"We're concerned that foreign governments are coming to the Trump businesses with a single goal of currying special favor from the president of the United States so that their interest can get a higher priority than the interest of the American people", District of Columbia Attorney General Karl Racine said at a news conference announcing the lawsuit.
Frosh and DC Attorney General Karl Racine - both Democrats - filed the suit in US District Court in Maryland on Monday.
Racine and Frosh insisted that the lawsuit wasn't political, with Racine saying they would pursue a similar lawsuit against any future president - he proffered Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg as one possible example - who held onto substantial business ties after taking office.
"It puts democracy at risk when the president is corruptible", Frosh said. The White House previously commented that CREW's lawsuit is "totally without merit".
A Washington wine bar filed suit against Trump and his Trump International hotel in March, claiming that the president got an unfair business advantage because of the president's association with the business, according to The New York Times.
Norman Eisen, co-founder and chairman of CREW and former special counsel to President Barack Obama for ethics and government reform, described the Trump hotel as a "giant emoluments whirlpool sucking business from all over the greater District area".
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In court documents, D.C. and Maryland allege Trump has committed "unprecedented constitutional violations" stemming from his decision to retain ownership of his worldwide business empire, "which renders him deeply enmeshed with a legion of foreign and domestic government actors".
This is not the first time Trump has been accused of violating the clause.
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There are none, Sen. - Sessions corroborated that Comey came to him the next day and asked not to be alone with the president. The attorney general has acknowledged two meetings previous year with Russia's ambassador to the U.S., Sergey Kislyak .
The complaint cites multiple cases of foreign diplomats and business executives staying in or holding events at the Trump hotel to curry favor with the president.
The lawsuit also centers on Trump's resolution to retain the ownership of his business even after becoming the president.
"If the Justice Department is right, the emoluments clause has no meaning whatsoever", Frosh said.
On the other hand, Attorney General Frosh, said, "We can not treat a president's ongoing violations of the Constitution and disregard for the rights of the American people as the new and acceptable status quo".
"Like the unfairly maligned press corps and the courts, state attorney generals are serving as a necessary check and balance in the Trump era where others fail", he said. For one, his son Eric Trump has said the president would continue to receive regular updates about his company's financial health.
The attorneys general accuse Mr. Trump of breaking many promises to keep his presidential responsibilities separate from his business interests, the report said. Trump ceded day-to-day control of his empire to his sons, but he still owns the Trump Organization.
The suit detailed the popularity with foreign officials of the opulent Trump International Hotel since his January 20 inauguration, alleging that the hotel "has specifically marketed itself to the diplomatic community".
It's uncharted territory, legally speaking: The Supreme Court has never heard a case about the foreign emoluments clause.
As a result, the district is in a "unique position" to file legal claims over the emoluments clause, Racine said.
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