On Tuesday, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in favor of House Democrats who brought a court case against the head of the federal General Services Administration, whose agency handles the lease for the government-owned Old Post Office building in D.C., where the Trump Organization has been operating a hotel. In the case, the House Democrats have been seeking a copy of lease information covering the Trump Organization’s operations, saying that the lease “explicitly prohibits any ‘elected official of the government of the United States’ from taking or sharing in any benefit that ‘may arise’ from the lease.” That prohibition would, of course, cover Trump, who has refused to financially distance himself from his business while serving as president.
In their new ruling in the case, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals reversed an earlier decision from lower-level federal Judge Amit Mehta, who’d concluded that the Democratic members of Congress pursuing the lease information did not have the appropriate legal standing to bring their case. In fact, the appeals court concluded, the over a dozen Democratic House members participating in the proceedings do have the appropriate legal standing for the case to continue.
Throughout Trump’s time in office, political interests have patronized Trump properties including the D.C. hotel, providing a clear inroad for garnering favor with Trump. In the new ruling from the D.C. Appeals Court, Judge Patricia Millett wrote as follows:
‘A rebuffed request for information to which the requester is statutorily entitled is a concrete, particularized, and individualized personal injury, within the meaning of Article III. That traditional form of injury is quite distinct from the non-cognizable, generalized injuries claimed by legislators that are tied broadly to the law-making process and that affect all legislators equally.’
A three-judge panel including Millett, Judge David Tatel, and Judge Douglas Ginsburg participated in the proceedings in which House Democrats just scored a victory. Emily Murphy, the current head of the General Services Administration who House Democrats name in their lawsuit, has faced other recent scrutiny after she initially unneccessarily delayed her agency’s formal recognition of Joe Biden’s victory in the presidential race. This formal recognition — which she has since issued — allows the Biden transition team to access critical government resources.
