Restaurant group joins suit against Trump over business ties

Friday, April 14, 2017, Vol. 41, No. 15

NEW YORK (AP) — An organization that advocates for restaurant workers has joined a New York lawsuit claiming President Donald Trump is violating the constitution by letting his businesses accept money from foreign governments.

Restaurant Opportunities Centers United was added Tuesday to the lawsuit filed by the watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington.

Trump called the lawsuit "without merit, totally without merit" when it was filed in Manhattan federal court in January. A Justice Department lawyer did not immediately comment Tuesday.

The lawsuit claimed that a constitutional clause prohibits Trump from receiving money from foreign governments for hotel stays or office leases. The rewritten lawsuit cites violations it says have resulted since Trump became president.

A plaintiffs' lawyer says the legal action has been strengthened by the addition of an organization claiming it's been victimized.