Polis Statement on Day-One of the Foreign Emoluments Case Against President Trump

Press Release

Rep. Jared Polis, along with 168 House Members and 29 Senators, is a plaintiff in a U.S. District Court case against President Trump for violations of the Foreign Emoluments Clause. Arguments start today in Washington, D.C.

The Foreign Emolument Clause is in the U.S. Constitution, and it prohibits the President of the United States from profiting from foreign governments without the consent of Congress.

"President Trump chooses Wall Street and money, money, money over working Americans every day. He uses his position of power to cheat the system then laugh at everyone else who plays by the rules -- and struggles to get ahead. He does it through his policy decisions, but also by violating the U.S. Constitution. Even though Pres. Trump thinks he can act without consequence and pardon himself if he wants to do so, we know better. We can and must hold him accountable," said Polis.

Pres. Trump has at least 25 conflicts of interests with countries. He has profited from foreign governments while president through various ways, such as:

The Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, which is owned by China, and the Abu Dhabi Tourism and Culture Authority, which is owned by the United Arab Emirates, lease Trump properties in New York City.
The Chinese government extended a $500 million loan to an Indonesian company building a theme park featuring Trump-branded hotels, golf courses, and residences. The Trump Organization earned between $1 million and $5 million from the existing project in 2016 and early 2017.
Since President Trump took office, the Chinese government has granted preliminary approval of 38 new trademarks worth millions to Trump and one of his companies and subsequently granted final approval to 36 of these trademarks.
A lobbying firm employed by Saudi Arabia spent $270,000 on rooms and other expenses at President Trump's Washington hotel after Inauguration Day.

Over the last several months, Polis has attempted to hold President Trump and his administration accountable, in every way possible. In Dec. 2017, he moved to begin impeachment proceedings. Prior to that, he has sponsored several other bills. For example, he is a co-sponsor of the Protecting our Democracy Act, which would set up an independent investigation to thoroughly investigate interference in the 2016 elections. In addition, he co-sponsored the Presidential Conflicts of Interest Act, which would require the President and Vice President to disclose and divest from any investment that could present a conflict of interest, and also require the President and Vice President to disclose their three most recent tax returns.

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