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U.S. NEWS Tuesday 4 december 2018

D.C., Md. officials ready with subpoenas in Trump hotel case

By TAMI ABDOLLAH
Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) — The
attorneys general of the
District of Columbia and
Maryland said Monday
that they are moving for-
ward with subpoenas for
records in their case accus-
ing President Donald Trump
of profiting off the presi-
dency.
U.S. District Court Judge
Peter J. Messitte approved
the legal discovery sched-
ule in an order Monday.
Such information would
likely provide the first clear
picture of the finances of
Trump's Washington, D.C.,
hotel.
Trump's Justice Depart-
ment lawyers filed a notice
to the court Friday that ap-
peared to challenge the
Maryland judge's decision
to allow the case to move
forward. The president's
notice that he may seek
a writ of mandamus — to
have the appeal heard by
a higher court — is consid- In this Dec. 21, 2016, file photo, the Trump International Hotel at 1100 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, is seen in Washington.
ered an "extraordinary rem- Associated Press
edy" that's hard to prove
and partly rests on showing
Messitte's decisions to be said in a statement that the from foreign or state gov- 2015, on an ongoing basis. or from foreign or domestic
clearly wrong. subpoenas would go out ernments without congres- The court filings cite docu- governments."
The Justice Department to third-party organizations sional approval. ment categories for pres- According to the agreed-
declined to comment. and federal agencies "to A clue as to what entities ervation, including those upon schedule, if there are
"We've got the discovery gather the necessary evi- may receive subpoenas from Nov. 8, 2016, onward no delays, legal discovery
ready to go," said Mary- dence to prove that Presi- may can be found in pres- concerning "marketing to would conclude in early
land Attorney General Bri- dent Trump is violating the ervation subpoenas filed foreign or domestic gov- August.
an Frosh. "Their objective at Constitution's emoluments more than a year ago with ernments, including mem- "The president is engaging
this point is just to keep the clauses — our nation's origi- 23 Trump-related entities, bers of the diplomatic in very serious constitutional
doors shut, they don't want nal anti-corruption laws." including The Donald J. community." violations every day in our
any of this information out Trump has been fighting Trump Revocable Trust, The Other noted categories for view, so we're glad to have
in public and they don't multiple lawsuits that argue Trump Organization, the preservation include docu- the opportunity to bring this
want our case to move for- foreign representatives' Mar-a-Lago Club Inc. and ments that would iden- case to closure promptly in
ward. spending money at the entities related to his D.C. tify guests of the hotel and 2019," said Norman Eisen,
So they're going to be be Trump International Hotel hotel and its management, those who have rented chairman of the nonprofit
obstructing as much as are violations of the Consti- among others. event space, details on all Citizens for Responsibility
they can." tution's emoluments clause, The subpoena requires the finances, and "operating and Ethics in Washington,
District of Columbia Attor- which bans federal officials majority of documents to leases, permits, licenses, which is co-counsel with
ney General Karl A. Racine from accepting benefits be preserved from Jan. 1, tax payments or credits to the two jurisdictions.q