Judge dismisses lawsuit alleging Trump violated Constitution A federal judge dismissed a lawsuit Thursday alleging that President Trump violated the Constitution’s emoluments clause because his hotels and restaurants do business with foreign governments while he is in office. The plaintiffs argued that because Trump properties rent out hotel rooms and meeting spaces to other governments, the president was violating a constitutional provision that bans the acceptance of foreign emoluments, or gifts from foreign powers. But Judge George B. Daniels of the Southern District of New York ruled that the plaintiffs, led by the government watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), lacked standing to bring such a case, saying it was up to Congress to prevent the president from accepting emoluments. CREW said it plans to appeal the verdict. “As the only political branch with the power to consent to violations of the Foreign Emoluments Clause, Congress is the appropriate body to determine whether, and to what extent, Defendant’s conduct unlawfully infringes on that power,” Daniels wrote in his ruling. The suit was one of the most high-profile efforts to take aim at Trump’s decision to hold onto his hotel and golf-course business while in the White House. However, the president faces similar suits: one filed by a group of congressional Democrats and another filed by the attorneys general of Maryland and the District. [...] https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/judge-dismisses-lawsuit-alleging-trump-violated-constitution/2017/12/21/31011510-e697-11e7-ab50-621fe0588340_story.html
2 of the 3 major panels investigating Trump and Russia have become gripped by ugly infighting Two of the three congressional committees investigating Russian interference in the 2016 election are being gripped by partisan infighting. The Senate Judiciary Committee is split as to the focus of its investigation. The House Intelligence Committee could release two separate reports — one from Democrats and one from Republicans. http://www.businessinsider.com/congress-trump-russia-investigations-devin-nunes-2017-12
#MarchForTruth As the nation speculates whether or not Special Counsel Robert Mueller will be fired, activists across the country are gearing up for a nationwide response. https://www.marchfortruth.info/mueller-rapid-response/
Russia probe looms over Trump’s Mar-a-Lago retreat Trump’s aides and allies hope he’ll lay low during his holiday break, but it's the type of situation in which he seems to generate his biggest self-inflicted crises. https://www.politico.com/story/2017/12/22/trump-mar-lago-holiday-313537
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