House Democrats filed a federal lawsuit Thursday accusing the administration of illegally withholding documents governing the Trump International Hotel in D.C., as they try to press their claim that the hotel’s operations violate the Constitution.
Democrats have already sued over the hotel itself, but now they say they are being stonewalled on the documents they need to prove their case.
The Democrats — members of the House Oversight Committee — are counting on a 1928 law that allows their committee to pry loose documents when seven members, no matter the party, demand them.
Mr. Trump’s ownership of the hotel and his decision not to turn over his stake in the Trump Organization have causes headaches for the White House, which insists the arrangement is legal.
The Democrats say foreign governments have started giving the hotel more business since Mr. Trump took office, in what could be an effort to curry favor with the new administration. They say that would violate constitutional restrictions on the president receiving any gift or payment from a foreign government.
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