Updates to our Terms of Use

We are updating our Terms of Use. Please carefully review the updated Terms before proceeding to our website.

Thursday, March 28, 2024 | Back issues
Courthouse News Service Courthouse News Service

Attorneys General Drop Subpoenas on Trump Organization, Fed Agencies

Attorneys general for the District of Columbia and Maryland dropped hundreds of  pages of subpoenas Tuesday evening demanding financial records tied to the Trump Organization, according to the Maryland attorney general’s office.

(CN) – Attorneys general for the District of Columbia and Maryland dropped hundreds of  pages of subpoenas Tuesday evening demanding financial records tied to the Trump Organization, according to the Maryland attorney general’s office.

The subpoenas come on the heels of a Monday ruling by U.S. District Judge Peter Messite, who approved a schedule for discovery of evidence related to allegations that President Donald Trump violated the Constitution’s emoluments clause by allowing foreign and domestic government entities to spend money at the Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C.

Thirty-seven entities have been targeted in the subpoenas. Thirteen Trump-owned private businesses were also named, including DJT Holdings, the Trump Organization, Trump International Hotels Management Member Corporation, Trump International Hotels Management, Trump Old Post Office, Trump Old Post Office Member Corporation, Trump Organization LLC and several others.

A slew of federal agencies that could have information about Trump’s hotel, including the General Services Administration which holds the hotel’s lease, were also subpoenaed.

Several of the subpoenas also demand all state and federal income tax return records.

The subpoenas also repeatedly state that if attorney-client privilege, “or any other privilege or protection, (including any deliberative process, work product, joint defense or common interest protection)” is requested, an explanation must be provided with documentation.

In the subpoenas, the states primarily seek information about which foreign or domestic governments are currently paying the hotel, where the money is flowing and how the president’s hotel in Washington has affected business both in the capitol and nearby Maryland.

Records like payments to the president from state and government officials as well as proof of revenue at the hotel dating back as far as 2015 have also been demanded.

In the past, Department of Justice attorneys representing the president have said the earnings aren’t emoluments, or gifts.

Last week, department attorneys argued in court that a schedule for discovery of evidence would be a “distraction” from the president’s duty.

Neither the Trump Organization nor the Department of Justice immediately returned request for comment Tuesday.

Categories / Government, National, Politics

Subscribe to Closing Arguments

Sign up for new weekly newsletter Closing Arguments to get the latest about ongoing trials, major litigation and hot cases and rulings in courthouses around the U.S. and the world.

Loading...