WASHINGTON-Lawyers for President Donald Trump are asking a federal judge to toss a civil lawsuit accusing the president of violating the Constitution because his businesses accept money from foreign governments.
In a court hearing today in New York, Justice Department lawyers were expected to argue that the ban on foreign money is meant only to address gifts or emoluments to the president in his official capacity. They have said Trump's business arrangements are a political question, not a legal one, and should be addressed by Congress, not the courts.
The case brings the prospect of penetrating some of the obscurity surrounding Trump's complicated financial empire-including a web of hundreds of corporate entities around the world-and resolving questions about the international sources of Trump's money.
Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, a left-leaning public policy group, filed the lawsuit in January in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.
The judge, George B. Daniels, was not expected to rule immediately on the question after today's hearing.
"We need to know if our president is financially dependent on any foreign governments," said Richard Painter, who is vice-chair of CREW and formerly the chief ethics lawyer for President George W. Bush.
A Justice Department spokeswoman said the agency looked forward to Wednesday's hearing.
One significant aspect of the case, if the judge allows it to proceed, could involve the production of Trump's closely-held tax returns, which may show foreign business income and financial relationships.
The case centers on the "Emoluments Clause," which states that no U.S. official can without Congress' consent "accept any present, emolument, office, or title of any kind whatever, from any king, prince, or foreign state."