that's the big difference. Both he and they know that every dollar they spend there goes into Trump's pocket, and all he has to do is ask, "Where are you staying while you're in town?" to find out whether they are worthy of his largesse.
I think what rankles me most (at least concerning this topic) is the lie he told during the campaign that he would put his assets into a blind trust run by his children. It then turns out his children give their father regular reports on how the Trump organization is doing, and then discuss other ways to use Trump's position to generate more income for the family coffers.
I hope the lawsuit that AGs from Maryland and D.C. brought against Donnie Scoops for violating the Emoluments clause will go all the way, or at least complete discovery, which is the next step in the process.
The DOJ has failed twice so far to get the case thrown out of court, first on the "you don't have standing to sue" argument and then on the "there's no quid pro quo" one. The government lawyers had argued that unless it was an explicit bribe that was directly paid to the president, and the briber got something in return, it didn't fall under the Emoluments clause. The judge rejected that narrow definition.
Where the case now stands is that the judge has focused the case solely on the Trump hotel in the Old Post Office building, which is leased from the government. The next step is for the AGs to begin discovery, which is a bucket of worms the DOJ will fight with everything they've got. If there's one thing that Trump's shenanigans can't stand up to, it's the truth. "The thing about science is that facts don't change, no matter what you believe," said Neil Degrasse Tyson, and I think it applies to the law as well.
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