<P> After Donald J. Trump was inaugurated as President of the United States, the Trump International Hotel became the focus of legal controversy . World leaders stated Trump was encouraging emissaries to stay at Trump hotels while visiting . Trump family members, such as Ivanka, have profited from their stake in the hotel while Donald Trump has been president . </P> <P> In January 2017, a lawsuit against Trump was brought by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) and several prominent legal scholars--including Laurence Tribe of Harvard Law School, former White House Special Counsel for Ethics and Government Reform Norman L. Eisen, Erwin Chemerinsky of the UC Irvine, and Zephyr Teachout of Fordham University . The lawsuit argues that Trump is in violation of the Foreign Emoluments Clause of the United States because his hotels, as well as other businesses, are accepting payments from foreign guests . The suit is pending in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York . </P> <P> On June 12, 2017, the Attorney General Karl Racine of the District of Columbia and Attorney General Brian Frosh of Maryland filed a joint lawsuit in the United States District Court for the District of Maryland against President Trump alleging both foreign and domestic emoluments clause violations of the United States Constitution . Similar to CREW v. Trump, Attorneys General Racine and Frosh cite The Trump Organization receipt of foreign money at Trump Hotels and other businesses as a violation of the constitution, and that this transaction negatively affects the economy of Washington, D.C. and Maryland, as well as the best interests of the American public . </P> <P> On June 14, 2017, lead by Senator Richard Blumenthal and Representative John Conyers, Jr., more than a third of the voting members of Congress filed a lawsuit alleging violations of the Foreign Emoluments Clause seeking the right to be informed of and approve of gifts from foreign governments before they are received . The lawsuit makes specific allegations concerning attempts to solicit foreign governments at the Old Post Office building . </P>

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