constitution Article Two case law
- United States standing case law
- 2017 in United States case law