ALWAYS BET ON THE dEEP sTATE:

The ruling was a step toward empowering Congress "to hold the president accountable," said Senator Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, who originally filed the lawsuit along with Representative Jerrold Nadler of New York. Nearly 200 Democrats joined them.

Mr. Blumenthal said that the president has violated the clause by collecting trademarks from China, rent paid by foreign governments at his real estate properties worldwide and government approvals for his business dealings. He also suggested that Mr. Trump's businesses may have collected payments and benefits that are unknown to Congress.

If Judge Sullivan finds that Mr. Trump has violated the emoluments clause, congressional Democrats can ask for information in the discovery phase of the lawsuit about any foreign benefit related to his global business dealings, including payments, trademarks, intellectual property and regulatory advantages.

"We can look at his books and tax returns in order to determine what emoluments he's accepted," Mr. Nadler said. If evidence of financial fraud is found in the course of discovery, Mr. Nadler said that information would be made public and turned over to law enforcement officials.

"This gives Congress an opportunity to invoke our congressional right to make sure that the president is loyal to the U.S. and not to his own pocketbook," Mr. Nadler said.

Judge Sullivan also said that the courts had to step in because Mr. Trump would not voluntarily allow Congress to exercise its constitutional right to oversee the payments he takes from foreign governments.

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