Maryland, D.C. get subpoena power in Trump emoluments suit

The following article by Jonathan O’Connell and David A. Fahrenthold was posted on the Washington Post website November 29, 2017:

Maryland Attorney General E. Brian Frosh canserve subpoenas requiring the Trump Organization to preserve documents in an “emoluments” lawsuit he and the D.C. attorney general filed.(Jonathan Newton / The Washington Post)

A federal judge Tuesday ordered President Trump’s business to preserve records related to a lawsuit brought by the Democratic attorneys general from Maryland and the District of Columbia that allege his private company has violated anti-corruption clauses in the Constitution.

With the ruling, D.C. Attorney General Karl A. Racine and Maryland Attorney General Brian E. Frosh are now permitted toserve subpoenas requiring the Trump Organization to preserve documents if the court allows the two sides to seek evidence from one another.

The decision by Judge Peter J. Messitte is a small advancement in one of the most high-profile attempts to get a court to consider a case on the emoluments clauses of the Constitution, which bars the president from accepting gifts or payments from foreign or state governments. Continue reading “Maryland, D.C. get subpoena power in Trump emoluments suit”