{"id":1253,"date":"2020-02-08T21:09:54","date_gmt":"2020-02-09T01:09:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ielrblog.com\/?p=1253"},"modified":"2020-02-08T21:09:54","modified_gmt":"2020-02-09T01:09:54","slug":"u-s-court-of-appeals-for-d-c-circuit-rules-congress-lacks-standing-on-emoluments-case","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ielrblog.com\/index.php\/2020\/02\/08\/u-s-court-of-appeals-for-d-c-circuit-rules-congress-lacks-standing-on-emoluments-case\/","title":{"rendered":"U.S. Court of Appeals for D.C. Circuit Rules Congress Lacks Standing on Emoluments Case"},"content":{"rendered":"

On February 7, 2020, the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit in a per curiam ruling<\/a> decided the 215 Members of Congress did not have standing to sue President Donald Trump over alleged violations of the U.S. Constitution\u2019s Foreign Emoluments Clause (Clause).[1]<\/a><\/p>\n

The opinion reverses the district court\u2019s decision, denying President Trump\u2019s motion to dismiss.<\/p>\n

Complaint<\/em><\/p>\n

On June 14, 2017, the Members filed their complaint.\u00a0 They seek declaratory and injunctive relief against the President in his official capacity. The Members allege that President Trump \u201chas a financial interest in vast business holdings around the world that engage in dealings with foreign governments and receive benefits from those governments\u201d and that \u201c[b]y virtue of that financial interest, [he] has accepted, or necessarily will accept, \u2018Emoluments\u2019 from \u2018foreign States\u2019 while holding the office of President.\u201d<\/p>\n

They allege the President\u2019s failure to seek and obtain congressional consent has \u201ccompletely nullified,\u201d the votes they are authorized to case to approve or disapprove his acceptance of foreign emoluments.<\/p>\n

Because the Foreign Emoluments Clause allegedly requires the President to obtain \u2018the Consent of the Congress\u2019 before accepting otherwise prohibited \u2018Emoluments,\u201d Plaintiffs, as members of Congress, must have the opportunity to case a binding vote that gives or withholds their \u2018Consent\u2019 before the President accepts any such \u2019Emolument.\u2019\u201d\u00a0 They further allege that the Clause is \u201cunique.\u201d<\/p>\n

First, the Clause imposes a procedural requirement (obtain \u201cthe consent of the Congress\u201d that federal officials must satisfy before they take a specific action (accept \u201cany\u201d emolument from \u201cany\u2026foreign State\u201d).\u00a0 U.S. Const. art. I, \u00a7 9, cl. 8.\u00a0 The failure to obtain Congressional before accepting emoluments deprives the plaintiffs of their right to vote on whether to consent to its acceptance.<\/p>\n

Plaintiffs claims that, because President Trump is violating the Clause through his private businesses, without the need for government funds or personnel, Congress cannot use its power of the purse to stop him.<\/p>\n

The President moved to dismiss, arguing that (1) the Members lack standing; (2) no cause of action authorized their lawsuit; (3) they failed to state a claim upon which relief could be granted; and (4) the requested relief, an injunction against the President in his official capacity, violates the Constitution.<\/p>\n

District Court Decision<\/em><\/p>\n

The district court bifurcated the issues, addressed standing first.\u00a0 It held that the Members \u201csustained their burden to show that they have standing to bring their claims.\u00a0 Blumenthal v. Trump<\/em>, 335 F. Supp. 3d 45, 54 (D.D.C. 2018).\u00a0 The President then moved to certify the district court\u2019s standing order for interlocutory appeal under 28 U.S.C. \u00a7 1292(b),\u00a0 which motion was denied on June 25, 2019, Blumenthal v. Trump<\/em>, 382 F. Supp. 3d 77, 83 (June 25, 2019).\u00a0 During the pendency of the certification motion, the district court denied the remainder of the President\u2019s motion to dismiss.\u00a0 The district court held that the Members had an implied equitable cause of action for injunctive relief and that they had stated a claim under the emoluments clause.\u00a0 Blumenthal v. Trump<\/em>, 373 F. Supp. 3d 191, 207-09 (D.D.C. 2019).<\/p>\n

Appellate Court Decision<\/em><\/p>\n

The President then petitioned the Court of Appeals for a writ of mandamus.\u00a0 The appellate court granted the interlocutory appeal.<\/p>\n

The appellate court explained that \u201c[n]o principle is more fundamental to the judiciary\u2019s proper role in our system of government than the constitutional limitation of federal-court jurisdiction to actual cases or controversies.\u00a0 Standing to sue is a doctrine rooted in the traditional understanding of a case of controversy.\u201d\u00a0 Spokeo Inc. v Robins<\/em>, 136 S.Ct. 1540, 1547 (2016) (quoting Raines v. Byrd<\/em>, 521 U.S. 811, 818 (1997). Only 29 Senators and 186 Members of the House of Representatives brought the case.\u00a0 They do not constitute a majority of either body and hence do not have power to approve or deny the President\u2019s acceptance of foreign emoluments.\u00a0 As a result, the appellate court found the plaintiffs lack standing.<\/p>\n

The current issue of the IELR will discuss the case in more detail.<\/p>\n

[1]<\/a> \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Richard Blumenthal v. Donald J. Trump<\/em>, U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, No. 19-5237 (Feb. 7, 2020).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

On February 7, 2020, the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit in a per curiam ruling decided the 215 Members of Congress did not have standing to sue President Donald Trump over alleged violations of the U.S. Constitution\u2019s Foreign Emoluments Clause (Clause).[1] The opinion reverses the district court\u2019s decision, denying […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[79,64,80,63],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-1253","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-corruption","7":"category-lobbying","8":"category-national-security","9":"category-transparency-and-governance","10":"entry"},"yoast_head":"\nU.S. Court of Appeals for D.C. 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