Zephyr Teachout. | AP Photo/Mike Groll Teachout says emoluments suit could result in more financial disclosure for Trump

ALBANY — Zephyr Teachout, the former congressional and gubernatorial candidate, said Friday a lawsuit she filed along with other constitutional scholars could jog loose more details on President Donald Trump’s financial holdings.

Teachout — working with the Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, or CREW, a group aligned with Democrats — this week filed a federal lawsuit accusing Trump of violating the Constitution's Emoluments Clause, which prevents federal officers from accepting gifts from foreign governments.


The suit claims payments to Trump’s properties and other business holdings fit the ban. Trump’s attorneys say the transactions in question are routine business, not gifts.

Teachout is an expert on the topic, and devoted part of her 2014 book, “Corruption in America,” to the roots of the Emoluments Clause: ornate, jewel encrusted snuff boxes given by King Louis XVI to ambassadors in his court, like Ben Franklin.

“The people of the country really deserve to know who has leverage over the president’s wealth and power. And I will say, this is a president who has shown particular sensitivity to anybody questioning his financial prowess or the strength of his companies,” Teachout said Friday on WCNY’s “The Capitol Pressroom.” “If they know that he’s sensitive about money — which they surely do … then that’s a huge leverage point, and I think it’s naïve to think that countries aren’t actively thinking about ways to directly or indirectly — and indirectly matters too — influence our trade policy.”

Teachout mentioned Chinese tenants in Trump Tower and diplomatic guests staying in Trump’s new hotel in Washington, D.C. She said she hoped the suit could jog disclosure of Trump’s tax returns, which he has consistently refused to release.

“Because he hasn’t released his tax returns, there are some that we know and some that we don’t,” Teachout said. “In the course of the lawsuit, we hope to learn more precisely where the payments are coming from.”

CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story misstated the French king who gave Franklin the gift. It was King Louis XVI.