(PartiallyPolitics.com) – On Monday, the Supreme Court agreed to hear an appeal from the Biden administration to limit the lawsuits the Congress members were able to file against the federal government. This case stems from disputes about the former Trump International Hotel in Washington.
The justices are going to be reviewing the federal appeals court ruling which allowed the Democratic members of the House Oversight Committee to proceed after filing a complaint in 2017 over the Trump’s administration choosing to not turn over any information about the Trump Organization’s lease of the hotel. The hotel in question is no longer owned by the Trump family and has now been turned into a Waldorf Astoria. The information requested at the time has for the most part been provided and six of the lawmakers involved in the case are no longer members of Congress.
Despite this, the Justice Department has told the court that it was important to dismiss the appellate ruling as it could eventually lead to further lawsuits from individual Congress members. The case is going to be heard in the fall.
During the Trump administration, the hotel was frequently criticized for receiving money from Republican politicians, companies, and foreign governments who wanted to curry favor with then-President Donald Trump. The hotel was located in the federally-owned Old Post Office, and the Trump family had previously held a lease to use the building.
Despite the prohibition in the lease for elected officials, Trump refused to sell his stake in the hotel. This has led to an increase in those who question whether Trump illegally benefitted from owning the hotel and thus violated the Constitution’s emoluments clause.
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