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Hello from the 4th Circuit in Richmond, where a three-judge panel just heard arguments in DC and MD's lawsuit again Trump claiming violations of the Emoluments Clauses. Short version: It did not appear to go well for DC and MD 
Dispatch from Richmond: Trump's lawyers and the Justice Dept. argued today that no one should be able to sue Trump for profiting from his DC hotel while he's in office — and for the first time in a while, things seemed to go well for the president buzzfeednews.com/article/zoetil…
Richmond, Va.: Close enough that you think you can do it round-trip in one day. Far enough that you really, really regret it.
Related: Here's my report on how 4th Circuit arguments went today in the emoluments clauses case against Trump: buzzfeednews.com/article/zoetil…
Related: Here's my report on how 4th Circuit arguments went today in the emoluments clauses case against Trump: buzzfeednews.com/article/zoetil…
The emoluments clauses case is in a complicated posture. There are claims against Trump in his official capacity, which DOJ is handling. They're arguing the case should be tossed because there's no legal authority to sue a president under the clauses buzzfeednews.com/article/zoetil…
Alternatively, DOJ is arguing the 4th Circuit should at least allow appeals of rulings by the lower court judge to go ahead — the judge had declined to certify an appeal at this stage. This would keep discovery + subpoenas on hold, which is good for Trump buzzfeednews.com/article/zoetil…
Then there's the claim against Trump in his *individual* capacity. That wasn't in the original suit, then DC/MD added them after the judge wondered if it was needed, and now DC/MD are dropping it. BUT Trump's personal lawyers argue it's not that simple buzzfeednews.com/article/zoetil…
Trump's personal attorneys argue that because they filed the notice of appeal before DC/MD dismissed the claim, the 4th Circuit is still in a position to rule that Trump individually is immune from such claims, which would bar DC/MD from trying again later buzzfeednews.com/article/zoetil…
The overarching theme of today's arguments was deep skepticism from the judges about DC/MD's claims and their arguments about why this case should go forward into discovery and they should be allowed to subpoena the Trump org. buzzfeednews.com/article/zoetil…
The judges were demonstrably tougher on the lawyers for DC/MD. At the end, the judges came down to shake all the lawyers' hands (4th Circuit tradition), and Judge Shedd asked MD atty Leah Tulin, "Was it fun?" and he then laughed and cracked, "Not so much!" buzzfeednews.com/article/zoetil…
