Two new plaintiffs join lawsuit against Trump: report

Two new plaintiffs plan to join a lawsuit alleging that President Trump has violated the Constitution’s emoluments clause, according to a new report.

The fresh plaintiffs will be added to a Washington-based nonprofit’s suit in federal court early Tuesday, The Washington Post said Monday.

An association of restaurants and restaurant workers is the first plaintiff joining the suit originally filed by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) last January.

{mosads}The second plaintiff in CREW’s suit is a woman who books banquet halls for the Carlyle Hotel and the Glover Park Hotel in Washington, D.C., the Post reported.

“It’s damage to our members, both employers’ bottom lines, and workers’ loss of income and tips,” said Saru Jayaraman, co-director of Restaurant Opportunity Centers United.

“It’s not a free market, or a free country, when foreign governments feel like they have to eat and patronize Trump hotels and restaurants because he’s the president of the United States. I mean, that’s why the emoluments clause was written.”

Jayaraman’s group includes more than 25,000 restaurant workers and counts 200-plus restaurants among its members. It’s a nonprofit association, the Post said, that trains restaurant workers and advocates for higher wages.

The suit’s second new plaintiff is Jill Phaneuf, who works for a hospitality company that represents two hotels in D.C. that are not joining the suit.

CREW announced in January that it was bringing a suit “to stop President Trump from violating the Constitution by illegally receiving payments from foreign governments.”

The lawsuit alleges Trump may have violated the Constitution’s emoluments clause as his hotels — including the new Tump Hotel in D.C. — and restaurants do business with foreign governments.

The plaintiffs involved have asked Judge Ronnie Abrams in New York to order Trump to stop violating the clause and release financial records proving he has done so.