A federal district court judge has ruled against Donald Trump, refusing to halt the emoluments lawsuit congressional Democrats have brought against him. Judge Emmet G. Sullivan of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia ruled that evidence collection in the suit, alleging that Trump has been illegally profiting from his businesses while in office, will begin on Friday.
The Department of Justice, now Trump's personal law firm, apparently, says that it will appeal the ruling. It had asked Sullivan to delay the lawsuit brought by nearly 200 congressional Democrats in order to allow it to appeal his previous ruling from September that lawmakers had standing to sue and his additional opinion issued in April adopting the definition of "emolument" put forward by the Democrats. He then wrote that congressional Democrats presented "overwhelming evidence" from "over two hundred years of understanding the scope of the clause to be broad." Sullivan said in his ruling Tuesday that the president's lawyers had failed to meet the high legal standard demonstrating that an immediate appeal was warranted.
A second emoluments case, brought by the attorneys general of the District of Columbia and Maryland, is currently in front of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit. A federal judge ruled in that case against administration lawyers’ request for an immediate appeal, but the 4th Circuit has agreed to review the case and has temporarily blocked the attorneys general from issuing subpoenas for financial records and other Trump Organization documents.
Sen. Richard Blumenthal, one of leaders in the congressional case, said after the ruling that "Judge Sullivan articulated what the law makes clear: there is absolutely no reason to delay one more day in ensuring that President Trump is held accountable for his violation of the Constitution's preeminent anti-corruption provision." Trump is clearly trying to run out the clock, requesting delay after delay so that the case—and the discovery—are put off until after the election. At least one judge isn't willing to play that game.