On Monday, the attorneys general of Maryland and D.C. will file suit against President Trump, alleging that he violated his oath to the Constitution by accepting payment from foreign governments through his businesses.
"The emoluments clauses command that. the president put the country first and not his own personal interest first", Frosh told the Post on Sunday, referring to the part of the Constitution that prohibits the president from accepting foreign gifts or payments without consent from Congress.
District of Columbia Attorney General Karl Racine and Maryland Attorney General Brian Frosh made the announcement at a jointly held news conference in Washington, confirming the suit has been filed in a court in Maryland. The first was filed in January by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, a D.C. -based watchdog group.
Last month, an artist named Robin Bell projected the words, "Pay Trump bribes here" on the side of the new Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C.
But he has not sold them off as critics said he should do in order to avoid conflicts of interest.
If a federal judge allows the case to proceed, Racine and Frosh say they will demand copies of Trump's personal tax returns in court to gauge the extent of his foreign business dealings.
Trump is the 45th President of the United States. Norm Eisen, the chairman of the board for CREW and a former special counsel for ethics and government reform under President Barack Obama, said they are offering pro bono representation in the case and that he's heard from people across the political spectrum.
The Justice Department on Friday argued in the other lawsuit that the plaintiffs lacked legal standing to sue because they can not allege enough specific harm caused by Trump's businesses.
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The Washington Post was the first to report the possible suit. The attorneys allege Trump violated the Constitution's emoluments clause.
White House press secretary Sean Spicer noted that response at a White House press briefing Monday.
"This case is about the right of hundreds of millions of Americans to honest government".
Their argument is that Trump - who kept ownership of his businesses when he became president of the United States - is violating the so-called emoluments clauses of the Constitution, according to the newspaper.
However, Racine and Frosh insist Trump has not kept promises to keep his public duties and business interests separate.
Trump's unique status as both president and the financial beneficiary of his global business empire raised questions about the little-known emoluments clause of the Constitution even before he took office.
Payments to Trump's hotels do not qualify as a violation of the emoluments clause, which is meant to cover personal services performed by the president, the government said.
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