CREW v. Trump
Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington v. Trump was a case brought before the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. The plaintiffs, watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), hotel and restaurant owner Eric Goode, an association of restaurants known as ROC United, and an Embassy Row hotel event booker named Jill Phaneuf alleged that the defendant, President Donald Trump, was in violation of the Foreign Emoluments Clause, a constitutional provision that bars the president or any other federal official from taking gifts or payments from foreign governments. CREW filed its complaint on January 23, 2017, shortly after Trump was inaugurated as president. An amended complaint, adding the hotel and restaurant industry plaintiffs, was filed on April 18, 2017. A second amended complaint was filed on May 10, 2017. CREW was represented by several prominent lawyers and legal scholars in the case.
| Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington v. Trump | |
|---|---|
| Court | United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit |
| Full case name | Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, Restaurant Opportunities Centers United, Inc., Jill Phaneuf, and Eric Goode, Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. Donald J. Trump, in his official capacity as President of the United States of America, Defendant-Appellee. |
| Argued | October 30 2018 |
| Decided | September 13 2019 |
| Case history | |
| Prior history | 276 F. Supp. 3d 174 (S.D.N.Y. 2018) |
| Holding | |
| Plaintiffs have standing to bring an Emoluments Clause suit against President Donald Trump. | |
| Court membership | |
| Judge(s) sitting | Pierre N. Leval, Christopher F. Droney, John M. Walker, Jr. |
| Case opinions | |
| Majority | Leval, joined by Droney |
| Dissent | Walker |
U.S. District Judge George B. Daniels dismissed the case on December 21, 2017, holding that plaintiffs lacked standing. On appeal, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit reversed the dismissal, reinstated the suit, and remanded the case to the district court for further proceedings. In January 2021, the U.S. Supreme Court instructed the lower courts to dismiss the case (and a similar case brought by Maryland and the District of Columbia) as moot, because Trump was no longer president.