RICHMOND, Va. — A federal appeals court is set to rehear arguments Thursday in a lawsuit that accuses President Donald Trump of illegally profiting off the presidency through his luxury Washington hotel. The state of Maryland and the District of Columbia will ask the full 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to reconsider a ruling by a three-judge panel that directed a federal judge in Maryland to dismiss the lawsuit. The two jurisdictions allege that Trump has violated the emoluments clause of the Constitution by accepting profits through foreign and domestic officials who stay at the Trump International Hotel. Maryland Attorney General Brian Frosh and District Attorney General Karl Racine have argued that hotels in their jurisdictions suffer “competitive injury” because officials hoping to curry favor with the president are more likely to stay at his hotel.

Source: International New York Times December 12, 2019 06:11 UTC