Watchdog group plans to sue Trump over foreign payments

A watchdog group said it will file a federal lawsuit Monday that accuses President Donald Trump of violating the Constitution.

In a statement Sunday, the liberal Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington said the Constitution's foreign emoluments clause "prohibits Trump from receiving anything of value from foreign governments, including foreign government-owned businesses, without the approval of Congress."

"Since Trump refused to divest from his businesses, he is now getting cash and favors from foreign governments, through guests and events at his hotels, leases in his buildings, and valuable real-estate deals abroad," the statement said.
Trump's attorney, Sheri A. Dillon, told reporters earlier this month that Trump's businesses do not violate the emoluments clause.
"No one would have thought when the Constitution was written that paying your hotel bill was an emolument," she said at the time.

CREW's legal team reportedly includes two former White House ethics lawyers – one from President George W. Bush's administration and one from President Barack Obama's.

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