Categories for Lawsuit
31,740. 12/12/2019
COURTS/EMOLUMENTS/LAWSUIT/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Democratic and Republican-appointed judges clashed sharply Thursday [12-12-19] over a lawsuit claiming that President Donald Trump is violating the Constitution by profiting from the spending of foreign and state government officials at his luxury Washington hotel. A quartet of lawyers argued for nearly three hours over highly complex legal issues spurred by the suit the District of Columbia and Maryland governments filed over two years ago, accusing Trump of ignoring clauses in the Constitution prohibiting federal officials from supplementing their salaries with ‘emoluments’ from foreign powers or individual states. However, the judges of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals provided the real action Thursday through a series of pithy, blunt exchanges with one another over the implications of allowing the case to proceed.”
-Josh Gerstein, “‘This one’s a lemon’ vs. ‘Is he above the law?’: Judges spar over Trump emoluments case,” Politico, December 12, 2019 7:38 pm
31,430. 12/8/2019
–Donald Trump, Twitter.com, December 8, 2019 6:18 pm
31,343. 12/7/2019
–Donald Trump, Twitter.com, December 7, 2019 4:13 pm
31,255. 12/5/2019
LAWSUIT/MEDIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/WOMEN: “A former Playboy model who has said she had an affair with Donald J. Trump before he was president sued Fox News on Thursday [12-5-19], saying that Tucker Carlson, one of the network’s hosts, had intentionally defamed her on his television show. The model, Karen McDougal, said Mr. Carlson had falsely accused her of extortion last year when he said that she ‘approached Donald Trump and threatened to ruin his career and humiliate his family if he doesn’t give them money.’ Ms. McDougal said in the lawsuit, which was filed in New York State court in Manhattan, that she never threatened Mr. Trump. She is seeking damages from Fox News for harming her reputation, but she does not name Mr. Carlson as a defendant. The network is responsible for his comments, she said, and his accusations were reckless and easy to verify as false.”
–Nicholas Bogel-Burroughs, “Karen McDougal, Who Claimed Trump Affair, Sues Fox News,” The New York Times online, December 5, 2019
30,874. 11/21/2019
ELECTION/INVESTIGATIONS/LAWSUIT/TRUMP TAXES: “President Donald Trump, facing lawsuits and political demands to release his U.S. tax returns and other financial information, said on Thursday [11-21-19] he will release a statement on his finances before the presidential election, and asserted that it was his call on providing the information…Trump also said Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s two-year investigation into Russian interference in elections, which most recently led to the criminal conviction of Trump’s former adviser Roger Stone, showed that his finances were in order. Mueller ‘went over all of my financials, & my taxes, and found nothing. Now the Witch Hunt continues with local New York Democrat prosecutors going over every financial deal I have ever done. This has never happened to President before. What they are doing is not legal,’ Trump wrote.”
–Reuters Staff, “Trump Says He Will Release ‘Financial Statement’ Before 2020 Election: Tweet,” The New York Times online, November 21, 2019
30,118. 10/31/2019
DRUGS/LAWSUIT/POLICE/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “RT @IngrahamAngle: Heroin addict drags NYPD cop with his car — and wins $11 million in court https://t.co/jWsRXdljBj via @nypmetro”
–Donald Trump, Twitter.com, October 31, 2019 7:38 pm
30,052. 10/30/2019
LAWSUIT/MEDIA/TRUMP PEOPLE: “A Federal Judge is allowing the Nick Sandman libel suit to move forward against the thoroughly disgusting Washington Post (which is no longer available at the White House!). He could now have a good chance of winning. Go Nick!”
–Donald Trump, Twitter.com, October 30, 2019 7:26 am
30,025. 10/29/2019
BRITAIN/LAWSUIT/STATE/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “The family of Harry Dunn, the teenage motorcyclist who was killed in a crash in Britain in August, is suing the Trump administration for ‘lawless misconduct,’ a spokesman for the family said on Tuesday [10-29-19]. Mr. Dunn, 19, died after his motorcycle collided with a car that the police said had been traveling on the wrong side of the road on Aug. 27 in Brackley, a town about 60 miles northwest of London. The case ignited a diplomatic tug-of-war between Britain and the United States after the woman thought to be driving the car, Anne Sacoolas, the wife of an American diplomat, claimed immunity and left the country a little over two weeks after the accident. Seeking resolution in the case, Mr. Dunn’s parents have petitioned the highest echelons of government on both sides of the Atlantic, culminating with a meeting at the White House this month that left them disillusioned after President Trump unexpectedly announced that Ms. Sacoolas was in an adjacent room and wanted to meet with them. They declined to do so.”
–Iliana Magra, “Harry Dunn’s Parents Say They Will Sue Trump Administration,” The New York Times online, October 29, 2019
29,904. 10/25/2019
DEMS/LAWSUIT/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “My lawyers should sue the Democrats and Shifty Adam Schiff for fraud!”
–Donald Trump, Twitter.com, October 25, 2019 6:33 pm
29,541. 10/16/2019
ELECTION/LAWSUIT/MEDIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Lawyers for U.S. President Donald Trump and his re-election campaign have threatened in a letter to sue CNN for what they said was the network falsely advertising itself as a news organization, calling on executives to first discuss an ‘appropriate resolution’ to the matter that would include a “substantial” payment to cover damages. The letter, dated Oct. 16 and made public on Friday, is the latest threat by Trump to sue a media organization over what he sees as unfair media coverage since launching his 2016 presidential campaign, although no lawsuits have been filed. ‘This is nothing more than a desperate PR stunt and doesn’t merit a response,’ a CNN spokesman said in an email. Rebecca Tushnet, a professor of false advertising law at Harvard Law School, said there was ‘no merit’ to the letter’s legal arguments and that she doubted a lawsuit would ever be filed.”
–Jan Wolfe, “Trump threatens to sue CNN, seeks ‘substantial’ payment over damages: letter,” Reuters, October 16, 2019 10:43 am
28,673. 9/25/2019
COURTS/LAWSUIT/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “A looming legal showdown over a judge’s order requiring President Donald Trump to give videotaped testimony in a suit brought by anti-Trump protesters has been delayed after an appellate judge postponed the trial in the case, which had been scheduled to go to jury selection in New York on Thursday [9-26-19]. Acting on an appeal filed Tuesday by Trump’s attorneys, New York Supreme Court Appellate Division Justice Dianne Renwick put off the trial so that the dispute over Trump’s testimony could be resolved. A written order detailing Renwick’s ruling did not explain her rationale but said that both the order for Trump to give a videotaped deposition and the start of the trial itself were stayed pending further action by the ‘full bench’ of the state court appellate panel on which she sits. The suit stems from a 2015 demonstration outside Trump Tower in Manhattan over anti-Mexican comments by then-candidate Trump.”
–Josh Gerstein, “Appeals judge delays trial that triggered order for Trump’s testimony,” Politico, September 25, 2019 7:00 am
28,557. 9/19/2019
INVESTIGATIONS/LAWSUIT/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Lawyers for President Trump argued in a lawsuit filed on Thursday [9-19-19] that he could not be criminally investigated while in office, as they sought to block a subpoena from state prosecutors in Manhattan demanding eight years of his tax returns. Taking a broad position that the lawyers acknowledged had not been tested, the president’s legal team argued in the complaint that the Constitution effectively makes sitting presidents immune from all criminal inquiries until they leave the White House. Presidents, they asserted, have such enormous responsibility and play a unique role in government that they cannot be subject to the burden of investigations, especially from local prosecutors who may use the criminal process for political gain. Several constitutional law scholars interviewed by The New York Times said that if the lawyers’ position were accepted by the court, it would set a sweeping new precedent. But they also said it was far from certain that the theory, which was not based on established case law, would succeed. While an onslaught of investigations would most assuredly disrupt a presidency, the Constitution does not explicitly say that presidents are shielded from criminal inquiries.”
–Michael Gold, “Trump Lawyers Argue He Cannot Be Criminally Investigated,” The New York Times online, September 19, 2019
28,374. 9/13/2019
EMOLUMENTS/LAWSUIT/NEW YORK/TRUMP BUSINESS: “A federal appeals court in New York on Friday [9-13-19] revived a lawsuit alleging that President Trump is illegally profiting from his hotels and restaurants in New York and Washington in violation of the Constitution’s anti-corruption, or emoluments, clauses. In a two-to-one decision, a panel of judges for the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit found that a lower court had wrongly dismissed the lawsuit accusing Mr. Trump of violating the Constitution’s bans on accepting financial benefits from foreign or state governments. The appeals court judge sent the lawsuit back to the lower court, ordering it be allowed to proceed. The decision comes nearly two years after the lower court judge dismissed the lawsuit. The case is one of three that have been ping-ponging back and forth between district and appeals courts as judges struggle with the novel legal questions raised by Mr. Trump’s decision not to divorce himself from his business empire while in office.”
–Sharon LaFraniere, “U.S. Appeals Court Reinstates Emoluments Case Against Trump,” The New York Times online, September 13, 2019
27,915. 8/29/2019
CONGRESS/LAWSUIT/NEW YORK/TRUMP TAXES: “New York state officials are attempting to have a federal court throw out President Donald Trump’s lawsuit over the possible release of his tax returns to Congress, according to a new court filing on Thursday [8-29-19]. In July, Trump filed suit in federal court in DC against New York state officials and the US House Ways and Means Committee to prevent the disclosure of his state tax returns. The New York State Attorney General’s Office filed a motion to dismiss the case out of Washington. In the motion, New York says DC is an ‘improper venue,’ the federal court does not have jurisdiction over the case and that it ‘plainly belongs in a New York court.’ Its reasoning: The New York attorney general and the state’s taxation and finance commissioner live in the state of New York, and their primary place of business is there as well. If the court doesn’t dismiss the case outright, it should ‘at the very least’ transfer it to federal court in Manhattan, the filing said.”
–Katelyn Polantz and Chandelis Duster, “New York state wants Trump’s suit over tax returns thrown out of DC federal court,” CNN Politics, CNN.com, August 29, 2019 5:10 pm
27,816. 8/25/2019
CALIFORNIA/LAWSUIT/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “RT @JudicialWatch: A Judicial Watch lawsuit forced the state of California to begin removing more than 1.5 million potentially invalid name…”
–Donald Trump, Twitter.com, August 25, 2019 5:36 pm
27,438. 8/14/2019
DEMS/LAWSUIT/NEW YORK/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TRUMP TAXES: “Attorneys for Donald Trump, a powerful House committee and New York state have reached agreement on a new path for handling their fight over the president’s state tax returns, according to a Wednesday [8-14-19] court filing. Under the deal, Trump’s lawyers will file a new amended lawsuit by Monday spelling out their case for why a temporary restraining order is needed to stop the Democrat-led House Ways and Means Committee from using a New York law that could give the panel access to the president’s state tax returns. The joint stipulation agreement reached between the lawyers also spells out a new briefing schedule on Trump’s lawsuit, including a proposal for oral arguments in mid-September before U.S. District Court Judge Carl Nichols in Washington, D.C. Trump filed his original lawsuit last month, after New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed a law giving his state officials the OK to share the president’s state filings with Ways and Means Chairman Richard Neal (D-Mass.) upon request.”
–Darren Samuelsohn, “Trump offers to try again in lawsuit over New York tax returns,” Politico, August 14, 2019 3:36 pm
27,433. 8/14/2019
DEMS/LAWSUIT/NEW YORK/TRUMP TAXES: “Attorneys for Donald Trump, a powerful House committee and New York state have reached agreement on a new path for handling their fight over the president’s state tax returns, according to a Wednesday [8-14-19] court filing. Under the deal, Trump’s lawyers will file a new amended lawsuit by Monday [8-12-19] spelling out their case for why a temporary restraining order is needed to stop the Democrat-led House Ways and Means Committee from using a New York law that could give the panel access to the president’s state tax returns. The joint stipulation agreement reached between the lawyers also spells out a new briefing schedule on Trump’s lawsuit, including a proposal for oral arguments in mid-September before U.S. District Court Judge Carl Nichols in Washington, D.C. Trump filed his original lawsuit last month, after New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed a law giving his state officials the OK to share the president’s state filings with Ways and Means Chairman Richard Neal (D-Mass.) upon request.”
–Darren Samuelsohn, “Trump offers to try again in lawsuit over New York tax returns,” Politico, August 14, 2019 12:24 pm
27,414. 8/13/2019
COURTS/DEMS/INVESTIGATIONS/LAWSUIT/LEGISLATION/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Democrats took control of the House this year promising to use legislation and investigations to check President Trump. But facing substantial roadblocks to each, they are increasingly opposing him in a different way: Eight months into their majority, the House is going to court at a tempo never seen before. Fighting in courtrooms as much as in hearing rooms, the House has already become a party to nine separate lawsuits this year, while also filing briefs for judges in four others. More lawsuits are being drafted, according to a senior aide to Speaker Nancy Pelosi. The fights include efforts to reveal Mr. Trump’s hidden financial dealings, force his aides to testify about his attempts to obstruct the Russia investigation, challenge his invocation of emergency powers to spend more taxpayer money on a border wall than Congress approved and defend laws like the Affordable Care Act that his Justice Department abandoned. While it is routine for the executive branch to be in court, it was once vanishingly rare for Congress, which has typically used its authority to pass laws, appropriate funds and investigate the executive branch, to balance out the president’s power.”
–Charlie Savage and Nicholas Fandos, “The House v. Trump: Stymied Lawmakers Increasingly Battle in the Courts,” The New York Times online, August 13, 2019
27,300. 8/8/2019
ANDREW MCCABE/FBI/JUSTICE DEPARTMENT/LAWSUIT/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe filed suit Thursday [8-8-19] against the FBI and Justice Department, claiming that his March 2018 ouster — on the day he planned to retire after a 21-year career — was politically motivated retaliation driven by President Donald Trump, who was angry at McCabe’s role in the investigation of his campaign’s links to Russia…The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Washington, comes just two days after former FBI counterintelligence agent Peter Strzok filed a similar lawsuit, alleging that Trump’s vendetta against him led to his unceremonious firing, despite a formal disciplinary process that recommended a less severe punishment. Strzok is seeking his old job back or compensation for his lost pay and benefits, while McCabe is seeking the reinstatement of his full retirement benefits.”
–Kyle Cheney, “Andrew McCabe sues DOJ, claims his firing was ‘retaliation’ directed by Trump,” Politico, August 8, 2019 5:04 pm
27,283. 8/8/2019
ANDREW MCCABE/FBI/JUSTICE DEPARTMENT/LAWSUIT/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Andrew G. McCabe, the former F.B.I. deputy director who was fired for statements he made about communications between the bureau and the press, sued the F.B.I. and the Justice Department on Thursday [8-8-19], alleging that the dismissal was retaliatory and politically motivated. The Justice Department engaged in a ‘politically motivated and retaliatory demotion in January 2018 and public firing in March 2018,’ Mr. McCabe said in his lawsuit. He added that President Trump ‘purposefully and intentionally’ pushed the Justice Department to demote and terminate him as part of an ‘unconstitutional plan’ to discredit and remove Justice Department and F.B.I. employees who were ‘deemed to be his partisan opponents.’ Mr. McCabe, 51, was also the subject of a scathing Justice Department inspector general report that accused him of violating the bureau’s media policy when he authorized the disclosure of information to the press and of misleading investigators about what he had done.”
–Katie Benner, “Andrew McCabe, Former F.B.I. Deputy Director, Sues Over His Dismissal,” The New York Times online, August 8, 2019
27,229. 8/6/2019
CALIFORNIA/GOP/LAWSUITS/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “President Donald Trump and the Republican National Committee — along with the California Republican Party — filed a pair of lawsuits Tuesday [8-6-19] in an attempt to block a new law signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom that requires Trump to release his taxes to qualify for the March 2020 primary ballot…The pair of lawsuits by Trump and the GOP challenging Newsom escalate a battle between the president and Democratic officials in California, who have filed more than 40 lawsuits challenging his administration’s policies on issues ranging from climate change to health care. Dhillon, a member of the RNC and the past vice chair of the California Republican Party, said the state GOP lawsuit is based on the belief that ‘the Constitution sets forth the qualifications for all federal offices … and in term limits cases, states have no right to impose additional qualifications.’”
–Carla Marinucci and Jeremy B. White, “New GOP lawsuits challenge Newsom on Trump tax bill,” Politico, August 6, 2019 4:40 pm
27,217. 8/6/2019
CALIFORNIA/LAWSUIT/LEGISLATION/TRUMP TAXES: “President Trump and the Republican National Committee filed a pair of lawsuits on Tuesday [8-6-19] against officials in California challenging a new law requiring presidential candidates to release five years of tax returns in order to be placed on the state primary ballot in 2020. The R.N.C. suit, which was filed in the Eastern District of California and included the California Republican Party and several California Republican voters as plaintiffs, called the law a ‘naked political attack against the sitting president of the United States.’ It was filed against Gov. Gavin Newsom and the California secretary of state. Mr. Trump and his campaign filed a second suit challenging the constitutionality of the new law, and it named the California secretary of state and the state attorney general. In that suit, they argue that states do not have the power to ‘supplement’ the qualifications for the president, set forth by the Constitution.”
–Annie Karni, “Trump Campaign Sues Over California’s Requirement to Release Tax Returns,” The New York Times online, August 6, 2019
27,036. 7/30/2019
2016 ELECTION/HILLARY CLINTON/LAWSUIT/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “A federal judge in Manhattan on Monday [7-29-19] dismissed a lawsuit by the Democratic National Committee that had accused President Trump’s 2016 campaign, WikiLeaks and Russia of illegally conspiring to damage Hillary Clinton’s presidential run. The Russian government was clearly ‘the primary wrongdoer’ for hacking into Democratic computers and funneling purloined documents to WikiLeaks to disseminate, found Judge John G. Koeltl of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. But as a foreign sovereign, he wrote, Russia was immune from any liability. Judge Koeltl ruled that the First Amendment protected the actions of WikiLeaks in publishing the documents. The same protections covered Trump campaign officials, who did not release any stolen documents but were eager to benefit from their publication, he found.”
–Sharon LaFraniere, “Democrats’ Lawsuit Alleging Trump-Russia Conspiracy Is Dismissed,” The New York Times online, July 30, 2019
26,924. 7/25/2019
DEMS/LAWSUIT/NEW YORK/TRUMP TAXES: “A federal judge decided Thursday [7-25-19] that a different judge should handle President Donald Trump’s suit to prevent House Democrats from obtaining his New York state tax returns, delaying a decision on the president’s request for a restraining order against the Democrats. Judge Trevor McFadden, a Trump appointee, rejected a bid by Trump lawyer William Consovoy to have McFadden hear both that case and a separate lawsuit by Ways and Means Chairman Richard Neal seeking the president’s federal returns. At a hearing Thursday, Consovoy argued the cases are so similar that McFadden ought to handle both. But McFadden disagreed, noting one involved federal tax law and the other state law. What’s more, McFadden said, Democrats are plaintiffs in one case and defendants in the other, and that could have ramifications for their legal strategies in the cases…While the New York case will be reassigned to another judge, McFadden will still handle Neal’s lawsuit for Trump’s federal filings. Lawyers for Neal said they did not have an opinion on whether McFadden ought to take both cases.”
–Brian Faler, “Trump’s suit to block Democrats from getting his New York tax returns will be handed off to another judge,” Politico, July 25, 2019 6:15 pm
26,843. 7/23/2019
DEMS/LAWSUIT/NEW YORK/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TRUMP TAXES: “President Trump sued New York State officials and the House Ways and Means Committee on Tuesday [7-23-19] to try to block congressional Democrats from using a recently enacted New York law to obtain his state tax returns. The lawsuit, filed by the president’s private lawyers in federal court in Washington, opens a new front in Mr. Trump’s fight to keep his tax returns secret. His administration has already rejected subpoenas from the Ways and Means Committee for his federal tax information, prompting the House to file a lawsuit of its own in recent weeks seeking enforcement. Now Mr. Trump is moving to close a side door opened by Democratic lawmakers in his home state by asking a judge to declare that the Ways and Means Committee ‘lacks a legitimate legislative purpose’ to request his state tax returns. The suit also seeks to nullify the New York law outright before Congress decides whether to use it.”
–Nicholas Fandos and Jesse McKinley, “Trump Sues New York and Congress to Shield His State Tax Returns,” The New York Times online, July 23, 2019