D.C., Maryland to sue Trump alleging breach of constitutional oath

The Washington Post reports:

Attorneys general for the District of Columbia and the state of Maryland say they will sue President Donald Trump on Monday, alleging that he has violated anti-corruption clauses in the Constitution by accepting millions in payments and benefits from foreign governments since moving into the White House.

The lawsuit, the first of its kind brought by government entities, centers on the fact that Trump chose to retain ownership of his company when he became president. Trump said in January that he was shifting his business assets into a trust managed by his sons to eliminate potential conflicts of interests.

But D.C. Attorney General Karl Racine, D, and Maryland Attorney General Brian Frosh, D, say Trump has broken many promises to keep separate his public duties and private business interests. For one, his son Eric Trump has said the president would continue to receive regular updates about his company's financial health.

The lawsuit, which Racine and Frosh described to The Washington Post on Sunday night, could open a new front for Trump as he navigates dueling investigations by special counsel Robert Mueller and congressional committees of possible collusion between his associates and the Russian government during the 2016 presidential campaign.

If a federal judge allows the case to proceed, Racine and Frosh say, one of the first steps would be to demand through the discovery process copies of Trump's personal tax returns to gauge the extent of his foreign business dealings. That fight would most likely end up before the Supreme Court, the two said, with Trump's attorneys having to defend why the returns should remain private.

No word yet from alleged "great student" Barack Obama on this story. Who knew the state of Maryland and D.C had standing on this issue?