Supreme Court Dismisses Emoluments Cases Against Former President Trump
- by Virginia Carter
- in World Media
- — Jan 27, 2021
"We are proud that because of our case, a court ruled on the meaning of "emoluments" for the first time in American history, finding that the Constitution prohibits federal officials from accepting nearly anything of value from foreign or domestic governments", the statement reads.
The Supreme Court threw out disputes Monday claiming Donald Trump profited from the presidency through financial interest in his private company in a breach of the Constitution's emoluments clause.
"The provisions prohibit the president from accepting any gift, office, title or emolument from a foreign state or domestic officials without congressional approval", the CBS article read.
In a brief order, the Supreme Court requested "with instructions to dismiss the case as moot" and ordered the lower courts from the 2nd U.S. Circuit and the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to "vacated the judgment" and "remanded" the cases ordered, thus wiping the earlier decisions off the books.
One of the cases, Trump v. Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, was brought on behalf of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington and businesses in the hospitality and restaurant industry by several well-known lawyers and academics. Two lower courts let the cases proceed to the Supreme Court.
Unlike other presidents, Trump did not use a blind trust to maintain his business assets while in office, but instead, retained an interest in his business and allowed those businesses to take money from foreign and domestic governments, sometimes hosting foreign and domestic officials at the Trump International Hotel.
President Donald Trump in August 2019.
Despite the ruling in this case, Trump still faces legal jeopardy on multiple fronts. The Court instructed the appeals courts to "dismiss the case as moot", citing United States v. Munsingwear (1950), in which the Supreme Court upheld a dismissal for mootness after both parties claimed the matter was moot.
A third emoluments lawsuit was previously brought forth by over 200 Democratic congressional lawmakers but was ultimately dismissed in February 2020 by a federal appeals court.
The high court's action was the first in an expected steady stream of orders and rulings on pending lawsuits involving Trump now that his presidency has ended.
