Article snippet: Government attorneys on Wednesday asked a New York federal judge to throw out a lawsuit accusing President Donald Trump of violating the Constitution every time a foreign government patronizes a Trump property. The government attorneys were responding to a lawsuit filed this year by representatives of hotels and restaurants who say they have suffered damages, along with watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics and Washington (CREW). The suit charges that Trump's ongoing ties to Trump-branded businesses worldwide is in violation of the so-called Justice Department attorneys argued before Judge George B. Daniels, saying that Trump is no different. When foreign governments book rooms in Trump hotels, they said, it is not an emolument. Daniels challenged the Justice Department’s narrow definition of “emolument” and said that if a foreign entity “expects something” in exchange for a payment, that would be an emolument, not a gift, even if the president did not follow through on a presumed quid pro quo. The judge asked the parties if the president is automatically prohibited from selling goods and services at fair market value to a foreign government, a seemingly open legal question. He then pressed the plaintiffs over their arguments for what's known in the legal world as standing, or their right to sue. The plaintiffs argued, for example, that there are four midtown Manhattan restaurants with two Michelin stars, excluding sushi restaura... Link to the full article to read more